<prompt> Human: Im 22 years old, fresh college grad in economics. I know I cant buy a house now but I am curious about how I can afford one. I know the rule of thumb is that your monthly mortgage should not exceed around 28 of your monthly income. To keep it nice and square, I just use 13 of your income.So for example, a house worth 300,000 in the central valley which is already cheap in terms of California housing means my monthly mortgage payment is around 1400mo assuming a 2575,000 down paymentSo a few questions:1. To afford 1400 a month, that means I need an income of at LEAST 4200, meaning at least approximately 50,000 income after tax. That means my job has to pay at least around 27hour. Currently the job offers I get pay around 17 an hour, which is barely enough. Would I, hopefully, work long enough to get paid that much, or is CA housing simply impossible without more capital? I havent worked for long so I dont know if 27 an hour is normally obtainable by a college grad with a basic bachelors degree.2. Assuming I can afford it, using the 503020 rule, I can save 50000 x 20 10,000 a year. That would still take me over 7 years to save up enough for the down payment. That seems like a long time, Ill be 30 years old by that time. Is that normal?The first question is my main concern. Thanks for the help.  <response>: As you gain more experience and knowledge about your field, your pay will increase. Earning 56kyear isnt that muchthat difficult for a college grad. Also, youre only considering your own income -- many people buy houses with their partners. Plus, you dont NEED to have a 25 down payment. 