<prompt> Human: I am 34 and still rent. I have a lot of money in my 401K and make a decent amount of money 65,000. I had some credit issues a few years ago after I lost my job but now I can qualify for a mortgage. But when I go to look at houses online I start worrying about mortgage payments. Im afraid I wont have enough left over to live the way I want to live.How important is owning a home to building wealth? Do you think that renting is just throwing money away like some people say? I keep hearing how most Americans net worth comes from the value of their homes.  <response>: Most of their net worth comes from their homes because thats the biggest thing they ever buy in their life, and they pour most of their money into it.You dont need to buy a home to build wealth, you build wealth by getting money job income, investments, etc. and not spending all of the money you have. There are a lot of factors that go into determining how much a house is going to cost you over time- everything from the up front cost of the house itself and the basic mortgage interestinsurancemaintenance, to the extra furnishing costs, yard maintenance, and usually increased utility costs and probably a couple other things I cant think of right now.While in the long run a house CAN be a better financial choice, staying in an apartment you can afford now is probably a much better choice than moving into a house that you cant afford. If youre worried about not being able to make the payments on a house, you probably cant afford that house anyway.Theres nothing wrong with renting forever, you just have to keep in mind that youll be paying your rent every month as long as you still live in the rental, whereas the cost of a house goes down significantly after paying off the mortgage although you still pay insurance, property tax, maintenance, etc..Hope that helps : 