How Much House Can I REALLY Afford?

Well my personal rule of thumb would be to go WAY under what you can actually "afford". Do you really want to cut back every other fun aspect of your life for your house? As long as you have a house in a safe area where you can enjoy the company of your family, why get something over the top. I have to tell myself to be patient and overtime I can get something nicer, bigger and with more features. Personally I don't want to HAVE to count every single penny in order to pay my mortgage, that is just to risky. If you still do a great job of being strict with your spending and have money left over, take a nice vacation or do something special with the family.