Housing cost is non discretionary but that&#x27;s not to say you don&#x27;t have a choice in how you spend those dollars. All I&#x27;m saying is there may be qualitative reasons for buying but financially you are better off renting than buying a home using a mortgage. The whole equation changes if you can buy outright or pay it off in a manner which keeps the total interest paid to something reasonable like 10 or 20%.