How much cash should you actually have left after buying a house?
I see a lot of advice about how much to save for a down payment, but not nearly as much about what should still be sitting in the bank after closing.
If someone could put more down but doing so would leave them with very little cash afterward, is that usually a mistake?
For example, would you rather:
- put 20% down and have only $5k–$10k left, or
- put 10%–15% down and keep $25k–$40k in reserves?
Curious how people here think about the balance between lower monthly payment and keeping a real emergency cushion after closing.
u/ReadinessIQ — 2 days ago