I am going to try to get a house in a year or so, In military, need advice.

Wow. I would wait until you have about $10,000 in savings. Owning a house gets expensive. It isn’t just the mortgage payments, it’s the repairs you have to do. If you work hard at starting to save some money by the time you get out of the military you could very well have that amount in the bank.

Then I would also wait until you have a confirmed job and so know what your monthly income will be. That way you will know how much house you can afford to buy.

In addition, things can change in two years. You might meet someone, or get offered a job somewhere else, or even decide to re-up. I suspect that house prices will still be decent in two years, and by then you will have a few more certainties and some savings.

Skip the American Dream until you find a job. A few years isn’t going to kill you. My mom and sister think paying rent is tossing money down the drain. I would rather rent and make a call when the roof needs to be replaced.

Thanks @johnpowell, the roof lol, nice. @Darwin Yeah I just don’t know how I can do that savings. I’m thinking of selling my mistake of a car which loan is 8800 right now. Now don’t get me wrong I know how to budget etc.. but It’s motivation more for me.

I would delay buying a house until you have some savings. You are relying on collecting rent from others, but what if you are not able to find roomates quickly or they fail to pay? You have to be prepared for soething to go wrong. I think you should plan on living with roommates for a year and save up some money.

Also, use a realtor when you decide to look, you pay nothing, the commissions are all paid by the seller and the realtor can help guide you through the process.

@vicnay – I know when my husband was in the military he could have his pay deposited in more than one account. In his case, before he met me, it was to his checking account and to pay off his ever-present loan from the credit union. However, if you can split your deposit so that something goes into a savings account every time you get paid, you can “pretend” that money doesn’t exist so it can grow unimpeded.

Once we decided to marry I paid off that loan for him and then took the amount he had been paying in interest and put it in savings.

And if you sell your car would you be able to get enough for it to pay off that $8800 loan? If not, then it would be silly to end up without a car as well as without any money. Your best bet, actually, is pay off the car early if you can and then put the same amount as the car payment into savings. I once read an article that said that if you routinely have your car paid for, and you typically keep it ten years, you will save $100,000 before you know it.

You need at least $10,000 in savings before buying a house doesn’t turn into a financial disaster. The reason why is, all houses need repairs and upgrades. Buying a house involves upkeep to have it hold its value, and that can be expensive. When things break, you’re the one that has to pay for the repairs. A hot water heater’s easily $500, painting, even if you do it yourself, could be $1000 for just paint. When you buy a house, you have to be able to keep it up or it will fall apart around your ears.

Wait. Wait wait wait. You are not ready, and don’t seem to have a long term plan. Finish your 2 years and in the meantime, work on devising that plan. That means make job contacts, getting a good job, and working that job and saving for as long as it takes. The goal is not to do this as quickly as you can, it’s quite the opposite. You wouldn’t want to jump into marriage quickly, and you want to take your time with this as well. It’s a big commitment. You cannot rely on roommates’ contribution alone. Ideally, you could live with parents or siblings or somewhere free for a few years while you save. If you can’t do that, get an inexpensive apartment, try to split rent with someone. Anyway, I know you don’t want a lecture.

The $10,000 figure is a good place to start, but you probably want a little extra for any repairs, the first couple months’ mortgage, furnishings, food, etc.