<prompt> Human: Ok, you clicked on my thread so Im going to try to break it down for you as quickly as possible.Here is my financial situation:23 years old, single, living at home with parents, no longer a student, have an Associates Degree, Full time 43k job at a hospital, no debt, own a paid-off 2012 Ford Focus with 21,000 miles on it.Monthly bills right now: 50 cell phone, 120 car insurance, 100 gas. I am saving about 75 of what I make right now.Short term spending account ATM card: 7KLong term savings account Mutual fund stocks: 64KRetirement savings account Roth IRA: 20KThe condos around me in New Jersey are around 200-250K so I could need up to a 50k down payment. So here is the question, when do I stop power-saving at home and move out? How much is enough? Thank you for your help.UPDATE: Thanks everyone for sharing your experience and advice. I cant believe how much attention my thread has gotten, I appreciate the help. Ive been at work all day so I havent been able to read everyones comments yet, but I will continue to read and respond throughout the day. So far I have decided to stay at home until I feel like I really need to leave, maybe rent for a year or two, and if I fall in love with a place between then possibly purchase if I can afford a good sized down payment.Assistant: Youre in a tremendously fortunate position. Id honestly keep living at home for as long as you can tolerate it. Your social life may suffer a bit, but youre future self will thank you for the financial benefit. Id stay long enough to afford buying a place in cash and forgo any interest or finance a very small amount just to build credit since a up to date mortgage on credit looks very good. I would suggest moving out and renting first though for maybe a year or so as to avoid going full on into home ownership.Human: Thank you for your suggestion. A lot of people do recommend renting first. I was trying not to because I thought it might be a waste of money.Assistant: Yes, that statement is commonly tossed around, and I couldnt disagree with it more. Look at this way:When owning, these are the majority of your holding costs: property taxes which is tax-advantaged, but is otherwise money paid that youll never see again interest on mortgage which is tax-advantaged, but is otherwise money paid that youll never see again if condo, then HOA fees and sometimes there are HOA fees when owning a house as well - this is similarly money paid that youll never see again with both condo and house, youre on the hook most of the time to fix whatever breaks... i.e. AC breaks in dead of Summer when its 100 degrees, its on you to locate a resource and coordinate them getting it fixed... or similarly when its 0 degrees outside in January and your furnaces goes tits up money paid towards principal of mortgage, which is the only amount paid towards mortgage that you would potentially see again when you sell the assetTheres nothing you can really do about any of the above except for interest paid, which is usually the largest expense as well assuming youre going the 20 down and 30 year mortgage route. Thats why I would recommend waiting until you pay the majority of the cost in cash to minimize amount paid towards interest.When renting, the amount you pay for rent goes to nothing more than providing shelter and when something breaks, its the owners responsibility to fix it. Renting is a very stress-free way to live, but you have to deal with other tenants, and they could be problematic.When comparing the amount paid for renting and owning, you could argue that the money paid when owning that goes towards property taxes, interest, HOA fees, and maintenancerepairs is a waste similarly to what you pay when renting. Only what you pay towards principal and improvements you make to the housecondo is money you may potentially see again and then some if renovations you make increase the value of the asset.Having rented for about 6 or 7 years and owning for about 6 or 7 years, I can say from firsthand experience that owning definitely has its perks, but its not the end all, be all and owning certainly isnt for everyone. I work a lot have a full-time day job and do some side consulting and I sometimes wish I were renting again so I wouldnt have to worry about such things as yard work and keeping the place in order, etc.Human: Hmm. You bring up a lot if good points that I havent thought of. Thanks for your well thought-out response. Now Im on the edge. Im not sure if buying is for me yet.  <response>: I dont necessarily want to scare you away from buying now or in the short term, but Id at minimum wait until you have a healthy 20 down payment and then some which sounds like youre pretty much there or close to cover immediate costs like furnishing and such, but Id suggest an even heavier down payment to minimize financing costs. And be careful with that statement that renting is a waste. If thats your only reason for buying and not renting, then Id suggest re-evaluating.The United States is one of the only countries where owning is so glamorized and subsidized so heavily by the government in the way of tax deductions for property taxes and mortgage interest. I think its the result of indoctrination of consumers and heavy lobbying by the housing industry. Anytime the government even hints that theyre considering a revamp of the mortgage interest deduction, the National Association of Home Builders and their ilk scream bloody murder even though revamping it would make a lot of fiscal sense, but I digress. 