3/26/2006

Advice from Nashville's leading Financial Aid Advisor Dave Ramsey

 
Dave Says
By Dave Ramsey
Author of:
Financial Peace and
The Total Money Makeover

"Buying a home with a girlfriend or boyfriend?"

Dear Dave,

I’m looking at a $92,000 home I really love. I have a car payment, but my boyfriend and I have a combined income of about $53,000. Should we wait until the car is paid off to buy the home?

Carrie via email

Dear Carrie,

Don’t do it! You should never buy a home with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or even right after you get married. If you go through with this, it could end up being the worst mistake of your life.

Have you ever heard of Murphy’s Law, and how everything that CAN go wrong WILL go wrong? You might as well give Murphy his own bedroom if you do this, Carrie, because you’ll be creating a huge nightmare for yourselves morally, legally, physically, financially and spiritually. 

Slow down and take your time. Make sure you two love each other and want to spend the rest of your lives with each other. Then, after you’ve gotten married, live in a cheap apartment for a few years while you get the car paid off and save up for a solid 20 percent down payment on a house. When you’ve done all this, THEN you can start looking for that first home together.

- Dave

More About Dave
Dave Says Articles
Dave Ramsey History
Dave Ramsey.com