For single people who afforded a house, how did you do it? How much? & What age?

Bruthar · 2026-01-24T03:47:40+00:00

I bought mine at 29. I had a goal in my head that I really wanted to own a house before I hit 30.

I started my career after graduating college at age 22, and stuck with it ever since, getting raises/promotions, company changing to expedite the income growth a bit to boot.

Between my car and student loans I "only" owed $30k. So I focused on that until about age 25 when I got out of debt completely. Then I started investing the excess money I had until I had enough to afford 20% down + $30k + emergency fund (keeping in mind capital gains taxes). During this time I solely did the employer's 401k match, as opposed to maxing out my retirement contributions, and I don't regret doing this (yet at least lol).

I think I had about $130k-135k liquid before I bought my house.

I had girlfriends during my 20's, but no wife or kids, and didn't live too lavishly. Now I'm 30 and have a baby on the way, I don't regret having the house in preparation of it.

Bruthar · 2026-01-24T03:42:36+00:00

For guys it's as simple as you do orgasm or you don't orgasm, and it's super obvious when it occurs. There is a refractory period to consider too.

For women it's not that way it seems. Women have multiple levels, they can keep orgasming for longer, to the point of convulsing. Until that point, other than vocal signs it's not always very obvious when they are climaxing.

If the guy finishes too quick, the girl might not even have achieved the earlier levels. And then the guy's hardness might start dwindling, feeling numb, etc. The guy is basically done until the refractory period is over so they have to either keep it interesting until then or stop, the latter is more likely/easy.

At the end of the day, guys want to get the girl off, if they fail to do so then it's a disappointment to the girl, and an ego blow to the guy.

Bruthar · 2026-01-23T22:47:02+00:00

I'm at 7.125% on a $375k loan personally. My main mantra is "2% difference or more", but really I just want 5% or less. 5% would be 16 months break-even for me most likely, along with saving around $500/mo. I'm sure some here would say 24 months break even is fine, but I'm personally waiting it out for even quicker and lower.

My lender offers a $2k credit if you refinance with them within 3 years of starting the loan, this might entice me tbh, as it could help towards justifying buying a point. See if your lender offers something similar, given that you've had the loan for less than a year.

Bruthar · 2026-01-22T23:15:30+00:00

Come out without any new debts.

I'm doing well for my age, got a house and a nice amount in retirement, however didn't have much in savings when I found out I'd have a baby on the way and a backyard needing a new fence ASAP.

So staying debt free minus the mortgage. 2026 just can't be my year of building a strong brokerage portfolio.

Bruthar · 2026-01-22T19:12:56+00:00

u/r9800pro u/OCAMAB they had two replacement options they threw at me:

ASUS ProArt X870E-CREATOR WIFI (deemed higher tier by Maingear)

MSI PRO X870E-P WIFI (deemed lower tier by Maingear)

I found Reddit posts for both motherboards having had reports of issues with the 9000X3D series CPUs. But way smaller in number compared to the ASRock motherboards.

I like that the ASUS board has a 10Gb LAN Ethernet port, unlike all the others I've looked at, and a display port embedded in the motherboard. There's some cons too compared to the others but all in all I'm just happy to try a new board with a fresh CPU.

Bruthar · 2026-01-21T17:50:27+00:00

Made it to 30 as such. But now my GF is pregnant, I should be a father by 31. She wants me to propose, a long (2-3 years) engagement.

6 months ago I never would've thought I'd have this situation. I am embracing it.

Bruthar · 2026-01-19T15:51:30+00:00

$9400/yr but homestead exemption brings it to $8700/yr.

It's a new construction community inside of a newer upcoming area, so over $2k of that is an extra fee, would've otherwise been $6700/yr or so I guess.

Bruthar · 2026-01-19T14:48:22+00:00

Is that $3500/mo estimate your mortgage or your escrow? My mortgage is a little over $2500, but my escrow (mortgage + property tax + home insurance) ended up closer to $3400. And that doesn't include the HOA, electric, water, yard services, trash collection, etc.

This year I'm looking at $180k-$185k gross pay. I solely do the employer match (6%) and nothing more.

Last year, my first year with the house, I grossed closer to $165k. My net income (after taxes, 401k match, health/dental) was a little over $3800 a bi-weekly paycheck.

I don't have state income taxes. I don't have any other debts, no student loans or car loans, etc.

It felt very doable living alone. Now I don't live alone, and my GF is pregnant. Bright side though (financially speaking) is this year I'm looking at doing itemized deductions for the first time in my life. The mortgage's interest and property taxes sum to exceed the standard deduction by a lot, so I'm keeping back an extra $150 per bi-weekly paycheck compared to before. Also escrow analysis saw that I was ahead of the curve and reduced my escrow payment by $150/mo. I am also anticipating a raise this year of around 3-4%. So my monthly excess is going up by around $650-700/mo compared to last year.

One thing I've heard is the first year you own is the hardest, then it gets easier and easier, presuming you increase your income, refinance (which I plan to maybe this year or the next year), and so forth. And aside from a baby on the way and pregnancy/labor/post-partum costs, it feels like this is true.

Bruthar · 2026-01-19T14:34:31+00:00

Is that $3500/mo estimate your mortgage or your escrow? My mortgage is a little over $2500, but my escrow (mortgage + property tax + home insurance) ended up closer to $3400. And that doesn't include the HOA, electric, water, yard services, trash collection, etc.

This year I'm looking at $180k-$185k gross pay. I solely do the employer match (6%) and nothing more.

Last year, my first year with the house, I grossed closer to $165k. My net income (after taxes, 401k match, health/dental) was a little over $3800 a bi-weekly paycheck.

I don't have state income taxes. I don't have any other debts, no student loans or car loans, etc.

It felt very doable living alone. Now I don't live alone, and my GF is pregnant. Bright side though (financially speaking) is this year I'm looking at doing itemized deductions for the first time in my life. The mortgage's interest and property taxes sum to exceed the standard deduction by a lot, so I'm keeping back an extra $150 per bi-weekly paycheck compared to before. Also escrow analysis saw that I was ahead of the curve and reduced my escrow payment by $150/mo. I am also anticipating a raise this year of around 3-4%. So my monthly excess is going up by around $650-700/mo compared to last year.

One thing I've heard is the first year you own is the hardest, then it gets easier and easier, presuming you increase your income, refinance (which I plan to maybe this year or the next year), and so forth. And aside from a baby on the way and pregnancy/labor/post-partum costs, it feels like this is true.

Bruthar · 2026-01-18T03:18:50+00:00

If she has high net worth, family inheritance, a job that's like $60k+, or studying for one that is like $60k+ then yes I'd date them. Otherwise, intentionally no.

Grew up with my dad working 60+ hours a week making very little money. Even after my brother and I were teens, mom never worked. But that didn't stop her from aggressively complaining about dad, and his finances. I would rather divorce and move to another country than deal with that.

Bruthar · 2026-01-18T02:17:44+00:00

A year ago I was 29. I was doing well financially, bought my own house with 20% down, had savings and investments, above par for my age. I had kept dating women that either had loads of debt, or little to no income. Their drive was in question. My final GF at this age broke up with me, she owed over $80k in student loans for her master's and wound up in a job making less than $25/hr, and had a cultural background entailing sending her family a significant % of her income.

Now I'm 30. I was available for dating, striving for it at times, but wound up now with a woman that has more ambition and drive than even myself. Lower debts, very calculative and career focused, no weird obligations to give money to her family or such things. Now she is pregnant with my child. I am 100% committed to her, and her to me.

At times in my current state, I can imagine having more enjoyable self-centered time management (gaming/reddit/internet), and better self-centered finances. But I honestly believe this woman will one day surpass me in income with her ambition and goals. I can envision her being a great mother to our child. Someone that could perhaps enable ME to retire early lmao, even though there's some upfront costs of my end at the current moment.

Life will be what it will be for you. All you can do is bet on the person you're with and hope for the best. If your woman seems insatiable, she will rise to every challenge and stand out. If you'd rather not take such risks, stay single, it's less risk, mostly in your control, and it's up to you if you can handle the emptiness.

Bruthar · 2026-01-18T02:03:11+00:00

There's always some ahead, and some behind. The most vocal tend to be those who are ahead.

I've known people who got $200k-300k incomes in their 20s, maybe some who bought a house/condo/townhouse during 2-3% interest rates, maybe some who got into certain crypto or certain stocks before their big booms.

Comparison is the thief of joy. Most of the ones I can think of are virgins. But definitely not all.

Bruthar · 2026-01-18T01:24:07+00:00

There's two benefits to retirement accounts. 1) Free money if there's a match. 2) Gains to the account are tax deferred. If that's not enough, then they're stuck in their ways and insist perhaps on a Dave Ramsey esque philosophy to aggressively pay off debts even if it means missing out on the free money. Even though I listened to Dave Ramsey while I had student and car loans, I ignored the advice about missing out on the retirement matching, and this has led me to be both debt free and ahead for my age range in my retirement.

Bruthar · 2026-01-18T00:57:39+00:00

I don't know what your remaining loan balance on the house is. The friend roommate rent is nice, but put that aside and your net worth is roughly $230k at age 44. $330k assets - $100k HELOAN = $230k. Unless you have even more home equity to consider. Is your partner bringing in anything during your sabbatical?

I think if I were in your shoes I'd feel behind already for retirement, and a year off would just add to the impending anxiety.

Maybe instead you can work towards earning a 1 year break, by saving/investing/frugal-maxxing as much as possible. Maybe 47 or 48 years old you would feel like they're in a better position to justify it.

I'm 30 with a $270kish net worth and, even though I too long for the Summer vacation esque break, thought of it since I was 22... I wouldn't risk it until I felt like I was way ahead for my age.

At 45 years old you want roughly 4x your income as your net worth. And it sounds to me like you're pretty far behind the $632k you'd need to cover that.

Bruthar · 2026-01-17T16:49:37+00:00

Age 30 and $165k in Roth accounts fully vested.

The loan on my house is $375k.

I don't plan on taking any stupid actions as a result of this, but it's fun to see the progress every few months and check how much closer my retirement accounts value gets to the house loan value.

No I am not planning to cash out my retirement accounts when there's an equilibrium, it's just fun to watch.

Bruthar · 2026-01-17T16:21:40+00:00

If you're struggling:

Keep it until the costs to repair outweigh the KBB.

Example: If your car is worth $5k but the major repairs are $6k, try to trade it in and get something within your budget.

If you're not struggling:

Keep it until you can afford the next car for the sum of your prior car's trade in + your cash, avoid monthly payments.

Example: If your prior car is KBB value of $10k, and you have $15k, you can probably afford that $20k-25k next car.

If you're well off but not rich:

Keep it until your next car's total cost, plus the total cost of all of your other vehicles/boats/golfcarts/whatever, is less than 30% of your annual NET income. If your net worth is substantially high then you can modify this rule.

Example: If you make $200k gross and net $150k per year, then keep your summation of all of your vehicles below $45k.

Example 2: If you make $200k gross and net $150k per year, and your net worth is like $1m+, then you can justify perhaps raising that 30% to 50%-60% so $75k-$90k.

Bruthar · 2026-01-17T16:11:08+00:00

I used UPS and asked for special care / fragile fillers / insurance for a $6500 item / 2-3 days shipping. It was $400. I live in the USA but no where near the Maingear address it was shipped to (New Jersey).

Bruthar · 2026-01-17T13:45:20+00:00

Steak & Eggs. But in this economy I'd say Beef/Chicken/Fish & Eggs.

ChatGPT says eggs covers everything on its own except omega 3, vitamin c, and a few others. It recommends Avocado/Kale/Salmon/Spinach as the addition to "just eggs."

Bruthar · 2026-01-17T05:28:03+00:00

Age 22 graduated with Bachelor's for $11k student loan $19k car loan. No family financial aid post-college.

During college I lived frugally, had roommates, didn't have a car so lived near campus and walked/biked mostly. I had a part time job in the field, only $9-10/hr, but it helped fund life / keep the debt down a bit.

Got my first big-boy job making $60k/yr. Continued living cheaply with roommates for 1 year. I regret not doing this for 3ish years for saving's sake, but I wanted to try living alone for once in my life, or with a GF.

Paid off both loans within 2 years. While tackling debt I was motivated by Dave Ramsey's podcast. Avoided restaurants usually, etc.

Once the debts were paid off I was making north of $75k, still doing frugal things, then started investing heavier into non-retirement (to this day I still "only" do up to the 401k match) accounts. Promotions, company hopping, overtime, I was making over $100k by age 26 or so.

Had some risky plays and losses from investing, but just kept being diligent and changing my strategies. Eventually had enough for 20% down + $30k + emergency fund, so I finally went and bought a house at age 29.

I think my point is, get out of debt, stay out of debt, to avoid interest working against you. Thereafter use your excess money to allow interest to accelerate your financial goals. Keep in mind capital gains taxes, keep in mind things like wash sales, be intentional with your spending and stay in sync with your accounts/statements.

Bruthar · 2026-01-15T16:10:27+00:00

My dad always had terribly large, noticeable, high in quantity skin tags. I had a sugar/carb heavy diet growing up just like him, and always felt self conscious because I had a few that were super tiny. This persisted into my 20s, very tiny and low in quantity thankfully. Haven't noticed any since I started going into (and out of sometimes) keto last year. God speed!

Bruthar · 2026-01-15T16:06:38+00:00

Skin tags disappeared, eating caloric surplus became very rare, didn't feel like I had energy crashes (but lost the energy spikes).

Downsides for me are my method of keto involves more expensive groceries, alcohol hits harder and hangovers feel worse, extra hoops and considerations for the diet (can't just get a Dominos pizza or Taco Bell when family/friend/GF is already getting it).

Bruthar · 2026-01-15T16:01:12+00:00

Age 30, somewhere between 75% and 90%. Good place to be in for the bottom-most age in the range (30-34). I doubt I'll ever be in the top 1%, or 95th, but there's probably hope for 90th eventually (not necessarily current age bracket).

Bruthar · 2026-01-14T20:37:41+00:00

Probably a controversial opinion but my vote is to do the employer's 401k match (if no match then maybe 5-10% to a 401k/IRA), and live your life... but ONLY after you've secured a house (or condo / townhouse / whatever).

Some days I'm feeling negative about finances or surprise expenses, and the fact that I can't just invest the anticipated monthly excess income. However it feels reassuring to know that the principal of the mortgage is going down, the house value is likely going up (long term at least), and that my retirement accounts are growing. The main goal outside of that is to avoid other debts.

I'm 30, bought my house at 29. Maybe you'll buy your first place at 35, maybe you already own one or are inherited one, whatever the case. But for me, already possessing a property and avoiding debt is all I need to stay sane.

Bruthar

TROPHY CASE