This is the part where scraping the bottom of the barrel must become a lifestyle in order to scrape together the ginormous down payment toward a home mortgage.

This is the part where scraping the bottom of the barrel must become a lifestyle in order to scrape together the ginormous down payment toward a home mortgage. Once done, it gets easier. Of course, that is easier said than done, but it took me 10 years to save up for that first-time 20% down payment. I too was a 90% percentile. And it also … afterward … took several homes upward before I can tap out for a bigger down payment for a 3,200 sq. ft. in “cushy” California while attaining just 25% of take-home pay toward mortgage+insurance. First home was a killer 48% of take-home pay toward house payment.