Buying a Home

i disagree with the idea you can afford a home that's two to four times your annual gross income. To base affordability on in come is incredibly risky from my perspective, because you could lose your income at any moment. For me, personally, i didn't feel i could afford to buy a home until other financial goals were met. I first got out of consumer debt, started fully funding my retirement vehicles and had a year of penses as a cash cushion before i considered buying a house. If you can do really well in the areas of housing, transportation and food,. You're pretty much set up to be able to navigate whatever life throws at you. And you have many more options.