👆Great example of long-term perspective from @rachelcruze. A monthly payment doesn't show the full picture. A 30-year mortgage will keep you in debt for double the time, AND it will cost you literally hundreds of thousands of dollars MORE... for the same house! This is why I only recommend a 15-year mortgage, never a 30-year loan. Make sure you're actually ready to buy a home before you begin shopping around and catching house fever. That's a recipe for some bad money decisions. First, pay off all consumer debt using my Debt Snowball method, and then save 3-6 months' worth of expenses for a fully funded emergency fund. After that, work on saving up a down payment. If you're a first-time home buyer, a 5-10% down payment is okay. A 20% down payment is even better, because it will allow you to avoid paying more each month for private mortgage insurance (PMI). The larger a down payment you can save, the lower your loan amount will be, which will decrease your monthly payment. Choose a ...