<prompt> Human: So, I have a super simple financial situation. I am 32, no debt, a stay at home wife with 3 kids. A state government job that pays 55k, benefits and pension. 2 old cars, and 32k in a normal savings account. Thats all I have to my name. It is a little embarrassing. I wish I went for a higher paying job, but I was young and dumb and thought that a wildlife biologist would be super cool. Little did I know that not having a decent salary is super frustrating.1400 rent payment expensive city, and normal expenses after that phone, internet, food etc.. My budget and expenses seem to leave me 100-200 bucks a month left. So my plan was to use the 32k as a down payment on a house to try and get that monthly payment down. Then start contributing to some deferred comp and other investments. Or would I be better to pay rent and put that money into investments now? I often feel that in order to increase wealth, you need some extra money laying around. I dont have much of that.  <response>: You can build wealth by earning and saving. Your first step is to list out all your expenses and see how you can save. Whats your monthly net income? You definitely cannot use the whole 32k as down payment, you need an emergency fund, for you and especially for your family.Figure out how big of an emergency find youll need 6 month expense, then you can see if you have left overs to invest. 