I was 45 when I bought my house, Sorta! Not exactly a spring chicken... I just socked away $250 every month in a savings account and each year paid down the principal by $3,000. I had it timed exactly to make the last payment the December before I retired the following July.

We were in our 30's before we had scraped up enough for a down payment. But one of the things we did was pay $100 extra each month on the Principal. That is a nifty trick. Lets you pay off sooner, saving lots of interest!