<prompt> Human: A rule of thumb that Ive mostly lived by when it comes to rent is that you shouldnt spend more than a third of your income on housing Ive always interpreted it as after tax rather than pre-tax, but Ive seen people going either way. My monthly after tax income is about 5,000. Ive been spending about 1,500 a month on rent 13 of 5k is 1,666.Ive also seen people on this board reference this calculator as being pretty well thought out and trustworthy, and I want to make sure Im drawing the right conclusions from it:If I leave the default values in the calculator and they do seem to be reasonable to me - and adjust the house cost to 500,000, it says: If you can rent a similar home for less than ... 1,671 PER MONTH ... then renting is better.In its calculations it seems to come to the conclusion that the costs of owning a 500,000 house after 9 years are similar to renting a 1,671 apartment for the same time frame.Assuming the following are true:1 I can afford a 20 downpayment on a 500,000 house.2 I have no debt.3 I have a stable job. I wont lose it, but if I did, I could find a new one easily with similar pay. I also have a cushion so that I wouldnt be in financial trouble if I were unemployed for 6 months.4 Buying a 500,000 house would be a very big improvement over my 1,500-a-month apartment.What would your advice be? Can I afford that house?EDIT: From some of the replies, what Ive gathered is that the one-third rule probably shouldnt be used this way. Even though the NYTimes calculator says the math works out to be similar between the rental and the purchased house after nine years, the monthly cost of owning a 500,000 house would be much higher Id just be likely to recoup the difference if I sell at the end - but buying at this level would put me well over the one-third rule in the meantime.  <response>: I hate the 13 rule so much. I know your in Washington but some places you cant afford a broom closet with 13 of your salary. I was able to live comfortably spending just over 50 of my salary. Mainly because i had no car but it worked out. 