<prompt> Human: Me: 43, moved to North Carolina March 1st, worked steady through a temp agency until officially hired by company this Tuesday. Yay me! 22kyr, Shit credit rating 490 but only a two year old, 1k medical bill showing.Wife: 42, Working through a temp agency, only a few weeks in, 20kyr, shit credit 490, has a defaulted student loan that shes made arrangements on, a 5 year old Chapter 13, and a 1,200 default from Fingerhut.Monthly expenses: 1,100Monthly income: 3,300We sank all our savings into moving here from an area with no jobs. We own our single wide mobile home and a decent, dependable 06 Buick LaCrosse, both bought and paid for. Pay a small lot rent of 250. Kids are grown and have been on their own for several years. So its just us looking to improve and prepare for old age. The first several months pay went to catching up, furnishing and stocking the house, and paying for changing the cars documents and our licenses to NC. Bank accounts but nothing at all saved yet.As of right now, we are caught up and ready to figure out whats next. NC has been a dream come true for us. Plenty of work, decent people, and absolutely beautiful. We feel an honest to goodness hopeful chance to finally get ahead. We want to buy a real house as soon as possible. So what should we do to achieve that goal as quickly as possible? How long before we can try? How should we proceed? We dont need the perfect solution. We need the fastest. Trailer parks suck no matter what state youre in. Thank you for your time and please be nice. Putting your flaws out for the world to see is pretty embarrassing. EDIT: I just wanted to think everyone for the great advice. As much as it pains me, it looks like were just going to have to bite the bullet and stay in the trailer for a couple of years and work on the credit and savings as youve all suggested. Thank you all for your kind words and smart advice. Hopefully reddit still exists in a few years so I can update and show off out new house. Assistant: You have hope as stated earlier, but honestly consider if you really need to own. For now Id say its far more important to catch up on retirement savings. Human: I dont know if either of us is willing to live in the trailer park forever but I would certainly be willing to listen to what you advise. How much are you thinking we should put into savings at our age? Our jobs do offer a 401k. I can start mine this week. She wont have hers for at least three more months. What would you recommend?  <response>: My personal recommendation would be to put as much as possible into your accounts, up to the federal maximum you may be eligible for catch-up contributions too. At the very least, you should be contributing enough to maximize any employer matching. As far as leaving the trailer park, I totally agree that you can live better as you make more, but home ownership comes with its own set of expenses. Renting is often a good choice, and many many people live their whole lives very comfortably without ever owning a home. 