I'm 27 and a full-time dishwasher and bought myself a condo in the Chicago suburbs last year. I've been supporting myself (and two kittens) for a year now.

I've been saving up (and used some savings bonds) to buy my own place for a while now - it helped that I lived with my parents instead of renting. Renting isn't bad, but you'll never own the place and saving on the side is hard while paying rent, but I digress. The condo was a short sale, which took a little longer with the banks, but I got a deal at 60k for a 900sq ft two bed 1 bath. Very nice of pace, and the area is good for resale if I ever decide to soon.

I currently make $11 doing dishes and prep for an award-winning chef. Lucked out after hopping kitchens for a while. $11-12 was the most I've ever made per hour, and two previous places I was at I made that much but one was a soul-sucking high-volume Italian restaurant in a mall and the other was a shitshow cheapo bar/restaurant - I was cooking at both. Hated it, quit, jumped on a local dishwashing ad from craigslist and it just so happened to be this awesome "celebrity" chef who opened his third restaurant. Been with them two years (although this year I floated around trying other jobs too). Won't be leaving anytime in the near future.

While I do live pretty much paycheck to paycheck, I am saving a little here and there just by being smart. My parents do give me money, but it's never been a situation where I absolutely needed it to pay my mortgage or bills. They actually moved out of state a few months ago, so that has been happening less. It's not easy, but it's adulthood so nothing really is.