We "made" $190k selling a home we bought as a foreclosure in 2009 in 2021. In reality we didn't make jack squat. We paid that much in interest alone over the course of those years. The blood, sweat equity, and money we spent on upkeep and upgrades is incalculable to double entry standard, but I can tell you it was an absolute shit ton. I didn't even do the math on our property taxes, refinance charges, and closing costs because it's maddening to think about.

Since we have been renting our accounts have gone parabolic. We are able to save my wife's entire check, every month. There is no money burning a hole in her pocket to redo the kitchen, or bathroom, or backyard. There is no money going toward a new garbage disposal or A/C unit. We have more money despite two teenagers that have gone parabolic fees for club sports, driving, clothes, and FOOD.

We could absolutely buy right now, but I have my foot firmly down as a HARD NO. I would rather buy her a new car to assuage the urge to buy a home. If I could wave a magic wand and remove the desire completely, I would in a heartbeat. A home, from a 100% economic POV, is a waste of time and money. It is only complicated because of emotions and "what everyone else" is doing. There is zero logic in a mortgage and what is worse is that you never truly own the dirt your home is sitting on, at least in the USA.

Edit: I feel like the people that encourage others to buy a mortgage are doing so out of ignorance and have never actually thought it through to the end of days. I see old people living in nursing homes every day. None of them tell me about the homes they lived in while we wait for transport to the ER. They all talk about experiences, places they have traveled, their families, and the parts of their working lives they loved and hated. Never had a person talk about their "mortgage", I mean "home" on their deathbed.