Paying off debt/ buying a home

Budgeting

I have a fantastic opportunity to buy the house I'm currently renting. It's not in an ideal neighborhood, but the house is lovely. If we can buy it, we won't have to move, and my family will ideally have more stability.

The offer I'm being given is $385K at 3% down directly with the current owner, or if my spouse and I get married, we can qualify for a VA loan.

We make an estimated $100K yearly combined before taxes, and have approximately $2,126 in debt monthly, including cars, cards, and loans. My student loans will not start until October.

I have a managed investment fund with about $800 in it, and my retirement is at about $5,900, if that matters. These are the only savings we have.

I know I need to pay down my debts. I hate that I accumulated so much debt while in school, and it's hard to pay it off now. My spouse is unwilling to leave their job for a higher-paying one because he is happy where they are, and I've been searching because I know I can make $20 more per hour somewhere else, but I will have less job satisfaction.

I've cancelled all our subscriptions and made it clear that we eat at home 90% of the time. I grew up poor, so I can make a lot from little.

How can I realistically make this happen? I wasn't raised with money, so I never learned to manage it, and now I'm struggling when I really shouldn't be.

Posted May 5, 2025, 2:00 AM UTC

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