Having been homeless I know the chasm between living on the street in a tent and a suburban home is about a ten thousand decisions over the course of several years.

I would argue the life we will have is very predictable, on a 5-year timeline, based upon decisions between today and the next year. Small things, like showing up to work on time, has a compounding impact upon one's life.

The ability to afford a mortgage has a dependency of a few thousand good decisions resulting from several years of positive actions.