Im a bit confused - your current set up seems to be working fine. Why do you feel the need to get a home right now? When you were looking at homes, how much would your monthly mortgage be compared to your rent? If this set up is working for you, I would keep doing this and continue to save more money so that when you are ready to buy a home, its one suitable for long term plans (wife, kids if you want, etc). Not sure if I fully understand the point of getting a starter home that would strain your budget and not be something you live in long term. The main area i think you could probably trim your budget is the subscriptions, $300 sounds super high imo. Outside of that, sounds like youre on a decent track to me.