[USER]

I’m a single (divorced) early 30s mom of a toddler making 170k base (and variable bonus) a year.

I have been on the FI journey since my divorce a few years ago and have built back up my retirement savings to approx 275k (started around 50k).

My dream would be to quit working in the corporate world within 10-15 years when my kiddo is high school or college aged.

Post divorce I had to sell our house and pay my ex the proceeds, ended up renting after that given the market and I didn’t have a large down payment nor the confidence to take care of a home on my own with an infant.

I’ve enjoyed renting and still do, but know that in a couple years I will want a larger yard etc for my kiddo.

And rental market for amount of space I desire is also not ideal.

Though the only piece I really miss about home ownership is the green space.

I currently max my 401k, RothIRA, and HSA.

After maxing those accounts and paying for daycare, I’m not saving much aside from growing my emergency fund.

I think I need to make a decision between continuing to max all my funds (would save future bonuses for house down payment but that would probably take 3 or so years to save the amount I’d like to put down)

OR pull back on investing temporarily to save for the down payment for 1-2 years.
Given predicted market and interest rates , what would you do?

[Diya]

Offering a different perspective, I’m a single mom of a 13 year old, divorced since she was 5.

I’ve been renting since I got divorced.

I contemplated the idea of home ownership and came to the conclusion that I just don’t want to be a home owner.

Renting has allowed me the flexibility home ownership can’t and the costs are way more predictable.

As a result, I’ve been able to make larger contributions to my retirement savings and brokerage accounts.

Home ownership is a lot of work, especially as a single parent.

If it’s something that you really feel is necessary and adds to your quality of life, then you should pursue it, but just because everyone is doing it, you shouldnt feel the need to.

A kid can grow up just fine without a large outdoor space

[Tony]

Personally I would get myself in a position to buy as soon as possible, even if it still took a few years before you closed on the right property.

Find the right agent, get your loan stuff in order with a good mortgage broker, start looking at homes and neighborhoods, etc.

You really never know when the right property is going to come around, and the sooner you’re in the property, the sooner it becomes a better deal than renting over the long run.

[Rick]

Rent next to a medium to big green space or park. To me, the risks, costs, inflexibility, illiquidity, etc is a lot to take on for a yard.

[Jenny]

Contribute up to matching for 401k, continue Roth IRA, save as much as you can for down payment.

In a pinch, you can take out the original contributions from Roth IRA.

[Allison]

I would personally save for a down payment and buy as soon as possible. Prices will just keep going up

[Ashli]

Maybe look to see if someone is renting their basement of their house.

Then most of the time you get use of the yard and have a couple rooms.

You could always buy a townhome, you have some green space, but then depending on what the HOA covers you might not have to worry about much maintenance.

Good luck in your decision.

I started out with a 6 year old and 2 dogs in a 900 square foot apartment after my divorce 8 years ago.

Lived there 3 years and I loved that I didn’t have to fix anything myself, but once my new boyfriend and I decided to get married we bought a house cause we decided more space for the dogs, kid and us!

it’s not an easy decision, especially single.

If I was single with my kid and didn’t meet my current husband I probably would have stayed there or something similar.

But that’s just me!

[Juliett]

If keep contributing to the retirement accounts/HSA and pull back on investing.

[Author]

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