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Ask Brianna鈥� is a Q&A column for 20-somethings, or anyone else starting out. I鈥檓 here to help you manage your money, find a job and pay off student loans 鈥� all the real-world stuff no one taught us how to do in college. Send your questions about postgrad life to聽askbrianna@nerdwallet.com.

This week鈥檚 question:

Paying rent every month feels like throwing money away. Should I keep renting or buy a house?

I used to want to buy a house so I could have my own garden. Despite my dismal track record for keeping plants alive, I wanted to be able to grow more fresh food than a few sad herbs on a fire escape. With my own house I could also try out all those crafty home renovation ideas I saw on HGTV, I thought, or hang art without having to spackle haphazardly at the end of my lease.

The jump聽from renting to owning聽is a huge financial step, not just a change in lifestyle. You鈥檒l need a potentially hefty down payment, solid credit and a plan to live in the same place for long enough to make buying worth your time and money.

Three-quarters of renters ages 18 to 39 say owning a home is better than renting because it鈥檚 a solid investment and protects you from rent increases, according to the May 2014聽Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, but that鈥檚 only true once you鈥檙e financially secure enough to buy. That means for me, a garden will have to wait. Here鈥檚 why.

You鈥檒l need to stay put for a while: Sure, renting feels like 鈥渢hrowing money away.鈥� But when your lease is up, you have the option to move to a different neighborhood, get your own place without roommates or cram your stuff into a storage unit and travel the world.

Owning a house doesn鈥檛 come with that flexibility. Buying and selling a home is a complex, expensive process that includes closing costs and a real estate agent鈥檚 commission that could be 5 or 6% of the property鈥檚 price when you sell. It generally makes financial sense only if you plan to stay put for at least five years, says Leslie Ransom, a financial planner in Chicago. You can鈥檛 always count on the home鈥檚 value to stay the same or increase, meaning you could lose money if you sell soon after buying.

Renting may be a better option for you right now, and there鈥檚 nothing wrong with that 鈥� even if the American dream has you thinking you haven鈥檛 made it until you鈥檙e a homeowner.

鈥淲hat you need in a home is going to change,鈥� Ransom says, especially when you鈥檙e in your 20s and early 30s. Maybe you鈥檙e not sure you can deal with your city鈥檚 subzero winters long term, or you might want to move closer to your parents as they age. Maybe you鈥檒l be desperate for more space as you get married and have kids, and you鈥檇 rather wait until you can afford to buy a bigger place.

You鈥檒l need serious savings: Another big consideration should be the mammoth cost of buying and maintaining a home. A traditional down payment is 20% of a home鈥檚 price. The median price of existing homes reached a record high of $247,700 in June, according to the聽National Association of Realtors, so I don鈥檛 blame you if your jaw hits the floor at the idea of a $49,540 down payment.

Advice on the ideal size of a聽down payment聽can be maddeningly inconsistent. Programs aimed at first-time homebuyers through government agencies such as the Federal Housing Administration and traditional banks will let you make a down payment of 3.5%, or even less, on your first home. In fact, the median down payment among millennial homebuyers, those ages 18 to 35, was 7%, the National Association of Realtors鈥櫬燞ome Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report聽found. You can also get help from state and local聽homeowner assistance programs.

But it鈥檚 in your best interest to pay as close to that 20% as possible. The larger a down payment you can make, the more financially secure you appear to lenders. You鈥檒l get a lower interest rate on your mortgage, meaning a lower monthly payment. In addition, you won鈥檛 have to pay mortgage insurance, which protects the lender in case you can鈥檛 repay the loan.

If you鈥檙e scrounging for a down payment, you may also struggle to afford the ongoing costs of owning a home: repairs, property taxes, yard upkeep, homeowners insurance and perhaps a higher utility bill.

Look up the average home prices in the area you might want to move to, and use a聽rent vs. buy calculator聽to see if the associated costs make buying worth it. A聽home affordability calculator聽can show you the down payment you鈥檒l need in the area where you鈥檙e looking. It鈥檚 a bummer to have to wait to buy a house, but being financially ready will make your graduation from renter to homeowner even sweeter.

Brianna McGurran is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽bmcgurran@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽@briannamcscribe.

This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press.聽