<prompt> Human: Hey, long time lurker, first time poster here.Background: Wife and I are 40ish, 7 kids, all but 3 moved out and on their own, adulting themselves pretty well.We both have student loans combined totaling around 80k, and around 20 debt in random medical bills, and just a variety of things... We just sold our investment property, paid off the wifes car so were not making a 500 payment on it anymore, my car has been paid off for a year or so. With the money from our investment property, we paid off a few more items to reduce our monthly outflow of cash. We are down to less than 10k in savings and dont want to drop any lower. We do not currently own a house but are furiously anxious to not be renting. We heard about Dave Ramsey... looked into his stuff... is he legit? Are his steps credible? We are both working full time and have decent income, we roll 1000 a month into savings, our goal is to own a home within a year but need to get our credit up... our credit sucks due to a crashed economy and both of us getting laid off a few years ago.So I guess my question is... whats the best use of our slowly building savings?Thanks :DAssistant: Why are you furiously anxious to not rent? If its because you think youre throwing money away renting, dont worry, youre not. Owning a house has a similar amount of money thrown away. You can even come out ahead renting sometimes too, check a rent vs buy calculator to get a rough idea of how much money you savelose by renting:Human: We have owned for a long time, weve owned rental properties, and have been renters. It is a preference. Getting older, kids moving out, we want a piece of land and a place to call our own. We recently moved to another state to be near family... we dont like renting because we like the flexibility of being able to customize our yard and home. Also, renting had always had a short term feel to it. We are looking for a place that will be our last home.  <response>: Buying a house is a want, not a need. You could do it without paying off your debts first, sure. You know that already. That doesnt make it a wise choice. Your student loan debt is a millstone around your neck until you get rid of it. Youre in your forties and this debt is still hanging around, suggesting youve been paying close to the minimum or at least not seriously tackling the debt for years or decades. Maybe that was the best choice while you had young kids, but your kids have gotten older and you have the flexibility to make better choices now. The interest you pay every year toward the debt is money that could be going to retirement savings or improving your lives in the long term, IF you make some sacrifices in the short term to get out from under it. 