You're definitely in the minority when it comes to the Western world. The people who can still afford to purchase a house/place to live can only do it via mortgage, which means you're not an outright owner until, I don't know, you get to 50-60 years of age.

You could say that people who can't afford a mortgage and are hence forced to rent (I'm part of that group) are then not part of the "not outright owners" discussion, but I don't know if that makes the situation better for them, to the contrary.

What if my landloard decides to remotely stop some things working around the house if I happen to be late with paying rent some months? Such as the AC not being available anymore. Or one of the clothes cabinets not opening. Because that's what's happening here with Ford and its leasing clients.

> You're definitely in the minority when it comes to the Western world.

This is certainly true, and it's because of conscious decisions I've made to avoid debt and fixed recurring expenses.

I wasn't trying to say that my situation is the norm, I was using myself as an example to demonstrate that "There's very few things left that we "own outright"" isn't accurate, or at least isn't because there are no other options.

A house is an obvious exception, because they're too expensive for almost anyone to buy outright.