“[…] as households’ perceived probability of attaining homeownership falls, they systematically shift their behavior: they consume more relative to their wealth, reduce work effort, and take on riskier investments. We show empirically that renters with relatively low wealth exhibit the same patterns. These responses compound over the life cycle, producing substantially greater wealth dispersion between those who retain hope of homeownership and those who give up.”
Sure, you can be money-smart, even without putting a large chunk of it towards a home / mortgage, but this is hard. It is just another example of haves being substantially better off than have-nots, and the situation only getting worse. That’s unfortunately a common pattern, and we need regulation to counter-balance it.