[cauterized]

I agree with the rest of the advice, but buying a home is not a good investment in all parts of the country/world, nor at all times. A home you own decreases your mobility and thus your employment options, especially if the labor or housing market in your area plummets in the future.

In other markets, home ownership and all its associated costs (including property taxes and maintenance) is more expensive in both the long and short term than renting.

For instance, for what I pay in rent in NYC (PLUS a down payment), I would have to commute at least 3 times as long to afford to buy an equivalent home. And also have to add the responsibility (in time and expense) for maintenance - from upgrading the plumbing to shoveling snow from the sidewalk.) Further, it'd be much more difficult to see friends, whom I'd no longer live near. That's all time that could instead be spent with friends and family, being healthier, or even making money on a side project or freelancing.

And if you get poor terms on your mortgage (think variable rate loans), you're just setting yourself up for pain.