Starting out as broke college adults

[Dominik Geib]

I hope everyone is doing well! I appreciate you all for taking the time to read this message—I know your time is valuable, and I’ll keep this short.

A bit of background: I’m getting married this December to my wonderful fiancée, we are 23 and 21. My fiancee is a college student and will be graduating in April of ‘26, she has had summer jobs and we both have been working towards this moment. I’ve started a couple side hustles as well. That said, we’re trying to make smart financial decisions as we prepare for life together—starting without a lot, but with a lot of drive and responsibility.

I had a few questions I was hoping to get your perspective on:

1. Buy vs. Rent – We've been looking at apartments and ADU properties, and surprisingly, some rents are higher than monthly mortgage costs. Do you think buying makes more sense than renting in today's market, especially for a young couple?

2. Requirements for Buying a Home – We don’t have a traditional two-year work history or a large down payment. What are the key requirements we’d need to meet to even be considered for a home purchase?

3. Is It Realistic for Us to Buy? – Are there viable opportunities or programs out there for couples like us? Or would it be more realistic to rent for now and revisit buying later?

4. Loan Options – Are there any specific loan programs (like FHA or first-time buyer loans) that might be better suited to our situation?

Again, thank you so much for your time and advice. I value your perspective and appreciate anything you’re willing to share.

Best regards,

Dominik

[Jim K.]

Hi, Dominik.

Books have been written about your situation. Really good books. If I were you, the place to start would be a book written by the CEO of this website. His name is Scott Trench, and the book's name is Set for Life: An All-Out Approach to Early Financial Freedom.

Here are my short answers to your four questions which the book talks about in full.

1. If you can buy RIGHT, it always makes sense to buy. If you can only buy WRONG, paying off the property will keep you house poor and unable to smart decisions with your money.

2. I think you and your finance should really study personal finance and first-time homebuying through books like Scott's for at least a few months before you starting really thinking hard about your first home purchase. Your work history will get there well before you're ready to really jump into real estate for the win, instead of just shooting a half-baked shot.

3. Yes. It is realistic for you to buy.

4. Scott discusses the FHA mortgage program in depth and it will probably be how you should make your first purchase.

All that being said, your are in Riverside, California. The median single-family home sales price there is $650K. To my Pittsburgh eyes, where the median single-family home sales price is $221,000, it's a different world, and I am most definitely not the best person with the best knowledge to help you take step after step to change your life.

But if I were you, I would start talking to my intended here abut moving and working in a place with a much lower cost of life, about duplex/triplex/quadplex living, and about making sure you get paid as much as you can while spending as little money as you can.

It's going to be hard making a start where you're at. But not impossible. And to be honest, since I'm fifty now, I would change places with you in a heartbeat. Time, the most valuable resource of all, is what you have an abundance of. Don't be afraid to use some of it to plant your feet well before you jump off. There is such a thing a "analysis-paralysis," but as long as you don't let fear rule your every decision, it's not something I would really worry about at 23 and 21.