Here’s a surefire way to help put housing and the advice that is delved out nonstop on whether it is worth buying a home into perspective.

Look at it through the eyes of Rufus.

Well, actually not through the eyes of Rufus.

Rufus is a dog.

A red-haired Goldendoodle, to be more precise.

The eyes you need to look through are those belonging to Bryan Graybill and Daniel Dokos.

I have never met either. Nor can I weigh in on their financial savviness, decision making, their drive, or much of anything about  them.

I assume they are people doing the best they can as they go through life like you and I.

The two were the subject of a story in the Friday real estate section of the Wall Street Journal dedicated to the buying and selling of homes.

It’s not called “Home” or anything that pedestrian.

It’s called “Mansion.”

That’s “Mansion” without a “Mc” in front of it.

The section focuses on high end properties and unusual housing.

Some dip as low as $1.2 million. A lot are in the $5 million to $40 million range.

They are homes being sold or part of “red hot” locales or some other housing trends that the Great Gatsby, if he were real and alive today, would be seen in as an owner or a guest.

But these are not the homes of old money, for the most part.

They are the homes of tech millionaires, CEOs, social influencers, actors, sports stars, celebrities, those that run with the wolves on Wall Street and an occasional politician or two.

And by millionaires, it doesn’t mean a measly one million or two in assets.

We’re talking real money. People that don’t shop at Walmart or Target.

As for those low-end homes around $1.2 million, do not think of those in Mountain House that are getting to be a dime a dozen or McMansion resales in Manteca nipping at that selling price.

Think a 600 square-foot condo on the 10th floor overlooking a beach on its way to becoming trendy.

Or envision a 5,000 square-foot humble adobe on an acre plus lot in the middle of nowhere, where PG&E isn’t the power provider nor is their hardcore sticker shock from other necessities.

These are the homes bought by people who wouldn’t flinch, in most cases, to receive a $10,000 bill from PG&E.

No, I did not forget about Rufus or the dog’s house.

You read that right. His dog house.

His owners bought what was their dream house in Sag Harbor in New York in 2018 for $2.65 million.

They did extensive “renovations” to the 1,600-square-foot home built in the 1950s.

When work was done, they moved in during 2022.

The home — now 4,200 square feet that they added a pool, along with the prerequisite pool house, and two car garage as well — is on the market for $14.95 million.

The reason for selling their dream house?

Rufus doesn’t like it.

They say he’s pouty there, but at their other two homes — they own houses in Montecito in Southern California where Oprah has a $90 million house plus a place in New York City — Rufus is himself and sulking.

The couple freely admits the main reason they are selling their dream home is because their dog doesn’t like it.

The rich, they are different than you and I.

That’s fine. It’s America. And they have the right to spend what they earn as they see fit.

And they aren’t dispensing advice to 99.9 percent about how buying a home is or isn’t a good investment depending upon whether stocks, bonds, a tech startup investment or real estate is filling the cars of their gravy train this week.

Self-described social influencers tend to be the worst dishing out home ownership advice when it comes to housing.

They present the world as a place where you can get rich overnight and you can spend like czars.

Anything less, you’re failing yourself.

Focusing on long-range goals you adjust along the way as life’s high and lows hit you, delayed gratification, and living within your means, even as you are able to expand your means is so old school.

By buying into such advice, more and more people as they age are going to be caught in a financial vise, navigating their golden years while squeezing every copper penny they can.

Norm Gould, who passed away in 2013,  was a Manteca financial advisor for years.

Gould argued if there was only one thing you could do beyond day-to-day needs was to buy a house, that was the best investment you could make.

Gould noted one cannot live in stocks.

And if you entered into retirement with your house paid off, you stabilized the biggest living cost most of us have — housing.

You may not be overly comfortable doing so, but the odds of you having a roof over your heads and not being squeezed by rents that rise when you’re 80 is much greater than if you are renting at that time in your life.

Social influencers live in the here and now and dazzle others in order to monetize their clicks.

Yes, buying a home isn’t easy.

And the challenges today are tough.

But in retrospect, they’ve always been tough. The perimeters have just changed.

Social media feeds are loaded with those bemoaning ownership being out of their means.

Read a little further into their “woe is me” postings, and you discover they eat out or use delivery apps more than they eat at home, have the latest smartphone and gadgetry, go on trendy vacations twice a year, and opt for $80,000 to $100,000 vehicles.

And their idea of a “first” home is new construction, with upgrades in place, and 3,000 square feet plus.

They try to solicit sympathy by saying they can never own a home in this economy.

Yet, it’s happening for many every day.

There are people working toward a goal and resisting urges to spend outside preset lines. They’re doing so for their future, perhaps their family, or the fact they can separate fantasy from reality.

And I seriously doubt they’d sell their home because their dog doesn’t like it.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com