How I saved a down payment from almost nothing
A smaller life and a smaller first house. How I saved a down payment from almost nothing, what I cut to do it, and how long it took to reach the closing.
The Van to Vault blog
House hacking, first homes, and the plain math behind them. Browse by category or start with the newest posts.
What is house hacking?
House hacking is buying a small multifamily property, living in one unit, and renting out the rest so tenant rent covers most of the mortgage. It is how I went from a van to a duplex, and it is what most of this blog is about.
House hacking with an FHA loan: the 3.5%-down path I used
How a near-broke former van dweller bought a $470,000 building with $16,450 down using the FHA 3.5% owner-occupant path, and what it took to qualify.
How Much Can You Make House Hacking? My Actual Numbers
House hacking pays you three ways and only one shows up in your bank account. My duplex produces about $39,000 a year, worked out line by line.
Can you house hack with a family?
Most house hacking content assumes you are 24 and single. What it looks like with a family, which strategies survive the change, and which ones do not.
Effective housing cost: the one number house hackers should track
Forget cash flow for a moment. Effective housing cost is what you actually pay to live somewhere after tenant rent, and it is the number that changed mine.
Do you pay taxes on house hacking income?
Yes, and the rented portion carries deductions that often go unclaimed. An accountant walks through how house hacking income is taxed, in plain English.
Is House Hacking Still Worth It in 2026? The Math at Today’s Rates
House hacking still cuts your housing cost at 6.66% rates. Here is the same $470,000 duplex worked out at both rates, and exactly what changed.
Trade vs Higher Education
A trade apprenticeship deserves a closer look than most 18-year-olds give it, because you are paid to learn instead of
School Debt Trap
The school debt trap is defined as student borrowing that runs on the same structural logic as predatory lending, stretched
Scholarships: The Student’s highest-paying job opportunity
Scholarship applications are the best paying work most students can do, because the hours are few and the competition is
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