Top Tips on Cutting Costs for Your Home Deposit Savings
Deciding to start saving for a house deposit usually means reigning in the budget and being careful where you spend your money. It can be difficult to get started saving money, especially when you need to come up with an overwhelmingly large figure that is potentially in the tens of thousands. Knowing how much you need to buy the house you want is essential to getting started. Research property prices in your desired suburbs and check lender pages like the BOQ site to get the most up-to-date home loan rates. Below you’ll find some tips that will help you on your way.
Know Where Your Money Is Going
One of the biggest budgeting mistakes people make is not knowing how much they actually spend. No matter how balanced your income looks on paper, if your spending habits don’t match your figures, your budget won’t work. Save all your receipts and tally every cent spent for at least a month to give you a good picture of where you’re spending money, and where there are potential opportunities to save.
Plan Your Meals
Menu planning helps you save money in a couple of key areas. Firstly, you’re less likely to have a grocery budget blowout when you’re shopping to a list and only buying what you need. Secondly, it ensures you’re not throwing good money out with the garbage through food waste. Plan to take a packed lunch to work to help your food dollars go even further.
Pay Your Bills in Instalments
Work out how much you pay on things like registrations, insurance and utilities each year and divide that figure by the number of pays you receive. If you don’t think you can trust yourself to quarantine the bill money in your bank account, pay the weekly amount directly to the biller. Try to build up a small emergency fund to cover you in case a bill is more expensive than you thought it would be, or something unexpected pops up.
Make Yourself Wait to Make a Purchase
Unless the item or service you’re thinking about buying has genuine urgency and is something you need, wait it out before you commit to purchase. Give it at least a week and if you are still thinking about it and still love it as much as when you first saw it, you can buy it. Most people find that by the time their self-imposed waiting period is over, they’ve forgotten about whatever it is they wanted to buy or the desire to purchase is no longer as strong without instant gratification.
Having a budget is only the first step in controlling your finances in order to start working towards a savings goal for a house deposit. Looking into how you’re spending your money and ways that you can combine the lifestyle you want with your financial goals is essential to not only saving a deposit, but paying off your mortgage too.
What’s your best money saving tip?
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