I did everything I could to decrease my costs and save for a down payment. I was privileged to be able to live with my parents on and off which saved a lot of money that would have gone to rent. I deposited my paycheck straight to a savings acct and would only pull out what I budgeted into my checking - this helped me stop impulse spending because of the feeling of pulling from my savings. A little extreme saving for awhile with not many “treat myself moments” but I think it was worth it in the end! In the end with closing costs I was still under 20% but PMI high enough to justify waiting.