<prompt> Human: Ive been extremely lucky and made it through college on scholarships and have just graduated with my masters without accumulating any debt. During this time Ive also been able to save a ton at least to me of money. My fiance, while she doesnt have hardly any savings, has also gotten her masters without any debt. We both have good jobs and are planning to buy a house. So my question is, how much house can we afford?Important details:My income before taxes, health ins, etc: 59,321yr.My take home pay after taxes, health ins, retirement plan, etc: 16312 weeksFiances income before taxes, health ins, etc: 68,809yr.Fiances take home pay after taxes, ..., etc: ? Ill update when she gets homeOur combined savings: 42,000.00We plan on buying in spring of 2013. March or April probably...I put 250 a month into a mutual fund and 200 a month into a life insurance policy.As I said before we have no debt. No car payments, completely pay off the credit card every month, etc.I currently pay 975.00 a month in rent with no utilities and my fiance pays 400 a month in rent with another 250 in utilities. 1625 totalSome online calculators that Ive looked at have said anywhere between 200,000 - 300,000. Does this sound reasonable? What are your opinions?Id also be very grateful on any tips about how to get a good deal on a house, whether that be how to shop, how to deal with a real estate agent, etc. Whatever you guys have Im all ears.Sorry if this was a little long...Thanks in advance.Edit: Also, with our savings, how much could we reasonably afford to put as a down payment?  <response>: 200 a month into whole life? Ouch. Should be 20 into term life and 430 into some index funds.Buy the house youll need for the next ten years. The era of starter houses is dead. 