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Most articles focus on the financial nuts and bolts of the things you should have in order before you consider buying a home. You鈥檝e got to have good credit. You鈥檝e got to have a down payment. You鈥檝e got to know the housing market. And so on.

Yet those aren鈥檛 the only important things to be thinking about. Here are four somewhat unorthodox things I would strongly suggest any prospective homeowner seriously tackle before buying a home.

Save a significant amount each month like clockwork for at least two years.

A mortgage payment requires financial discipline as well as enough money, period. Can you cover the mortgage? The insurance? The taxes? The constant expenses that go with homeownership?

Use a mortgage calculator to figure up what your monthly mortgage payment will be. Tack 50% on top of that for insurance, taxes, and other expenses. Subtract your current monthly rent payment from that.

If you can鈥檛 save that amount each month, then you鈥檙e not ready to buy a house of that size.

People will give all sorts of reasons why such a statement isn鈥檛 true.

鈥淵ou really don鈥檛 need that much money each month.鈥� Let鈥檚 hear that refrain again when your hot water heater fails at the same time as you need a new lawnmower and your lawn needs re-seeding.

鈥淥ur lifestyle will be different when we own a house.鈥� In what way? The only major change will be that you have less spending money and, most likely, more room to store stuff.

Such statements are merely ways to pass the buck on to your future self, the responsible one who owns a house and makes more money and makes all of the payments. If that person doesn鈥檛 exist now, merely owning a house won鈥檛 make that person exist in the future. Don鈥檛 ever base your plans on what you hope might happen someday.

Take responsiblity now. See whether or not you actually can make it work in terms of your month-over-month finances. If you can鈥檛 do it now, then you won鈥檛 be able to do it then.

Sell off all of your stuff that you don鈥檛 use.

The less stuff you have, the less space you need. The less space you need, the smaller house you need. The smaller house you need, the more likely it is that you鈥檒l be able to afford that house.

Go through your closest. Pare down. Get rid of stuff that you don鈥檛 use.

If you sell off a lot of your stuff that you don鈥檛 use, you鈥檒l not only realize you don鈥檛 need as much space as you thought you did, but you鈥檒l also find that you suddenly have some cash in hand that can help you move towards actually owning a house.

Even better: the less stuff you have, the easier (and less costly) it is to move.

I鈥檓 not arguing on behalf of selling off stuff that has value to you. I only suggest that you go through your closets and cupboards and get rid of the stuff that you don鈥檛 use. It鈥檚 just sitting there taking up space, convincing you that you need more living space, when in fact it could be money in your pocket and freedom in your life.

Fix some stuff.

If you鈥檙e a renter or you live at home, it鈥檚 easy enough to call a landlord or a parent when there鈥檚 a problem. 鈥淭he toilet seems to be broken.鈥� 鈥淭here鈥檚 no hot water.鈥� 鈥淲hy won鈥檛 the dryer dry my clothes?鈥� 鈥淭here鈥檚 water flooding the basement.鈥�

Here鈥檚 the catch: when those things happen in a house of your own, it鈥檚 up to you to fix it. If you can鈥檛, you鈥檙e going to be shelling out fistfuls of cash to pay someone to do it.

When you鈥檙e living in such an environment, you鈥檝e got a perfect opportunity to learn how to do such things with something of a safety net. When the toilet breaks, try to fix it yourself. Watch some YouTube videos on toilet repair. Identify what parts you need, find a good hardware store, and pick them up. Give the repair a serious attempt all by yourself.

If you can鈥檛 do it, then report the problem. Don鈥檛 just walk away, though 鈥� watch and learn from someone who can do it. Watch your landlord or the repairman. Try to figure out where you went wrong and how you can avoid it next time.

Even if you fail, you鈥檝e learned some things. You鈥檝e learned how to use tools. You鈥檝e learned how to identify problems. You鈥檝e learned what the equipment looks like. This will make solving future problems much simpler and much more cost-effective, especially when you鈥檙e living in your home and something goes wrong for the first time.

Figure out why you鈥檙e buying a home 鈥� there are lots of bad reasons and non-reasons to buy.

Don鈥檛 buy a home because that鈥檚 what you鈥檝e been told you鈥檙e 鈥渟upposed鈥� to do.

Don鈥檛 buy a home because that鈥檚 what you think you鈥檙e 鈥渟upposed鈥� to do.

Don鈥檛 buy a home because it鈥檚 a good investment for the future. It鈥檚 really not all that great of an investment.

Don鈥檛 buy a home because you might get married and have kids someday and you need the space for this hypothetical future.

Don鈥檛 buy a home because you think it will lead you to some sort of idealized suburban life. A home won鈥檛 change who you are.

Don鈥檛 buy a home because you鈥檙e trying to 鈥渒eep up鈥� with someone in your life. It鈥檒l make you fall further behind in the long run.

Buy a home because you it truly makes sense financially and you鈥檙e ready (and excited) to deal with the challenges of homeownership. Buy a home because it鈥檚 better for your housing dollar than the other options available to you.

Buy a home because it鈥檚 what you want and it鈥檚 what you can handle, not because it鈥檚 what others want.

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