Looking for suggestions on my situation..

[Brownstone]

You have to stop using your credit cards. Period. If you're living at home, there's no reason to supplement your income with credit. I was you before and was happily using credit and redeeming points and cash. But life happens and eventually you stop paying in full every month. Some people can do this just fine, but considering you have loans you dont need (car) and no savings, I don't think you're one of them. Credit cards are your emergency fund and thats dangerous. I have lots of debt as a result of balance transfers and consolidation loans but not changing my behavior.

I agree that you need to stay home longer. You dont have food included in your monthly expenses. Either you forgot to include or your parents are feeding you. In your current situation, you'd either break even or run a deficit every month on your income. Be blessed that you have parents willing to help and use this time to your advantage. I paid off my car in 18 months, paid off debt, and saved for my home thanks to living with family. I also moved in with only $300 in savings and life happened. I had a child and my behavior hadnt changed (spending) so I ran up debt again. Learn from me!

[Gailete]

I'm afraid that I'm a bit appalled that a guy your age has so many debts and is still living at home. You do realize that one of the reasons that you have felt free to make the debt is that you are living at home and aren't sweating bullets on a monthly basis to make ends meet. I have a 28 year old autistic son, that rents his own apartment, has his own job, drives his own clunker free and clear, doesn't even own a credit card but does have a debit card, he does have a school loan that he pays on monthly and has close to $5000 in the bank. I'm proud of him, but he had to learn the hard way that mom and dad couldn't afford to have him living at home mooching off of us (I'm on disability due to chronic health problems). So he has had to figure out how to be frugal and how to find part time income when needed. He was thrilled that most of the Christmas gifts he just gave were bought via income he made doing on line surverys and other sorts of things like that.

Does he have long term goals that he would like to achieve? Sure. But that doesn't mean buying a house without a decent downpayment and since he is highly allergic to grass, lawn care is out of the question for him so he will most likely always be a renter or have to buy a condo.

Don't know why you are looking towards a house instead of renting. Renting is what people used to do when it wasn't so easy to get loans and/or give yourself loans off your credit cards. If you have been living at home all this time you should have a bucket of money saved, drive a clunker if needed, your $300-400 a month for misc small things like gas and groceries is what my hubby and I spend monthly if not more than we do. Many whole families live on what you make while renting what they can afford. If you REALLY want out of your folks house, then find a cheap apartment and do it! Sounds like you have been making excuses for years now. Perhpas I sound harsh, but I have been supporting myself since I was 17 and can't imagine living at home all those years. I came home from college after my first semester and didn't even have a bedroom anymore. I had to 'borrow' a brother's room for the holiday. By the time I graduated college (working and earning my whole way through) I came home to let's hurry up and find you a job and a place to live and I did with $65 bucks in my pocket in one week flat. Life is what we make it.