<prompt> Human: Im new to the sub and have read the wiki in depth. Lots of great information! Some financial background... Im 29, my salary before taxes is 95k, I contribute 5 to my 401k at around 67k right now, and I have no debt other than my 4 year car loan at 475mo. My wife makes 55k and has no debt other than school loans at around 300 a month.We have 6k in savings and plan on trying to buy a house next fall with an FHA loan. The savings goal is 20k. I know the gold standard is 20 down, but we are looking to start a family soon and dont forsee saving for a few years. We also dont want to get screwed on interest rates as they rebound. So it will most likely by 3.5 down. Our house price ranges would probably be around 225-250k. My question is, should I be maxing my 401k this year or wait until after we buy a house? Ideally I know I should, but with the tighter time line to purchase a house, the savings might be better for a down payment? Additionally, my wife doesnt have a 401k but her employer offers stock sharing options. When we get a spare 1k, Im planning on setting her up with a Roth IRA from Vanguard. Does my logic sound okay? I think the best answer is to save until 20 for a down payment, but I just dont think that will happen. Edit 1: Thanks for the advice! After reading all the comments, it appears we really should wait longer and bank as much money as possible. Ill talk it over with the wife and explain the logic. Again, I really dont know anything about financial planning for the future. In my early 20s all I did was save in my 401k and pay 30k off in student loans. This is why I reached out for help and advice. Assistant: Alright heres an update. I talked with the wife and we will be saving for the next 2-3 years at 3k a month and continue to rent. My next question is, she doesnt have a 401k plan. Does it make more sense to have her open a Roth Ira and contribute or use that contribution to increase my 401k contribution to make it closer to the 18k max? Thanks for all the advice. This really has helped me see the light.  <response>: Excellent. I saw some other posters mention saving up for a conventional vs FHA loan, and I would just add my voice to the chorus. I live in an extremely competitive market and sellers can and will discriminate against non-conventional loans when they are looking at offers. FHA and other gov loans usually require additional hoops to be jumped through for inspectionsappraisals. 