If I had to give advice to a young person in the u.s. now it would be to not act responsibly when it comes to their finances because the government will bail you out.

I was responsible but it's put me at a disadvantage. I would have been better off buying a home that I couldn't afford with no downpayment, and once the market adjusted using this government bailout to adjust the mortgage.

I no longer live in the u.s. though and am much happier to be someplace where it's impossible to act irresponsible in that way due to minimum standards with the banks.