<prompt> Human: So Im 27, and am thinking about taking the plunge and getting my first house. However, Im not great at knowing the costs for all of these things, so dont know if this is a wise choice for me at this point. Heres what Im working with: Income 30,000year Money in savingschecking 3,000 Phone bill 125month Car payments 127month with about 2000 left owed. No student loans. Owe 0 on credit card, as I use this to pay for everything and pay off about once every 2 weeks, credit limit is 9750. FICO credit score was 770 in December, 771 in January, 750 in February as monitored by my credit card no real reason why the drop that I know of. Im currently paying 320month for a 2 bedroom apartment with a roommate, and around 100-150 a piece for utilities. Ive been thinking of getting a home in the 60k-80k range, but have no idea if I could afford this or qualify for a loan for that. Ive heard that some places will offer a first time home loan with no money down. Any helpsuggestions? I am more than willing to provide any further information. Ive also been thinking of going back for my Masters, and may do this in a field with a loan forgiveness program. If I went back for my Masters, would I have to hold off on owning a home? Thanks in advance! Edit: Line breaks  <response>: Any helpsuggestions? Take a first-time homebuyer course in your area. Neighborworks or another non-profit likely offers them on a fairly regular basis for a nominal fee. It is very worthwhile to spend a Saturday learning the working pieces of a mortgage, the home-buying process, and theyll give you worksheets to help you estimate the payments, one-time costs, and your budget. The other benefit is that the person running the class will be able to tell you what programs there might be in your area for first-time or low-income homebuyers. These programs vary a lot from place to place, so local advice is the best advice. In terms of whether you could get your Masters and buy a home, that depends on whether you could afford a home payment while studying and whether you would need to move either during or after your degree for better educational or work opportunities. 