A lot of people who are in debt don’t consider buying a house or saving for a down payment thinking they’ll do that after they pay off their debt. People in this situation often feel as if a home is way out of reach for one of three reasons. 1) They don’t make enough money 2) They can’t save for a down payment or 3) They have too much debt.
When those issues come up with my clients I ask them; How many people do you know that have bought a house? How many of them make less than you? How many of them have more debt than you?
So how did they get into a house? The answer is that it was important to them and they found a way to make it work. You can do the same.
One obstacle to paying off debt is that we give money to a lender and get nothing in return. We don’t get the immediate sense of gratification that we are used to.
Determine how much you need to pay down your debt in order to get into a home. Then, each time you pay it down by $X view it as $X closer to home, not $X less of debt. Working towards a home feels better than just paying off debt.
