<prompt> Human: IncomeIm a medical student who is going to graduate in a few months. I will be starting a residency in urology for the next 5 years during which time I will be making 50,000 per year. My wife is a physical therapist who has been working for 3 years now and makes 50,000 per year. DebtShe has about 100,000 in student debt. When I graduate I will have 200,000 in student debt. No CC debt. SituationMy wife is dead set on purchasing a house now that we know where were going to be living for the next 5 years. We currently rent an apartment for 1,150 per month. We also have a 1.5 year old child and were thinking about having another one soon. We fit in our current living situation but she feels like well outgrow it soon plus she has always wanted a house. We have about 10,000 in savings in case of emergency and thats it. We dont having anything else for a downpayment on a house. I know Bank of America offers physicians loan that might be an option, but Im nervous about buying without putting 20 down. I guess in general I feel like Im in over my head. We dont have any retirement savings going, no college savings for our daughter, hell we dont even have life insurance. Do you guys think it would be a good idea to meet with a financial planner? Are they generally pretty expensive and if so, is it worth it?EDIT: I just wanted to thank you guys for commenting on this, it was very helpful. My amount of debt might seem outrageously high for our salary, but I assure you that almost every medical student in the country graduates with this level of debt and many, many residents purchase a house when they graduate. That being said, just because everyone does it doesnt mean it makes financial sense and you guys have showed me that. Im not sure why so many residents buy a house right away...Another issue is that the job market where Ill be doing residency is pretty saturated for urologists without fellowship training, so I would likely have to move for a year or two to complete a fellowship after the 5 years or move to find a job. In either case, I wouldnt be staying in this hypothetical house for more than 5 years.Many of you touched on a very good point, which is that surgical residencies really all residencies, but especially surgical ones are very busy and I aint gon have time to fix shitwork on the house. Even if I did have time I know nothing about working on houses, so theres that too. In conclusion, I will try to convince my gold digging wife to stay in our current apartment as long as possible and upgrade to renting a house or bigger apartment if need be. Well probably go ahead with having another kid because were stupid like that, but at least I can try to be smart about my other finances. And yes, Im gonna get my shit together in regards to retirement, life insurance, disability insurance, etc. Thanks again rpersonalfinance!Assistant: What is meeting with a financial planner going to do for you? Close to nothing.You have tons of debt. You have 300k worth of debt. Buying a house at this point is pretty financially responsible. Unless you have family willing to put up a down payment or something I would not do it. Your loan rates are at what, 6-8? Getting a mortgage and accumulating even more debt is a terrible idea.Human: I guess when you put it that way it does sound financially irresponsible. It seems like the two competing notions are1 Buy a house, have more kids, go in debt up to my eyeballsOR2 Delayed gratification. Live frugally in a small apartment, put off having kids until I have a higher salary. I feel like the more financial responsible option would be 2. However, urologists are very well compensated last year mean salary was 300,000, so does it make sense to withhold now even with a guaranteed salary like that in the future to back it up?  <response>: Look at most of your residency peers...there are tons of residents and fellows including the ones with kids who dont own property because of lack of income and the likelihood that they will move after completing residency. In the long run, youre likely to have an upper middle class lifestyle whether or not you buy a house unless something uber disastrous happens like you become permanently disabled and unable to work. But I wonder if renting a house could actually be LESS stressful for your family. Residency is pretty darn trying upon a marriage and family. Get through it, enjoy your family, screw dealing with leaking roofs and backed up sewer systems. You dont have to worry about upkeep and contingencies for emergency repairs if you rent a house. No worries about selling it at the end of 5 years either.The more kids thing: up to you and your spouse, I dont think you have to worry about frugality at this point, the kids cost a fortune but theyre going to be expensive whether or not you have them now or 6 years from now. 