WWDD? (what would Dave do)

I wish there were a way to know exactly what step you're supposed to take next in life without having to stress over it for weeks or months... Like, I know we should pray and go to the temple and we have done that several times before - but wouldn't it just be nice to know exactly what to do and know for sure?

Here's the thing - I was introduced to Dave Ramsey almost a year ago. He says don't buy a house until you've paid off your debts. So even if I were to call in and ask him I already know what he'd say. But we won't be done paying off debt until 2026 according to an online calculator I just used, and so my question is, do we really rent for 10 years while we do that? Do we lose out on that much equity? Plus buying will be just as much or cheaper than renting. But I also feel like this house we're in right now was meant for us - like Heavenly Father practically set it right in front of us and said, "live here." But for how long?? It's big enough that we would be comfortable here for a few years, but is that what we should do?

I'm seriously at a loss. Because if we did decide to buy a house, the math just doesn't make sense. We may make enough to pay a monthly mortgage and our full student loan payment, but there is no wiggle room in there to save up a down payment and not to mention closing costs! I mean, I've heard you can roll closing costs into your mortgage, but we seriously would be saving up a down payment for probably as long as we'll be paying off our student loans so... is it just a catch 22? Does it even matter? I guess the equity kind of tips the scales because if we buy, then when we pay off our loans we can sell our house and have a nice chunk of change to toss at a bigger, better one.

But that's not what Dave suggests - and he seems to have his ducks in a row so I am just so frustrated and confused! Should we rent for 5 years and then buy? Kind of like a happy medium?

Also can I just put it out there that whenever I read articles that suggest ways to save money I get even more frustrated because it's always stuff like "cut your cable bill" or "don't eat out as much" or "shop thrift stores" and I'm like THAT'S MY EVERYDAY LIFE.  We've never had cable. What else can I cut? Internet? We eat out like maybe twice a month and only at the places with one $ on yelp. I have a pair of jeans I've worn completely out that I got from a friend three years ago as hand-me-downs. Luckily my mom just came to the rescue cleaning out her closet and gave me a couple replacement jeans. I pretty much go to thrift stores exclusively. Although, one time Walmart had some t-shirts on clearance for $2 so I bought three of them.

And I'm not complaining, I think we have an awesome life now that Kade's not in school anymore. We live in a 5 bedroom house with a backyard! Not a 2 bed townhome without one anymore! It's just now that we've finished the "Get a job" step, we're looking toward the next step - which could be either pay off loans or buy a house or both. But I don't know what to do!!

Ugh. Even though I'm no farther along in the decision making process, I still feel better having thrown it all out there. It's kind of like when the dirty laundry starts piling up in my room, and I just toss it all in the laundry room and shut the door. It feels so much better, even though I know I'm going to have to come back and deal with it later.