<prompt> Human: Hey PFers,Im currently thinking that I might like to buy a home in the next year or two. Ive determined that I really enjoy my current job held for 1.5 years and its a fairly stable position with opportunities for continued advancement. Im relatively young 24, turning 25 this fall and dont have much saved for a down payment as of yet. My questions are:1 How long did it take you to save up your down payment? What sort of set backs if any did you encounter along the way?2 Did deciding to save up for your down payment mean that you had to cut back on other spending? vacations, eating out, ect3 Did you find it necessary to save the full 20 down?4 How does someone even save 20 down at a young age? That just seems like a ton of money to me houses around here are 200-400k. I dont want this post to be all about me; Im interested in your stories and perspectives. However, for reference as Im curious if you think its unrealistic for me to have a 20 down payment saved on a 300K house in 2 years, my income is about 100K pre-tax. I spend about 1500 a month of needs, and save about 13 of my income for retirement currently. I already have an 8k emergency fund, no other debt except my car at 0. Thanks!  <response>: How does someone even save 20 down at a young age? That just seems like a ton of money to me houses around here are 200-400k. I bet youll find few single 24 year olds with 400K houses in your area. Probably you see more older, settled down families, which tells you when buying a house usually makes sense. 