When I saved up for my downtown condo, so I managed 15k in the bank at one time. Now I have like 2-3k, but I never go below 1k for safety.
Never rented(rent = paying someone elses mortgage)
Only one credit card that I use to pay some bills online with. I use debit for everything else.
Paid off all school loans and never took out a line of credit. I also waited until I was 28 until I went to college because I didnt want to waste money on classes that I wasnt positive that I wanted to take.
This might sound bad, but I never dated any women that wanted to stay at home or worked part-time/crappy job. I finally met a woman that had a good full time job and works hard, so life is 10 times easier with 2 good incomes. We arnt super rich, but our life style is a lot more relaxing with 2 incomes.