<prompt> Human: The house we want to buy will be a stretch for us month-to-month for a couple of years, but we want a larger house for our family and dont want to move again in the next five years. Have you bought a house knowing youll spend a couple of years eeking out payments? Im currently not working full-time but will return when my kids are in school, but Im a freelancer so my income depends on how much of a priority I make it over running the kidshouse? My husband has stable employment and anticipates promotionsraises each year. We are debt-free outside of our mortgage and plan to continue that way.Edited to add: We have lived inpaid mortage on our current house for 8 years and have six months of emergency funds for our current budget. The prospective house is in our target neighborhood and same school district that our two oldest are enrolled in now. We wouldnt plan to move again until kids are out of the house, if then.Assistant: In theory, you wont be approved for a mortgage you are likely to default on.In practice, if your husband was injured in a car accident, hit your out of pocket maximum for medical bills, and couldnt work for three months, what would happen to your family? Human: We are approved for the mortgage and have six months of emergency savings at our current budget, but if all three of those things hit wed be looking at serious trouble. Although we have the privilege of two sets of parents who could easily help.  <response>: You are unlikely to have that sort of serious problem, of course. But you cant rule out other types of unexpected expenses, and income isnt guaranteed. You have to decide what risks you are willing to accept, which could depend on what resources you have to fall back on. 