<prompt> Human: Rich Dad, Poor Dad put a spin on your house as an asset, and since that book came out, it is all across the internet, that a house is a liability. This is because it costs you money. Anything that costs you money is a liability. I understand that as a general concept, but I find that as a landlord and homeowner, it seems wrong. To put it simple, I have to live somewhere. So the question should be, does this house lower my monthly costs. If it is lower than the average rent, then isnt it an asset? It is saving me money?The only analogy I can think of is if you were to pre-purchase amazon credit at a discount say they offered 5 off if you buy amazon credit points. Is that 5 not income simply because you spending it? To me, that savings is putting 5 back in your pocket. Likewise with rent, if owning my home lowers my monthly bill or builds equity, that is money in my pocket. Say my mortgage is 1000mo, but 200mo is going into the equity, isnt that 200 back in my pocket? If I rented, I would get 0. Obviously there are other costs, but as I mentioned, being a landlord I know that I will charge you rent that will cover all those repairs, so by you doing them yourself even hiring someone yourself, the yearly total would still be lower than renting. So... to discuss, is owning a home an asset or liability? Or can we be more nuanced and say a home with a mortgage below average local rents is an asset and mortgage above local rent is a liability?  <response>: A house is an asset and a mortgage loan is a liability. An asset remains an asset even if theres associated maintenance costs to own them.Your assets: Everything that you own that has use or value. A hammer. A television. Assets dont have to appreciate in value. Some like cars depreciate fairly reliably. 