<prompt> Human: Newly divorced and sold the house to split equity, which Im using to pay off debt other than vehicle. Help me figure out how to get into a new house for my kids benefit. 85k per year, have pension and 401k, but want to save to get into a new place. Starting over with savings. The kids hate the apartment. House budget for this market is 300k for 2500 sqft. Need a fast track budget suggestion to get out of an apartment. Rent is 1200 per month and car payment is 280.Assistant: I am sorry to hear about this situation, a tough spot, lets see if we can get you going in the right spot.First we are going to need more information. How much money do you take home, how much money do you have going out other than the bills you mentioned, Im thinking about, food, clothes, child care, etc. It sounds like you are wanting to buy a house immediately which may be fine if you can do the 20 percent down, or if you are willing to pay PMI, not recommended though. Other option is renting a house for a couple years and let you and the family settle for a bit and put together your finances. What area are you looking at, and are home rentals affordable?If you can get us this information we can cater a stronger budget to you.Human: Take home is 4300 per month. Mom has primary custody and child support is 1300 per month. Rent includes water, garbage and utilities. Food and groceries are currently budgeted at 100 per week. Id prefer to buy, rather than pay someone elses mortgage, which seems like throwing money away.  <response>: Yea you cant buy anywhere near 300k with only having 3k a month after paying child support. The most you can spend is about 1k on a mortgage which would be about a 140k mortgage max. So you either need to find something super cheap or save like 160k for a downpayment for a 300k home. Dont think you will be able to buy anytime soon sorry to say. 