We started by renting a house from my parents to get used to "living" together.. make sure we were compatible!
Our goal was then to purchase our first home, which we did in Oct 2007. Basically anything that was "cheap" so we could have a practice run at what it was like paying a mortage, rates etc etc...
Next we did a few reno's (by a few, I mean we gutted the entire place!) and have sprused it up a hell of alot! We've just started working on the gardens...
Next we want to buy some land, about 5 acre's, and build our dream home, and we'll probably stay here until we cark it . Hopefully we'll be able to keep the house we have now and rent it out (i don't think I could part with it anyway, we've put in so much work and it's so pretty!) so it will be able to pay for itself to an extent iykwim and use it as a kick start for our own childrens futures.
Fingers crossed!!