[Kracka]

A loan for $5-6k would have a payment of under $200/month if you do a 3-4 year loan (all depends on your APR of course). To get a decent fixed rate mortgage though you're going to need a good credit history/score which isn't possible without having a few loans and credit cards (not carrying a balance) on your record. My wife and I have both had 2 auto loans and have carried a few credit cards since college and both of us have excellent credit which really helped a ton when it came time to buy a house. The biggest thing is to not stretch yourself thin and NEVER miss a payment or make late payments a regular occurance.