"If you live in the house, it hasn't put any money into your pocket, no matter what its valuation is, vis-a-vis what you put into it as a down payment."
Now, *that* has to take the cake for the most clueless posts ever. You don't know the first thing about personal finances, do you.
First of all, have you ever heard of a home equity loan? Could that "put money in my pocket"? Secondly, has it not occurred to you that I would have to pay rent if I did not own a home? And let's not even get into tax benefits and retirement.
Apparently, I know and actually understand far more about personal finances than you do, from what you've just said. Evidently, you imagine that loans are some kind of "free" money" and have no bearing on your assets or net worth. And as far as your retirement is concerned, here's hoping that when that time comes, you don't have to sell into a down or collapsed housing market. Of course, by the time you've paid off all of the loans you keep taking out, your final profit won't be as great as you hope they will be.
You just keep digging that hole deeper and deeper!