20% down is a nice ideal, but life is not always ideal. I would say at todays prices 5% should be a minimum.

Thanks, paramount. I hadn't explicitly 'fessed up to my inclination to not hold off until I have the good old fashioned 20% ready. That comment makes me feel less guilty about it.

You make a 120k? I always seem to notice that people on this board state these incredible incomes, and yet in my own life I know very few people who make anywhere near 100k.

Yep. And it's amazing how little it is, in the face of attempting to purchase a home that doesn't suck. If you're expressing skepticism, I guess I can share that. I've seen a lot of people glibly dropping big numbers for income that makes me wonder what they do for a living (and why I'm not doing that!)–or whether they're lying.

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I can probably offer some viewpoints.

1) A lot of us are probably referring to household income, and not individual.

2) Two professionals in a household, and that is a couple of times above the average income quoted.

3) Regardless of how much it is, with a W-2, it stinks after taxes.

4) A lot of us are already in their mid thirties, some forties, and are probably not going to see much more as a W-2. If you're in your twenties and are doing this, you're already doing pretty well.

5) A lot more of it has to do with what you keep, not how much you earn. There are plenty of people that make huge salaries but can't save if their life depended on it.

 

On topic,

CogSciGuy. I hope your not carrying large balances on CC's. If you are, I'd consider paying those off before tacking on more debt. Your previous post eluded to CC balance. I wasn't sure if you meant you just paid your balance off in full or if you maintained a balance. The entire frontend/backend percentages are great as a guideline. But I think you also need to make sure you're expenses and outstanding obligations are in check.