<prompt> Human: Im 30, graduated in 2009 and Ive spent most of my extra paychecks sinking money into my loans. I have 700 left, which I could do now, but I keep wondering why I did this, why I was so obsessed with paying them off unlike anybody else I know. I rent my house, Drive a cheap car, and live a simple life. A friend just bought a huge house and I asked her how she did it and she said its all about how much loan you can qualify for, nobody has that kind of money. She said she only makes about 50k a year. Have I been doing this wrong?  <response>: This isnt so much as personal finance advice as it is life advice: Avoid gauging how youre doing against what your friends are doing. This is how people get in deep doo-doo.Maybe your friends SOs salary allowed them to get a big house. Maybe your friend inherited a windfall and she didnt want to tell you about it. Maybe she eats ramen noodles every night because she cant afford anything except for her mortgage payment and shes FINE with this choice. Maybe she makes more money than she lets on. Maybe, maybe, maybe.Dont try to keep up with the Joness. The Joness have their reasons for doing what they do, and they may not necessarily be your reasons.Im in my late 30s and Im finally deciding to buy a house. Its been so hard to ignore all the pressure from family and friends to BUY BUY BUY for the past ten years. But I wasnt ready for homeownership ten years ago. I wasnt even ready one year ago. So Im glad I ignored them and just focused on living the life I want. I say you should do the same thing. 