**Redditor discovers VA home loan is sitting there like a broken fridge, AITA for not using it?**
Title: TIFU by realizing I’ve been paying rent for 3 years while the government literally begs me to take a 0% down house loan.
So I (32M, veteran) just found out the VA home loan program isn’t some mythical creature like Bigfoot or a functioning DMV. It’s real. It’s been sitting in my wallet like that $5 gift card to a store that closed in 2012.
I’ve been renting a shoebox for $1,800/mo because I thought buying a house required “money” and “credit” like some kind of Victorian-era aristocrat. Turns out, the VA will hand me a no-down-payment, low-interest loan and I’ve been ignoring it like my ex’s "we need to talk" texts.
TL;DR: I’m a moron, housing market is still hell, but apparently Uncle Sam has been offering me a golden ticket and I’ve been using it as a bookmark.
[Veteran punched in the face by basic financial literacy] – more at 11.