<prompt> Human: Currently I am 18 years old, and I am a freshman in college. I am being paid to attend college, so student loans are not an issue. I am with my girlfriend of 5 years, and plan to stay with her. I am going to school for a Computer Engineering degree in Knoxville, Tennessee. The starting salary of this degree is about 70k in my area. My girlfriends starting salary is about 45k. So a combined income of about 115k before taxes. Our plan is to start looking for a house soon after we find our career jobs. In our area houses are pretty cheap. I can find a very nice house for about 170k in my area. We would like to pay for this house with a 10 or 15 year plan. So lets say 1700 a month after insurance and everything for the house. Should I wait until the house is paid for to get my dream car, the BMW m4? Or will I have the funds to finance this car? My girlfriend is just wanting a simple car. Probably somewhere around 20-30k. Also, what about wedding costs? I do plan to get married once we are financially stable. We come from pretty poor families so we will be paying for our own wedding.  <response>: Car - Buy a 2005 M4 with low miles for super cheap. Pay for it outright. Be patient. You will find one. The car isnt worth the money.House - carefully consider how much you need. Buy less than that. If it is just you and your girl, I would honestly find a cheap place to rent so you arent tied down. Live in several different cities while you are young. Find what you really like.To grow wealth and take a risk, If you can afford it, buy a cheap place. Live there for two years. Save and save. Do some modest improvements to it. Then move to a new city you both want to try out. Start renting that old house. It might mean that you carry more debt initially, but I think it is an okay risk given your earning potential. You both sound like you want to buy big things and settle down fast. I would strongly encourage you against that. You both need to go out and see the world. Use your degrees to get opportunities in companies in exotic places. Live as modestly as you can. You will still be happy. Happier even. Buying a very nice house and a brand new car is for after you have accumulated immaterial wealth adventures, seen the world, made friends across the world, etc. And after you have done that, you wont even care about your car. 