Ok I partially agree with ibu guru with the whole home buying thing. But it depends on where your living in the US that will determine how much your going to pay for a home. I live in California and my mother just brought a home, she only makes 23k a year. So yes, you can buy a home but things will be tight, because you will have all the added expenses that your landlord would usually pay for. I'm with you on "rent is a waste of money" but it does serve some purpose, building credit! What you need to do is look into buying a condo or a duplex of some kind. That way you will be in your own home but you won't be dealing with a whole house. I know 13.00 an hour is enough to live off of, I lived perfectly fine on 10.00 an hour a few years ago. And to add info about home ownership, you don't have to pay closing costs, most of the time you can get the sellers to pay for or partially pay for closing. You will most likely have to put some money down, but it shouldn't be much depending on what your buying. Always remember the most important thing location, location, location! Home prices are plunging so now is a good time to invest in property, but just remember what your getting into to.

You will be able to afford a very modest room or studio apt for yourself, and provide for your necessities if you are a good money manager. $13/hr is above minimum wage, and you can get by in lower-cost areas of the US.

There is NO way you are going to buy a house for a number of years. You need to save up 20% down, plus all closing costs, plus 3 - 6 months of reserves. And you need at least 3 years track record on the job, credit above 680/700. Median house price is still about $200,000, which means $40,000 down, plus about $5000 closing costs, plus reserves. And for a $160k mortgage, you need income of about $65,000 or more a year. With proper savings, etc, after about 4 yrs on the job, 20% cash down, etc, you might be able to afford a house that's no more than $100,000, but it would be very difficult since home ownership is so much more costly than rent.

Vast numbers of people make the i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-y stupid mistake of comparing rent with basic mortgage payment. Mortgage is only a fraction of homeownership costs! Remember property taxes, paying ALL utilities (water, waste water/sewer, trash, etc that landlords pay for apt tenants!), maintenance and repairs, and more. Homeownership costs are 2 - 3 times rent on an apt of comparable size, starting with doubling your electric bill.