Honeymoon or House?

I say house only cause I'm partial. My FH and I are moving into a new rental (I wish we could afford a house right now, Alaska = extremely expensive housing) and we are even saving our money for the new place and we plan to have a honeymoon trip on our one year anniversary.

I think both .

I would first prequalify for a mortgage and see what you are qualified for, and what kind of down payment it would require.

Then, depending on that, perhaps do both! If you have, for example, $10k saved, but only need to put $5k plus closing costs down on a house....then you still do some kind of honeymoon.

We're having the same debate! We are paying for the majority of the wedding and are leaning towards a mini moon for 3 days after then saving for the house. Honeymoon I would rather do for 1 or 5 year anniversary when we have a little more cash.

My vote goes for the honeymoon! Stuff happens. Life has a way of moving so fast that the next thing you know, you have 2 or 3 kids, tuition loans, car payments, etc. And no one is promised tomorrow, so go for it. Make lots of memories! I promise that memories are what will get you through life. No regrets!

We just bought our house and are taking 2 weeks off after the wedding to have a staycation. We thought it was much better to buy the house while we had money for the down payment and go on a honeymoon later on. No one says you have to do it right away!

How much were you planning on spending on a honeymoon? If money is so tight that you can't afford to do both, I'd wait on buying a house until your are more financially secure.

It really depends how much you want to spend on the house..I know first hand grad school isn't the most lucrative 5-7 years of one's life to say the least (lol). What happens if you get laid off? Another factor would be how much money you have saved (not that you have to divulge that information here), also another factor is how much you think you would spend on a honeymoon. Are you within driving distance of places you would like to go? Check out homeaway.com or similar sites. They have affordable vacation rentals even if it's only for 3 days or so. Driving could save on two plane tickets. Maybe scale down the wedding cost so you could go on a small trip? There are so many factors so it's hard to vote for one or the other just yet..Maybe crunch the numbers with FH and see. Good luck deciding!

Get the house, and do a long weekend trip

I am going to chime in because I have worked with people who have relocated before.

If you are moving to an area you are unfamiliar with, please RENT for at least a month or so or make a long visit and stay in a hotel and drive around the area to make sure - MAKE SURE - you are going to be happy living in that particular area. DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!

Simple Google searches can give you a really good idea of what is considered a nice/good part of town and what areas might be "up and coming" or otherwise higher crime areas. Realtors cannot steer you - meaning we cannot tell you "oh you do not want to live here, let's try this area instead" or "there were 3 robberies in this neighborhood last summer, are you sure you want to buy in this area?" You see my point.

Whatever you choose, it would be a major blow for you to buy your "dream home" only to find out there is a stinky refinery a mile away, the area is rife with crime due to foreclosures, you have a baby in 3 years and where you live is not in the school district you want. I honestly think if you plan something nice and not over the top for a honeymoon I see no reason why you cannot do both.