Optimal Finance Daily · Friday, September 4, 2026
Paula Pant of Afford Anything describes observing half-built houses in Jamaica, where families build one room at a time over many years due to a lack of credit. She contrasts this with the US, where debt allows immediate homeownership, albeit paid off over decades.
“People don't have money to build a whole house all at once, he said. So they build one room at a time. It might take five, 10, 15 years for the house to be complete. Welcome to a world that's not fueled by credit.”
“In both situations, people will still spend 10 or 15 years or 30 years paying for a house. But in one scenario, that payment is made in advance. In another scenario, the payment is retroactive.”
“America is one of the rare countries in which people as young as 25 or 30 can buy their own home, thanks in large part to cheap debt flowing from banks.”