Episode 53, The Marshall Art of budgeting for a house OR making room for a mortgage without living on ramen!

The practice mortgage test. Let's say your current housing payment is $1,500 per month. Your budgeting for a future housing payment of $2,300. That's an $800 difference. For the next three months, move that extra $800 into savings every month. Pretend the mortgage already exists. Don't touch the money. Live as though you've already bought the house. If everything feels manageable, great. If you're eating peanut butter sandwiches by week two and arguing with your thermostat, you've learned something valuable before signing a 30-year commitment. And the best part, this test costs nothing.