First, remember that it’s ok to feel scared or like you aren’t ready to buy a home.

One thing you can do if fear is a factor is to mentally play out the worst-case scenario if you were to buy… you can’t pay your mortgage, then what? If that is your fear, well… you have to answer that question for if you are renting too. The difference is with renting, you will get an eviction notice after being a few days late on your rent. With buying if you do have financial hardships, the process of getting you out of your home is a lot harder.

Adding up how much you’ll spend in rent over time and think of that all going to your landlord. All that money is going to fund someone else’s retirement vs your own. Use that as motivation to consider buying. 

After crossing some of the mental hurdles, you can get into the logistics.

Figure out how much you actually need to pay a down payment. It may be less than you think. I only needed 6% for my first home which was $6k to buy a $100k home. Most people assume you have to put down 10% or 20% and that’s just not the case all the time. 

Find out what programs you qualify for if any.

Look at your budget and see how much extra you have after bills are paid and see what percentage of that can go towards a home down payment.

Divide that into a do-able timeframe. Get persistent when finding money if you want to accelerate your savings. Get a roommate, sell your car, find a second job and dedicate all the income from that towards your down payment goal.

Another thing to keep in mind that if this is your first time buying a home, it may not be exactly what you’d like. Houses are expensive, so you may have to work your way up to that dream home. 

When shopping- put on your creativity hat and remember that you can make changes to things over time to make it really feel nice.

Not only can you fix it up, but you can also sell it or rent it out later when you can afford something you like better, so don’t feel like this is a 30-year commitment just because it’s a 30-year mortgage.