When an individual's income starts growing and they manage to set aside some savings, they commonly experience what may be considered an innate instinct of modern civilized mankind. The desire to spend money.

Since North Americans have a special love affair with the automobile, this becomes a high priority item on the shopping list. Later, other things will be added and one of those will probably be a house.

However, by the time home ownership has become more than a distant and hopeful dream, you may have already bought the car. It happens all the time, sometimes just before you contact a lender to get pre-qualified for a mortgage. As part of the interview, you may tell the loan officer your price target. He will ask about your income, your savings and your debts, then give you his opinion. "If only you didn't have this car payment," he might begin, "you would certainly qualify for a home loan to buy that house."