If you are thinking about buying a home of your own, you might be wondering just how much you should spend. Choosing a house buying budget before you ever really start shopping for a home is smart; it can help prevent you from wasting time looking at homes that you can't afford and can also help prevent you from experiencing the disappointment of falling in love with a house for sale, only to find that you can't get approved for it. There are a few things that are looked at when determining how much house you can afford, so consider these tips when determining your house buying budget.

1. Use a Mortgage Calculator

First of all, you should know that there are a lot of handy online tools -- such as mortgage calculators -- that you can use to get an idea of how much you should spend on a home. These calculators use things like your monthly income and your current debts to give you an idea of how much home you should look for. These calculators can also help with things like helping you determine how much of a down payment you need and telling you how much you can expect your monthly mortgage payment to be.

2. Talk to a Lender

It's always a good idea to secure your financing before you ever start looking for a home; then, you'll know how much you are approved for, and you won't have to worry about starting the whole process from the beginning when you do finally find a home that you like. A good mortgage lender will be able to sit down with you and talk to you about your income, credit score, and other factors and can help you determine how much of a mortgage you qualify for. This can give you a good starting point when shopping for homes.

3. Consider Your Own Budget

Always remember that mortgage calculators and the calculations that lenders use to determine how much home a person can afford are only used as a starting point. Just because a lender says that you can afford a certain amount does not mean that it's true, and you don't want to buy a home only to find that you're miserable because you can barely pay the mortgage payment. Writing out all of your bills and expenses and determining how much you feel comfortable spending each month on a mortgage payment is also very important when you are determining how much home you can afford.

As you can see, there are a few things that you can look at when determining how much to spend on a house. If you follow these tips, you should have a good starting point in mind when you meet with a real estate agent to start looking for your dream home.