<prompt> Human: My fiancé and I want to start saving for a down payment for a condo. Currently we rent a small 2 bedroom apartment and renting is not the best option for us anymore.However, we have combined 200,000 in student loans. We dont have any problem paying them off and manage to net about 1,000 - 2500 a month which before I was using to start an emergency fund and then pay down our loans. I feel like the common advice is pay off your student loans before anything else. Ever. Is it ok to just be fine with going off the early payment track for a little bit to try to get a down payment? We are doing this with the goal we will buy something and our mortgage will be lower than what our rent is now. I feel like it is ok to break free of extreme frugality if you have a plan, but if that is wrong can someone explain why it is better to wait?  <response>: My wife and I recently had the same scenario. We both have student loans, which we have been aggressively paying for 3 years while renting. I considered a few things when making the decision: what kind of rate could I get for a mortgage? what would be the cost of renting a similarly situated house? What would the mortgageproperty taxinsurance be for the house? Here is a suggestion, that we employed: save the money for a year; if at the end of the year, the buying vs renting comparison still doesnt weigh towards buying, just pay the money towards your loans. Yes, you will miss out on the interest savings of paying on your student loans earlier, but sometimes having the cash available is worth it, even if you decide not to use it. 