Thanks in advance for the input. I'm getting married in a few months, and my fiance and I are currently navigating the ever-so-fun waters that are financial decision making. Item of current debate: whether or not to purchase a house.
Income: I make $23/hour as an RN taking home roughly 1250 every two weeks after taxes. Somewhere around 42,000 annualy before taxes, etc. Contributing only 3% to the 401k right now though. I plan on increasing that as soon as i can track down the retirement representative, especially given the fact that my employer matches 50% of my contributions up to a certain point.
Fiance makes $12/hour with much more potential for future earnings, as he has started at the bottom in a company and has already received 3 raises in 8 or so months.
I currently owe 13,900 on a 2011 Kia Soul with less than 50,000 miles.-yikes. Making payments of 254/month at an interest rate of 4.27%.
I also owe 30,000 in student loans @ 6.8% interest- all federal loans. Payments are about $370/month.
Fiance has no debt.
Assets: Fiance owns a 2012 Subaru Outback and a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer outright. The subaru is used less frequently and the trail blazer is used for work commuting- about 14 miles each way 5 days/week.
I have saved about $7000 in the last 8-12 months and fiance has saved roughly $5000. (He also bought an engagement ring with cash.)
Which brings us to our dilemma- the housing situation. We both live with our parents currently. He lives for free and I pay a negligible "rent" which probably doesn't even begin to pay for what my parents are still providing me-food, cell phone, etc. We also have the opportunity of a $20,000 inheritance from a deceased relative coming our way earmarked for the purpose of a house down payment. I have found a small updated house in a desirable area of a nearby town for sale for $84,900. For a comparable house in our current area, we would easily pay at least $175,000. The cheaper area also has way more bike-able amenities and young folks, so it's a win-win.
What this boils down to is my question- In the mustachian's expert opinion, are we in a good position to purchase the $85k home? Given that our mortgage payments would likely be less than $600/month for a 15 year mortgage-which is what we would go for. Rent in the same area would likely be at or more than that.
Thoughts?