‘Leave the cult’ advises Dave Ramsey after a single woman asks if she should buy a house, alone, despite friends and family telling her to wait for a husband

Kate, in her early 20s, is a marketing professional from the state of Michigan who runs her own business and makes US$150,000 a year. She’s managed to save US$125,000 for a down payment on a house, but she’s getting pushback from her friends and family — because she’s single.

She wrote into The Ramsey Show seeking advice, saying she’s “always wanted to be a homeowner” and she’s confident it’s what she wants to do with her money.

“But a lot of people around me are pressuring me to not buy a home because of Christian beliefs that girls shouldn’t buy homes and men should be providers.”

She doesn’t have a boyfriend and isn’t “even close to getting married.”

Dave Ramsey’s advice about those Christian beliefs? “Leave the cult.”

“That is not a Christian belief, darling. That’s a cult belief.”

Should you buy a house alone?

“Leave whatever madness and misrepresentation of Christian beliefs (and ethics on what is right and wrong) immediately,” explained co-host Dr. John Delony while talking to Kate on The Ramsey Show.

“You know who says this crap? Men who are afraid of losing control of amazing women like this,” he added. So they “take their insecurity and fear and try to duct tape Jesus on top of it to keep their crumbling kingdoms from coming out from under them.”

If his daughter was in a similar situation, Delony said he’d advise her to buy a house with the money she’s saved up as a down payment.

Kate isn’t the only single person wondering if it makes financial sense to wait for a partner before buying a house (even if the reasons have nothing to do with “Christian beliefs”). But many of them are doing it anyway — and some even prefer to buy a home on their own.

Nearly 4 in 10 Canadian renters say they’d be willing to apply for a mortgage alone, according to Point2Home’s: Renter to Homeowner survey.

Sometimes, it’s out of necessity, like a divorce or death of a partner.

But “most of the rise in the popularity of living alone can be attributed to shifts in preferences and societal norms,” according to the Point2Home survey. “People — and especially young people — are changing their perspective on marriage and having a family, with some of them delaying this milestone to pursue education or career goals, and others foregoing it completely.”

Buying a new home can be challenging in today’s market, with high prices and mortgage rates. It’s particularly the case if you’re not sharing the costs with another person.

But it’s not impossible. Kate makes a higher-than-average salary and, in her early 20s, has already saved US$125,000. That’s enough for a sizeable down payment.

The average cost of a home in Canada was $691,643 in June 2025, according to WOWA. The required down payment varies: For a house that costs $500,000 or less, you’ll need to put down at least 5%. For a house that costs $500,000 to $1.5 million, you’ll need to pay 5% of the first $500,000 of the purchase price and 10% for the portion of the purchase price above $500,000. Above $1.5 million, you’ll need to put down at least 20%.

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How to buy a home if you’re single

Qualifying for a mortgage as a single person means your financial house needs to be in order. That means paying off any high interest debts and boosting your credit score so you can qualify for the best mortgage rate possible.

But you’ll also want to make sure you have enough income to cover related housing expenses, such as property taxes, home insurance and ongoing maintenance.

To help pay for these expenses, single homebuyers have a few options. If, after crunching the numbers, you decide you can’t afford to buy on your own, you could consider buying with a friend or family member.

Indeed, 54% of respondents in the 2025 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Consumer Survey said they shared their home purchase with someone other than their partner or spouse.

Another option is getting a tenant to bring in additional income, whether renting out a room or a separate floor of the house.

In the same CMHC survey, 1 in 5 first-time homebuyers cited “the desire for a home with a secondary suite — whether for family or rental income — as a key reason for their purchase.”

However, if going this route, it’s important to thoroughly research everything involved, including your legal obligations.

Being financially independent — whether you buy a house or not — is beneficial at any stage of life, single or not.

But, if family members offer unsolicited financial advice (as in the case of Kate), it’s important to communicate your boundaries and, ultimately, follow your own path. If Kate is feeling conflicted, she may want to seek the advice of a financial advisor or counsellor, who can provide a more objective view than her family can.

As Ramsey puts it: “Keep being the studette that you are and hope that some guy is lucky enough to even catch your eye.”