<prompt> Human: I work in software design and make a decent salary right now, but people are always shifting around in this industry and its hard to predict what will happen in five or ten years. Ideally you make shifts that result in more money, but who knows... In 2007 there were a bunch of people buying homes based on their salary who found themseleves out of a job a year later. My skill set is in demand enough that I should always be able to find work, but if another 2008 hits, I could see myself being forced to take major income concessions. The common sense approach seems to be: Dont max out a home loan based on your current income. But even if I bought a home that would fit for someone making half of my current salary, if I end up losing my job or something crazy happens, thats still more than I could afford on zero income. I dont know, it just sort of seems to me like job security is a bit of a myth these days and Im finding it difficult to balance that against the idea of a long term financial commitment.  <response>: I guess you have to ask yourself, why do I want to buy a house? 