Getting serious about saving for your home

Let’s be real – saving for your home is certainly not something that you can do overnight. It often comes down to a choice, do you sacrifice things now in order to save more money faster, or do you sacrifice later and miss out on your dream home because you didn’t have quite enough funds to make it possible.

But, can we let you in on a secret? It’s time to say goodbye to drastic measures and sacrifices when it comes to saving money. Victoria Hayward, Loan Market Mortgage Broker believes meeting in the middle is the key to living in balance, and successfully saving.

“There’s no need to do extreme yo-yo savings one way or the other – living without now or living without in the future can cause additional stress when it’s just not needed,” she said.

So how do you successfully save for your home and still enjoy all the smashed avo on sourdough you want?

Saving for a deposit for a home

Whether you’re budgeting with the help of an app or online tool, you’ve created some structure in a spreadsheet or you’re just sticking to the basic pen and paper, jotting down your income, expenses and savings goals will make you more accountable.

Often what can be an eye-opening experience, it will certainly make it easier to see how much per week / fortnight / month you’re spending on certain things or activities, to see exactly where you can cut down or even better, what you can cut back on completely.

And, for those that already have debts? It’s time to get on top of them.

Loan Market Mortgage Broker Luke Mackness knows how daunting it can be  to acknowledge all your debts, but he’s a firm believer that
consolidation is key.

“And the fewer debts you have, the more likely your bank will look favourably on you when the time comes to move forward with your home loan.”

Speaking of debts, it is common for couples to own two cars, but can you make it as a one car household? If either of you or both of you rely on public transport to get to and from work, it might not be as difficult as you first think. Plus, look at it as an easy and quick way to instantly stop spending excess money, rather saving it instead.

Cars are expensive, high on running costs, insurance, registration, maintenance and fuel. They also tend to be a highly depreciating asset – why would you want to increase expenses on a depreciating asset when that money can sit in a bank account and accumulate interest instead?

If you’re reading this thinking ‘oh man,’ don’t loose hope! Trust that it will payoff in the long run. The ability to save money plays an important part in your life, whether it be for that splurge item you’ve been lusting after for a while, a trip of a lifetime holiday or to get you into the property market. Every cent counts!