<prompt> Human: Hey gang. Im 30, shes 32. We bring in 210kyr. We live in ATL so the cost of living isnt really high, but housing is starting to creep up.We currently rent a house we love 2250mo. This is comfortable for us right now at our income as we are still aggressively paying off debt, and dont feel house poor. We can still go out regularly and buy furniture and vacations, all while paying off debt.My question is that if we want to buy in a few years, a lot of the houses we want will be 500-600k. The house we rent right now is appraised at like 420k or something.Being that the house is rather pricey, and I would want to do a 801010 loan, is 30 gross still a good policy for us? Right now I am currently spending 18 of my take-home on rent. I cover all the utilities so all in she spends like 25 of her take home and I spend maybe like 22 for all in rent utilities. Is 30 really a decent rule of thumb for people that will be debt free, and have a good income like we do? I feel like there are are a lot of hidden costs or unknowns that will sneak up on me.  <response>: The 3 x gross rule is very misleading. At those high income levels, most of that will get eaten up in taxes. A much better in my opinion metric is 33 of net monthly income maximum monthly payment. Be sure to include PMI, interest, HOA, etc. if applicable. Do be wary of lifestyle inflation. Just because you make that much doesnt mean you have to spend that much. If you were to get a cheaper home and increase your savings rate, you could be looking at early retirement or other goals. Just give it some thought. 