If buying a new home is your goal, then saving money needs to be your priority.
It’s time to break yourself of the paycheck to paycheck mentality and hone in on areas of your life where you can get by with less. Going without may not sound appealing, but it will all be worth it when you’re able to afford the home of your dreams.
Home Buying Budget
The first step in saving up for a new home is creating budgets. What? More than one? Yes, and here’s why…
Not every expense is a monthly expense. If you really want a clear picture of your financial situation, you definitely don’t want to ignore expenses that only get paid a couple of times per year. Thus, monthly and yearly budgets are a fantastic idea.
9 Tips For Saving Money to Buy a Home
Now that you’ve got your expenses on paper, it’s time to make room for that house payment. How much room you make will be entirely up to you. Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Change up your cable television. Between Netflix, Hulu Plus, CBS, and even HBO, you can piece together quite an entertaining television package without spending $200 a month.
2. Cook more, eat out less. This is an obvious way to save money. What may not be as obvious is just how often you really are eating out. Track your spending for a month to be sure.
3. Make your own coffee. One large premium roast coffee per day from McDonald’s, $42.60 per month. One pound of high quality ground coffee beans, $7.00 – $15.00.
4. Buy in bulk. Bulk purchases can save you a ton of money if you do your homework. Head on up to Spanish Fork and stock up at Costco or look for bulk deals online. There are plenty.
5. Find free recreation. There is a good chance that at some point in your life you’ve been short on funds and had to find free or inexpensive ways to entertain yourself. Get creative like you did back then! If you live in beautiful Sanpete County, UT, there is plenty to see and do.
6. Take control of your utilities. A little extra effort here can translate into a lot of savings. Unplug what you aren’t using, including phone chargers, and turn off lights when you leave the room. If possible, try to get used to lower temperatures in the winter and higher in the summer.
7. Fix it yourself with YouTube. You can find a video that shows you how to do almost anything online. Need a new alternator for your Ford F-150? There’s a video for that.
8. Get rid of your home phone and dial back your cell phone service. In this day and age, there just isn’t much need for a landline anymore. Even VOIP services are often overpriced and/or unimpressive. Consider what you really need for phone service and then shop around for a good price.
9. Finance charges have got to go. There is enough competition between banks that you should be able to find one that meets your needs without feeing you to death. Shop around for a bank that will hold onto your cash for free.
All there is left to do is sit back, relax and be amazed at how much extra room there is in your budget. Oh, and contact me if you have any other concerns!
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