"You gave a range of years 5-7. Is that because you are unsure when want to buy a house or that because that is how long you think you'll need to save up for the down payment?"
Here's a bit more information. My wife and I bought a home about two years ago with 20% down. It's 1600 square feet and is more than enough for us now, will be more than enough when kid no. 1 comes along early this summer, and will be enough when hypothetical kid no. 2 arrives in 2-3 years. But if hypothetical kid no. 3 arrives, it might start to feel a little cramped.
My plan currently is to use savings for a down payment and rent our current house. Hence--I might need some money for a new house in 6 or 7 years. So it's more about when we'll need the house than when we'll have the money. I think we'll probably have enough money in 1-2 years, depending on the dent in savings that this kid makes.
BUT--it isn't a drop-dead deadline, as with college or (to a lesser extent) retirement. If the market crashed, it wouldn't be a huge burden for us to remain in the current place for a few more years until the market recovers. Also, we might decide not to have three kids, in which case we may not need a new house at all.
surfhb--I started investing in 2006, so I know all about market crashes. I was down 15k on a 30k (mostly stock) portfolio in March 2009. But that experience actually gives me confidence--five years later I'm back to 6.1 percent returns. Even the worst crash in recent history can be rode through in a relatively short time-frame.
So, considering that I will have some flexibility to wait out the market if necessary, wouldn't a higher ratio of stocks be advisable?
