Figuring out a plan for buying a house.
My husband and I are wanting to get more serious financially and hopefully buy a house within the next 1–2 years (the quicker the better). We’re trying to figure out the smartest way to balance debt payoff, savings, and investing, and would love advice from people who’ve been through it.
Current situation:
• Combined take-home income: $3,680/month
• I will be getting a raise in August that will Increase our income by about $1000 a month
• We currently have about $21,000 in checking. husband recently got a work bonus and are trying to figure out the smartest way to use it.
Debt:
• Car loan: $12,759 balance — $330/month — 6.47% APR
• 2nd loan: truck only has one final $400 payment left before it’s paid off.
Credit cards:
• Card #1: $1,141 balance — $183/month — 30.24% interest
• Card #2: $3,417 balance — $316/month — 27.49% interest
Monthly expenses:
• Utilities: $440
• Insurance: $210
• Gas/transportation: ~$600
• Subscriptions: $52.86
• Other miscellaneous: ~$200
• Groceries: still trying to get a better monthly average
Even though we make enough to cover everything, we still feel extremely broke after bills come out.
Our goal is to buy a home within the next 1–2 years and not sure what an ideal amount would be for a down payment.
Trying to figure out the best route to be intentional and avoid making more financial mistakes moving forward (besides the credit cards 😅). Would you
-pay off all debt aggressively first?
-keep more cash on hand?
-split between debt payoff and house savings?
-do something completely different?
Any advice is appreciated thank you in advance! 😊
Edit: sorry for the confusion of not adding this prior. We are very blessed and actually do not have a monthly rent. We live in a home that his parents own and just have to pay the utilities. Thank you all for all the comments and advice already.