"A 57-year-old woman and her 68-year-old husband were doing everything right by conventional standards - investing 35% of their take-home pay into retirement accounts. But this aggressive retirement strategy created an unexpected problem: they couldn't save enough for a down payment on their first home. On a January 2026 episode of The Dave Ramsey Show, the couple received counterintuitive advice that challenged standard financial wisdom."
"The couple takes home $8,000 monthly and invests $2,800 into retirement. With the husband planning to retire in seven years at 75, their current approach would delay homeownership until that retirement date - leaving them without housing security at a critical life stage. The math was straightforward but problematic: insufficient cash flow for a down payment while maintaining their retirement contributions."
"At current rates, a 15-year mortgage costs 5.49%, down 10.3% from a year ago. With median home prices at $410,800 (down 2.9% year-over-year), the couple faces a relatively favorable housing market. The hosts emphasized affordability calculations based on 25% of take-home pay with a 15-year mortgage term - critical since the wife needs to pay off the house within her working years."
A 57-year-old woman and her 68-year-old husband take home $8,000 monthly and invest $2,800 (35%) into retirement, leaving insufficient cash for a down payment. The husband's plan to retire at 75 would delay homeownership until then, creating housing insecurity during later working years. Reducing retirement contributions to $1,500 monthly would free $1,300 for house savings, enabling a down payment in two years while maintaining a 15% retirement investing rate ($36,000 per year). Current stock-market gains and lower 15-year mortgage rates improve affordability, and a 25% take-home affordability rule supports timely payoff for the wife.
Read at 24/7 Wall St.
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