First Home - List of Bills

Oh, goodness. I'm seriously biting my tongue here, Victoria_Rae. How do you think the housing market got to be the way it is? How do you think it crashed?? Because, people who couldn't afford their mortgages were put in homes. You have to add taxes, insurance, repairs (you WILL run into those,) water, etc. You want to know how you can save money, DON'T BUY A HOUSE YOU CAN"T AFFORD.

And...and this really gets me...you KNOW you can't afford a home, so you'll get on EBT? What the hell!!! EBT isn't there for people to get help, because they want to get a home with a barn. Oh lord...I need to stop. It gets me steaming. You are setting yourself up for failure, and using the system. (Which hurts EVERYONE.)

Congats?

1- We can't tell you what your finances are. Maybe if I lived in your wallet I could, but since I don't and no one else here does, you're trying to brag.

2- You're trying to brag... about something you just told us you can't afford.

This is the official 'I told you so'... you can not afford this house. I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm saying it because I'm repeating what you just said: YOU CAN'T AFFORD THIS.

There is nothing worse than ruining your credit and falling apart AFTER the fact. Realizing, now, that you simply can't afford this, and then turning your situation around, correcting it, saving, then going forward with your 5 year plan (that takes patience, not instant gratification) is your best bet.

Don't dig yourself a grave you'll later have to lay in. Save now, put money towards your kiddos college savings, save a little more, THEN, and only then, will you be ready to buy a house.

Besides, renting is recession proof. Save yourself a little grief ;)

I don't want to be mean, but you need a reality check!

You are way off base thinking you can afford what you are wanting. You didn't figure in the cost of raising your child in the figures listed, or clothing, diapers, future medical bills (trust me you will have them). If you work, who looks after the child? If you are planning to "board" horses, you have to have feed and hay for them, do you have experience in this, that people will trust their animals in your care?

What about vet bills, you are buying dog food and can't buy your own groceries (counting on food stamps)??????? You CAN'T AFFORD A DOG!!!

With the figures you listed based on expense versus income, you won't qualify for a mortgage. To have a mortgage, you have to have mortgage insurance (homeowners, fire, contents, etc). You have to "furnish" the house and put up deposits for the utilities.
Given that you are both living with parents, looks like you have never lived on your own, in either case, and you want to live together married or not, you need to start small, like your own apartment / rental to see if you can handle that part first off, and you need to be SAVING money for a start.
You are already in the hole and you haven't even started yet.
Sorry, but I truly wish the best for you.

And people blame the banks for this housing crisis!!!

You have written everything down that you can possibly think of INCLUDING public welfare which means money from people not on welfare, and you still are short. And there is soooo much more you didn't include like well water. Owning a home is a HUGE expense and if you don't have the money for regular maintenance what are you going to do if the furnace goes out, refrigerator brakes, new tires, care brakes.......

Since you guys want to be grown ups, why don't you guys take over your parents payments (everything) for 2 months and see how you make it. Then go from there.

And I will tell you it's a terrible idea to buy a house with a boyfriend!!! I have been in the mortgage business for 20 years, I've seen a lot.

Ugh. Typed up a book and then lost it!

I don't see property taxes, water, sewerage, retirement, college fund, emergency fund, or Murphy's Law fund on your list.

Your mortgage should be about 25% of your NET income. In your case, that would put you at right around a $500 payment (including property taxes in that).

You cannot afford this house. I'm sorry. :(

You cannot "count on" horses OR children for income. IF you get that--it's gravy.

Do you want to raise your child on THAT tight of a shoestring?

Get pre-approved. Cut that in half. That's realistic. I'm betting it's somewhere in the neighborhood of a 50K property,

I'm sorry - you cannot afford this home. In this economy - I don't know how ANY lender would let you borrow for a home it is clear you cannot afford.

If you are applying for EBT - you DEFINITELY cannot afford it. If you can't afford to put food on your table now - you can't afford a mortgage.

Do you have the down payment?
Do you have a slush fund or emergency fund? Water heaters are expensive when they break.
Do you have your closing costs?

You are depending upon money that is not there - have you found the costs for boarding the animals? Business license? Insurance?

What about day care? I know my daughters won't be stepping into a providers home that does not have a license with tax number, certifications and licenses.

You cannot afford this home.

As someone who has accepted foodstamps when we really needed it when I could not work, and also as a person of lower income who lives without them even though we qualify, I have only this advice for you: do NOT buy a home you can't afford. And you can't afford this home. We make roughly as much as you and paid 65k for our home. We bought well within our means, our mortgage payment (including taxes and insurance) is less than 25% of our take home pay, and there have been times that we had to do without because of home repairs or unexpected bills, even then. And you can count on all kinds of unexpected things with a home, but you still have to pay your mortgage.

Do you have the 20% deposit? If not, that's another sign you are not ready to buy a house.

You can not afford this house. I am surprised in this market that you can even get a mortgage. If you can get a mortgage you will probably be paying a very high interest rate since you are at a high risk of defaultng on the loan.
Does the current owner already have paying boarders for the stalls? What if you can't find anyone that wants to board their horse?
Do you realize all the stress you are signing up for when you can't pay your monthly bills?

We make about the same amount of money, (actually a little more) and no way can we afford to buy. Our rent is $975 (which sounds like a lot, but it's a run down 50 year old house in an older neighborhood, it is expensive around here for renters)... but buying would be more b/c of the property taxes, home owners insurance, repairs, and we really want a new job and don't want to be tied down to a house should we have to relocate. Don't forget you need an emergency fund, retirement fund and extras for clothing/entertainment and all that. And the down payment, inspection, closing costs just to get into the house...

So, renting may be your only option... also I would go back to school, so you aren't stuck in a Walmart job making barely anything. You will have to take out student loans, but it will propel you into a better career so you won't constantly be living paycheck to paycheck with no savings and relying on the govt to buy your groceries.

You can't think of horse boarders or children to watch as reliable monthly income, what if you only get one horse, or none? I've done home daycare, a lot of people don't pay, and you can often go months without having a child to watch. And if you do get children and horses, how are you going to have the time to take care of them both?

Also, why is he so adamant at staying at his current job? He should be looking for better employment that can provide more financial security.

To be honest - it doesn't sound like you can afford this house. The gas for his commute will be on the short side. Since he will be traveling more/longer his rates will most likely go up...

This isn't about buying a home with a boyfriend. This is about buying a home you clearly cannot afford. Sorry - you can't afford groceries and you are going for State/Federal assistance? How the heck can you afford the house?

* Property taxes (in VA we have the option to pay these on our own)
* PMI - since you are first time homebuyers you might have to pay PMI.
* savings? (YES! YOU STILL NEED TO DO THIS) what will you do if the well dries up? what will you do if the heater breaks?
* home owners insurance? (again in VA - this is an OPTION not mandatory!)
* animal insurance - specifically horse insurance for BOARDERS!

ETA: Property Insurance and Property Taxes can be rolled into the loan and put in an escrow account and paid for you...when I said options...they are not options like you don't need to get them - they are options that you can pay on your own versus being included in the mortgage and held in escrow.

Do you have the animal insurance for the boarders you WANT?
Have you lined any boarders up?
What about food for the horses? water to the barn?
What will you do if the pipes freeze and burst and there is no water for the horses?
Have you tried to advertise yet?
Do you have the money to front the feed for the horses or even advertising?
Do you have a business license to run a horse boarding business?
Do you have the money for advertising?

Are you planning on saving for college? don't you plan on bettering yourself or saving for your son's college?

In regards to the propane usage, you are going off another home - instead of the home you are looking at. Is your grandparents home the exact same home? Was it built at the same time by the same builder? So it is VERY hard to compare apples to oranges. My electric bill is NOT the same as my neighbors..that's the truth. Plain and simple.

Were you approved for the loan? The bank said that you could afford this home? I'm finding that hard to believe if you have almost $1K difference between incoming funds and outgoing debt.

Since Justin is what 30 now? His insurance MAY drop if he is a "family man". Have you or he spoke to his company in regards to his health insurance? Will they allow you to be on his policy if you are not married? You say you are doing a JOP ceremony - so you may be able to get on his insurance when you show a marriage certificate...

What about operating a day care? Do you have a business license or certification to do this? Does your county or city require a license? Do you have accounting books set up to account for your money? Because most people who pay you to take care of their kids will want a TAX ID# so they can write their child care expenses off at the end of the year...do you have one?

You may see me as negative and not wanting this to happen for you. I do. But if you are relying on State Assistance before you even get into the place - you can't afford it. You have dreams - that's great - but there's a reality to those dreams. I want to open up shooting range...but in order to do that - I have to have licenses, insurance, etc.

If I had a horse - I wouldn't board it with you until you could produce a business license, insurance, etc....this is part of the homework or process you need to think about.

If my kids were of day care age - I would want and expect you to have a TAX ID# - license, insurance, certifications in CPR, first aid, etc. Since it's a business you MAY qualify for state aid for day cares - contact one of the other mom's on here that is a day care provider and find out what she has to do....you might find it's a little bit more than babysitting. This isn't something you start and then get some kids in and 6 months down the road say "oooh this is not working out"...most private day cares are open from 0600 to 7PM...there is one mom on here who operates her day care 24 hours a day!!!

This is a HUGE commitment. HUGE. Your numbers right now state you can't do it. You are factoring in "maybes" with day care and boarders. But like I pointed out there is a LOT that goes into those things as well.

You left off property tax and home owners insurance.

Are you pre-aproved for a mortgage at this price? Banks won't lend more money than they are reasonably sure you can pay back (especially now with all the foreclosures... they can't afford even the risks they were taking a few years back). It just seems unlikely that you'll qualify for a mortgage AND EBT. They are kind of looking for OPPOSITE factors in your income.

Also, has your boyfriend verified that he can add YOU to his health insurance through a "family plan." Typically, only spouses (with marriage certificate for proof) and children (with birth certificate) can be added. Even then, there are specific rules about WHEN you may change your plan to add or drop dependents.

You may run into a similar issue with the car insurance. I'd have him call HR and his auto insurance company NOW so you can deal with the reality instead of making plans that you might not even be able to follow through on (money aside).

Do you have $4000-$6000 for closing on the house come signing time? And $400 for the inspections, and other fees when you get the keys? This is stuff that takes a lot of cash right now, and leaves you with very little in the bank to make the first payment. You could be setting yourselves up to forecloser in your 3rd month of homeownership. Then you wont even have the money for a deposit on a cheap apartment. Its called homeless and it might not be what you had in mind. Id be looking into renting right now, and get out of the parents home and live slightly stress free. Worry about buying a home later.

You are counting on food stamps as income, and that is not the way to look at it. The other mamas told you many things you have not factored in yet, so I hope you look at everyone's advice. You say you are both miserable where you are at, so I can see why you are itching to move. However, renting in the area you want to be in while you pay debts and save for a home purchase is not a bad idea. You don't need to buy now, and I do not believe you are ready to yet. If you buy now you will surely be in over your heads right from the get-go, and who needs that stress? Take your time, plan it out, work toward it, and set realistic goals along the way. Planning on taking food stamps and getting a new mortgage at the same is not a sound plan.

Well some people have visions of granduer and you are one. You are so "adamant" about being in one place and so on and can't afford the pot to piss in. Sorry to be so blunt but you two can't afford to buy a house. You have bills that are old and need to be paid for before you "think" about a home of your own.

Listen to these wise women. We don't want you to not have a home of your own we want you to have a home when you can afford all of the things that go into home ownership and responsibility.

You can never count your chickens (horses/kids) before they hatch. The only money you can count on is what you make nothing more or nothing less.

To make things work you would have to pair down quite a bit of your expenses. Even if you do find an apartment you still do not have enough money to go it alone. You guys are going to have to stay at home for a bit longer before you have your own home -- sorry. That's just the way it is. Stubborn heads don't make good judgements. Better to plan and take baby steps than to jump out into the deep end of the pool without a life line.

Try this again in three years instead of shooting yourself in the foot.

The other S.

Homeowners insurance and property taxes are usually always figured into your mortgage payment...so does your figure of $900 include those?

You do not say what size the house will be but to me the $150 for electricity is low but I don't know?

Other than that I can not think of anything else?

I can tell you are excited about the prospect of buying a house, THIS house in particular...and I *hate* to be a Debbie-Downer but I feel the need, as a taxpayer especially, to say that if you are counting on getting foodstamps to help you out it is my *opinion* that you can NOT afford this house. Sorry Sister!

Homeowners insurance
Property taxes
Car tag fees yearly
Car inspection yearly
Car routine care and repair
Food/ medical care for the animals you'll take in
Food for children you babysit plus any state permits, etc

Bottom line. .. This is not affordable for the amount of money you generate.

Think delayed gratification and staying out of debt. I could care less if you're buying with your bf. you either can or can't afford this... You can't.

I'm sorry but be responsible and do the right thing.

Hi honey! Reading your posts I see myself a million years ago, wanting it all and wanting it now. I also think you come here looking for some approval you aren't getting from anyone in you real life. Please, please take what all these women have taken the time to say to you as a gift meant to help you, not shoot you down. They speak from experience and want to save you from making a bad situation worse. If you really want to be together you can be together anywhere but struggling to have enough money makes life very, very stressful. I really can't recommend it and this is what everyone is trying to tell you. Please, please stop, take a deep breath and slow down. You will be better off and what is meant to be will happen in a better way when you are better prepared.

Purchasing a house is expensive. Not just the price, but there are extra transfer fees, some of which are paid for by the purchaser. Did you account for moving expenses? What about your savings? You need to put a percentage of income aside each month for your retirement, as well as an emergency fund for WHEN (not IF) your roof needs replacing, exterior and interior maintenance etc. Sometimes there is a business case for renting. Something else to consider? Even if all your plans to make a bit more money came to fruition, you'll still need to scrimp and save every month. It's not so fun to own a place when an ice cream cone seems way beyond your budget. What about holding off until you have saved a decent down payment and have an emergency fund ready so you can live a little AND afford your house?

I won't comment much on the figures you're presenting, since I think others have tried to point out that getting in over your head is a bad idea.

However, I will speak to the specifics of the horse boarding dream: You need to think about that as a business and come up with an actual business plan. Because otherwise, you're going to have a mess on your hands in a real hurry. Yes, you can augment your income by running a small boarding facility. However, you will need additional insurance for the property and for the liability (what if a boarder's horse gets hurt because you failed to keep up on fence maintenance? What if a board gets hurt on your property and sues you??). You need to have the funds to pay for the feed (hay & grain), plus the bedding. And if you're a full care facility, you need to find the time, energy and will power to get out there every day and feed the horses in the am and pm, do turnout, and clean stalls every day, and generally look after the well being of the horses that others own. I have friends who run or have operated boarding farms in the past and dealing with the customers will be the worst part of it, in their opinions-boarders stiffing you on payment, not showing up for vet appointments/farriers and expecting you to "help them out just this once" (etc.). .... Do you have the time, & energy to do that?

Your dream of a farm could quickly turn into a nightmare of debt and labor for other people if you're not careful.

You've answered your own question, but you seem to be too stubborn to admit what is so obvious - you absolutely CANNOT afford this home! Just going by your numbers, you would be in the hole over $10k each year. And there are things you haven't considered (as other people have posted out). And what about a SAVINGS?? for emergencies, the future, etc. Like others have said, "planning" on the horse boarders & children, etc. that's great and all but are you set up for that? How long would it take and how much money to be certified, have the insurance, etc. I am sorry, I know what it's like to WANT it all, and want it all right now. But these are dreams, you are not being realistic at all.

I don't know what EBT is, but from the other responses it sounds like some sort of gov't assistance program?? Dear God I hope that's not what it is! If that is the case, shame on you. Do you realize who funds gov't assistance? the rest of us taxpayers!! Hello. It is not meant to help people who WANT to have a house, with tv, internet, all the bells & whistles, etc. Those programs should be for those who truly need assistance with the basics, food, etc. The hardworking single mom with 2 jobs trying to support her family, etc.

I would say, if you have a decent amount of money saved for this ambition to start - for all the downpayments, to cover the difference, etc. to account for the time it would take to find horse boarders, kids, etc. you would have a very slim chance of making a go of it. I just think that is too much money to have to make up, esp. since you have left a few things out, and not mentioned a savings, are hoping for gov't assistance, etc. Are you guaranteed to get horse boarders & kids? What about money for FUN things? Will you ever do anything outside the house? Which pool is that money coming out of?

I don't understand, if the main point is to be together and get out of your parents houses, why not rent first??? An apartment or a house. You are not interested in renting - why? just because you don't want to? It is much smarter to live together as cheaply as possible & SAVE up a decent sum of money first.

I truly hate to sound negative, I really do. And I think owning a house (you can afford!) is a wonderful thing. However you just seem to be not wanting to consider what 99% of the people responding here are trying to say to HELP you, not bring you down. I truly hope you will take that into consideration. If you take this house, I would be shocked if you were still affording it a year from now. Take it from the rest of us homeowners, there is sooo much more to consider.

Please be smart about this, don't let your 'wants' get in the way of the reality of the situation.

How does your boyfriend get family insurance?
Why are you trying for EBT?
SO I am not commenting on you moving in with your boyfriend, I am trying to understand when I have lived in the same tiny house for seventeen years why I couldn't have gotten all the extras you are mentioning.

You forgot something: an addition $250 a month for household repair. I kid you not, and this is a very generous monthly average. Ideally, you need an extra $400-500 a month for home repairs. 3 months after moving into our house, we had $3k in plumbing work done.

What about property tax and house insurance?

I would not buy a house unless you had an extra $500 a month. So I'd figure out how to start making the extra money, and then worry about buying a home. If you buy without the actual means, you will be even more miserable when you have to declare bankruptcy and your lose everything.

I'm sorry, but it doesn't sound like you can afford a home at this time.

Ditto all the previous responses, and I might also ask:
Have you given any thought to WHY this home is "pretty cheap compared to other houses we have looked at in this area"? Are there problems with it? Repairs that will be needed? soon? Even IF you could afford the expenses you listed, I see no fund for "Murphy". You know... of Murphy's Law? Because he WILL move in if you don't have a line item in your budget for him... what do you think it might be? The dishwasher goes out? The furnace needs replacing? The plumbing leaks? Discovering mold in the basement? Plumbing leaks AND mold in the basement? The almost paid off car needing an expensive repair? Someone hitting the car and totaling it, and its bluebook value not being high enough to pay for a replacement?

You need to save up some CASH before you even THINK about running your own household. And then you need to rent something small, so you can see how it plays out... Wouldn't it be nice to KNOW what the insurance will cost you/your boyfriend (health and car) and what kind of assistance you will actually receive, before you have signed a mortgage obligating you to pay something you may not be able to afford?

You don't have homeowners insurance property taxes or PMI (private mortgage insurance) which, if you are getting an FHA loan, or have less than I believe 10% you will have to pay that in addition to your mortgage and this is generally not added into most mortgage calculators.

There is no way to make this work given the scenario. I'm sorry! If you even have the 3% needed to put down on a house...then you go on gov't assistance?

Let's just talk about the most obvious out of control expense--600.00 in gas. That's insane. ESPECIALLY given your income. 25% of your income is going to GAS to get to work? You really can't have it all. You can get to be with your boyfriend AND have a house AND stay in the school district.

Also, you're not going to get approved for a house at that price. Your housing expenses cannot exceed 30% (750.00) of your income and housing expense PLUS total debts cannot exceed 41% (984.00) of gross income. Not to mention as others have said, you wouldn't have $$ for house repairs, city assessments, savings...etc.

If you're just talking about rent, you're not going to make it based on the scenario you've described. You'll never get ahead, never have savings.

Here are some ways in which you can start to cut back: No cable, no internet. Nice to have, sometimes very important to have but based on the scenario, you can't afford it.

But the 600.00 gas expense is a non-starter. In other words, you can't get around the fact that you are asking the gov't (taxpayers) to subsidize your food for your family because you don't want to move closer to your boyfriends job and are literally pumping your entire food budget and then some into your gas tank (not to mention, gas is a variable expense).

Here's what you probably can afford:

No more than 720.00 in rent. This is the tippety top of your budget for rent. Ideally, I would say this should cover total housing expenses including utilities. Given your medical expenses, car payments, insurance, rent, cable, internet and cell phone that puts you around 1850, leaving you 550 for the rest of the month for food and other expenses. THIS IS DOABLE. Especially if you forgo the cable and internet. It's tight, very tight...but you can make this work and even tuck away a tiny amount for savings....

But the gas issue is a non starter. You literally eat up all your remaining budget in gas and then some...so even at your most conservative and realistic price point, you can't buy food, you can't buy clothes or makeup or anything..not to mention car repair, oil changes, or even WASHER fluid.

It's irresponsible to take money from the gov't just because you're unhappy at your parents house. There are MANY people who need it who don't have other options. YOU DO. You need to make some sacrifices. Give up the school district, sell your car, carpool to work with your boyfriend. So many ways to consolidate. You need to make sacrifices if you want to start living as an adult. Also, you didn't mention any child support. I don't know if the child's father is deceased or incarcerated but if not you should pursue that aggressively against future earnings even if he's unemployed.

I hope things work out for you in the future!

oh man, i'm ready to buy my own home too girl, but it looks like if you're $845 in the whole already every month....i don't see how you could do it. there are other expenses to consider of course but there's no reason to touch on that b/c you're already way over your limit. not your fault, just have to (in my opinion) find a cheaper house. the only house i can afford is approx $60K b/c i know i can't pay more than $600/month.
and you gotta have a chunk of savings going back to cover unexpected. you're not doing bad by any means, in fact i think quite well. esp since you're thinking about it all first. i personally just don't think i could do this right now. hope that wasn't mean, saying that w/personal experience of being broke, etc. i hope you get what you can afford & love though sweetie!

You sure are doing alot of homework on this upcoming move...I hope you are not one of the ones that ends up having to figure out everything and keep everything going and make everything work...while he just drives a crazy amount of miles to and from work everyday....and you are left to figure it all out and keep your heads above water. I wish you luck...and I hope you have thought about the huge amount of responsibility you are undertaking.Frankly, it is sounding more and more like a dream.One more thing...are you two not getting married so you can reap the benefits of welfare?I really don't know where the term "pipe dream" came from....but you are trying to live one with nothing to support it! My vote is....Don't buy the house!!!!!period.

Just off the top of my head home owner's insurance and hazard insurance depending on how much you put down on the house (if you don't put down enough the mortgage company will require hazard insurance). Property tax which would be on the house and your vehicles.

EBT will NOT cover paper products - only food. Have you even applied for a house loan yet? One look at your budge and I'm sure most banks will deny you. You are setting yourself up to fail. Wait a couple years until you are more financially sound and try again.

To make a budget, start with what you make now. Don't count on what you could make if you get that full time job. That goes in one column, the bills you have to have go in the next column, the fluff bills (cell phones, dish network and internet) goes into a third. Then add the columns. The bill column which should also have a savings plan of 8 - 10% of your income, should not be more then your income column. Did you add in an estimate for clothing and household goods? The fluff column should be added in the bill column and the combined should not be more then your income column. If it is then you need to get rid of the fluff.

Ways to save money is get a consolidated loan for carpayments, medical bills and other loans (not house loans) you have to cut down the amount of interest you are paying. Buying clothes at second hand stores and fix meals that will have left overs for a couple nights. I use to make a roast, then we would have hot beef sandwiches, stew or beef barley soup. If I made a whole chicken or turkey I would make soup with the bones. Get rid of the dish and go to watching videos or better yet, playing games and reading books with the kids. Making a craft and trying to sell it.

Things you may have forgotten is the house insurance and property taxes. Also what about money saved for closing costs? Money put aside for repairs? We had to replace the roof and the dishwasher the first few months of moving in our house. Since then we replaced the water heater, the washer and dryer, the fridge, windows, siding, porches and in dire need to replace carpet and fix some problems in the bedroom. We have been in our house for 19 years though.

I am not trying to discourage you, but are you really prepared to put yourself in this much financial debt?

Don't forget the property taxes, home insurance and regular home maintenance costs (including those 'oops! the dishwasher just broke' kinda stuff. :) Good luck!

Are you sure your BF can upgrade to a family plan on the insurance? Most insurances would require you to be married or, if just adding a child, that the child be his bio child or a child he has guardianship of. There has to be a "legal" connection. But maybe his insurance is different; just something to check in to.

The only other thing I didn't see mentioned was homeowners insurance. I pay about $900 per year. Don't know what it would be in your area. You might have to get additional coverage if you're going to board horses so that's another thing to look in to.

As for adding your car to Justin's insurance, I think he will have to be on the title. I had to put my name on my husband's work van in order to get it insured as an additional vehicle under my policy. Another thing to look in to. But even if you can't add it to his, depending on your age and driving record, you could still get good coverage for $125 monthly.

Another thing I don't see bugeted for is water. The cost of water varies widely so you should ask your grandparents what they are paying. Remember, if you're going to board horses, you will probably use more water than your grandparents so keep that in mind.

The only other suggestion I have for making more money would be to do something like sell Avon or Pampered Chef or something like that. I know Wal-Mart is cutting hours. My neice works for Wal-Mart as an overnight stocker and they cut them to 7 hours per day instead of 8. The checkers' hours were also cut.

You need a reality check. You have nothing in your budget for emergencies such as your burner breaking down, your well pump burning out, broken pipes, backed up septic system, and thousands of other things that can go wrong. YOu has given you the idea that you'll qualify for a mortgage?

I"m not trying to rain on your parade but owning a home is really, really , really costly. Just painting and fixing up a room with curtains and a matching bedspread can cost a fortune these days. Also - homeownership is way over rated. Before you insist on owning you should rent an apartment together. And let the landlord be the financially responsible party for all the things that could go wrong.

In the first 5 years of owning our house we needed a new roof ($5K), a new waste line ($2K) a new cesspool ($5K), giant tree removal after a hurricane ($2K). We were broke - and we bought a house that was WAY UNDER our budget and ability to pay for. The real estate people kept trying to sell us more expensive homes telling us our income qualified us for a bigger more elaborate home - but we were firm that we did not want to be house-poor.

You do not want to start your life together bickering about money and not being able to pay for the smallest thing. The thing that ruins more marriages is money. He will constantly tell you you're spending too much (diapers, toddler clothes, groeceris, etc) - you'll tell him the stuff he spends money on is not important, etc.

Living in an apartment until you can afford a house is not a bad thing - it's a good thing. There are many, many, many times I regret pushing to buy a house so quickly - there's plenty of time to do so in the future.

its going to be a while for your child to be old enough to be in school. Why not purchase a home close to his job in your range and then when your child is old enough for school relocate? You bf/soon to be husbands time with his child is worth more than a school district. He won't be involved at all during his work week if he has to commute that far. I'm sure your son would rather an active daddy before a certain school distrcit. Also living that far away wll wear on your relationship.

You won't be able to get a mortgage in this financial climate, so it's a moot point. Find a rental in that school district, possibly with some utilities included - and make sure your landlord is responsible to upkeep the house and property. Don't get involved in something you can't get out of.

Sorry to be a bummer - but, it is what it is.

I know you say you are adamant about the school district, but I would encourage you to look at that again. You don't give the reasons for that. School districts really have relatively little effect on your child's overall education experience. Statistics are very skewed when it comes to schools. Parental involvement in the child's education is a much bigger predictor of success.

Some of the biggest budget cutting things we do in our household: No cable TV, $20/month Internet plan, fix our own cars (you did not include car repair costs in your budget and with the miles you are talking about driving your vehicles will take a beating), live within 2 miles of son's school and less than 5 miles from our work places, buy all clothes at the thrift store. We use cloth napkins, cloth diapers, cloth wipes, cloth rags for cleaning (I buy about 3 rolls of TP and 1 roll of paper towels a month, we also reuse/wash plastic baggies).

Please listen to the people on here that are telling you, your current plans are not feasible. You will need to compromise in some way or you will end up homeless and miserable. But if you compromise on location and the TV/Internet stuff, you could pull it off.

Be cautious about the horse boarding...check into additional insurance costs, are you providing the hay and what will it cost, pasture upkeep costs, barn maintenance...$150/month is really cheap boarding for a horse (I usually paid a minimum of $200 and that was for pasture board only). Boarding horses sounds fun but is an insane amount of work. Also check into the laws regarding child care in your home, additional insurance costs, food costs, etc versus the going rate for child care in your area.

Everybody else already said just about everything there is to say, but I'd also like to point out that your son is only 15 months old. Being in the "right" school district is hardly something you need to worry about yet. In fact, you could go to school yourself and work towards a degree that would land you a better paying job. You'd be almost done by the time you need to think about school districts for your son. I know this is true because it's pretty much what I did. The Pell Grant is a beautiful thing (money for school that you don't have to pay back).

You may want to look for a less expensive home. The bank will not lend money that you cannot pay. The bank will look at all your current bills and also consider future bills (utilities). You do not want to extend yourself beyond what you can afford because houses need constant maintenance (even new homes). Most banks want you to have at least two months of payments in a savings account and for the mortgage to not exceed one to two weeks salary (this would be for you and your boyfriend combined). I am not against you buying a home with your boyfriend if you were married first and got divorced you will still have to decide who gets the house and/or the other person would have to buy out half.

I did not see property taxes or home owners insurance. These are things that you have to add in as well.
What kind of heating does this home have? Electric, Natural Gas or Propane?
You say it has well water does it also have a septic system? And is it in functioning condition? My first home I had to dig up the septic and replace it even though it passed inspection when I bought the house. You need to plan for things not working and/or breaking, trust me I own a few homes and s%#@ happens when you least expect it. I think the most expensive part of owning a home is the constant maintenance or home repairs.

will you have a land line phone? what about home owners insurance (I pay mine once a year). also don't forget about property taxes.
when it comes to gas for the vehicles - any chance of car pooling or anything to help out with that?
What will you have to buy to live in the house - furniture, dishes, curtains, etc...
Good luck!

You spend 435 dollars on health?!? CRAZY. YES, I don't have health insurance... BUT, between my husband and I, we don't spend that much a YEAR for out-of-pocket paid-in-full bills for us. YIKES, that is a lot monthy.

Also, if you are scraping that hard, I'd drop the internet and TV. Those are not necessities.

Also, by guessing, you will not be approved for food stamps, and no, food stamps do NOT cover paper products or pet products or other household things.

You all are also paying TOO MUCH for car insurance!!! We have three cars, and also under our same insurance is our home-owners insurance as well as renters insurance for a place we rent for my husband's business. It is all $140 a month.

So, consider those things as possible changes.

...and It really doesn't sound like you are ready to own a home. There's also the possibility of something happening to an appliance or the house itself, and when you are renting, you don't have to worry about those costs, BUT, it is all on you if you own.

I suggest renting and finding a place that has utilities included in the rent ...and saving money, waiting for another job to open and THEN look to get your own place.

What Kate S. said...
"We currently make around $2400 a month."
No lender will give you a loan with a monthly payment is more than about $600. The rule is they'll CONSIDER lending if the payment is around 30% of your total income but you have not included property taxes and home insurance in your figures.
Doesn't matter what we think, get pre-qualified before wasting anymore time.

You have forgotten that with owning a house you will have property taxes and you will have to have house insurance. These are other costs to add in to your list.

Then there are the things that need fixing in the house. They will do an inspection but the seller is not obliged to fix everything on the list, only those that are legally mandated, which is surprisingly little off those lists as we've discovered in the 2 homes we've bought. In the first year of owning this house we replaced the water heater after it sprung a leak, replaced broken closet doors, all the bathrooms were carpeted so we had to put linoleum because potty training a boy in a carpeted bathroom is nasty along with cat litter boxes etc. One of the bedrooms upstairs in the house had a big loft opening wall that we had to drywall in to make a proper wall so our not yet 2 year old could not climb over the wall and fall 2 stories into the living room below. Discovered that there were major leaks and broken pipes in the outdoor yard system and we ended up digging up a large portion of our yard finding and fixing them. We also found out that the back yard flooded so badly when it rained that it was damaging the side wall of the house and was nearing damaging the foundation so we had to dig up a bunch of the yard and install drainage pipes. We had the main water main to the house break. We discovered that there were many DIY electrical wirings that were done wrong and unsafe that we had to repair and bring to code.There were several other things. Thankfully we made sure to have "Oh S#!+" money as my mom called it so we could cover all the things that came about immediately after moving in.
Talk to the realtor about what expenses really go into buying a house to make sure you can actually afford to do it.

You also haven't budgeted in any money to support you and your son. What about clothes? What about entertainment? What about day care (super pricey!) What about future medical bills (kids get sick a LOT). What about an emergency fund for home repairs, loss of a job, etc. It's super great that your neighborly tax payers in MN get to pay for your choices through EBT. Awesome.
If I were you, I would take advantage of your current situations living with your parents, get an extra job and start putting every extra dime aside toward your dream of moving in together. Are you parents helping take care of your son when you work? If you can make it work towards that goal, your relationship really will be stronger. EBT is a stop gap, but if you move forward with this scenario, you will be on EBT forever, without any savings or financial security for you or your son.
For taking on extra children to care for in your home, be careful about state licensing requirements. Above 3 kids and most states require full day care licensing - Not easy to comply with.

I'd say you are not ready to own a home. Find a reasonable place to rent and save your money. You have not considered your credit card bill. Stuff needs to be repaired all the time in a home. You should be looking to live BELOW your income level so you can save and get ahead. If you move forward with this you will be struggling financially for a very, very long time.

What happens if one of you loose you job? Yikes.