Since I was a little girl I’ve wanted my own house. A place that I could call my own and decorate to my personal taste. During my childhood dollhouses had to satiate that desire. Once I grew up and had been working full-time for a few years I started to pursue this dream by saving up a down payment.
From doing research and talking to people I knew it was best to have about 20% to put down and when I started saving that was my goal. This was a little tricky because depending on the house, the dollar amount for 20% would vary, but knowing the max amount I’d want to spend helped me figure out a number I should shoot for.
(I am not a financial expert. All information is based on my own personal experience and research. This information is not meant to be financial advice and is just for educational purposes. This post includes some affiliate links. Should you click an affiliate link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
In order to save as much as possible, I identified several tactics that would help me. So when I did end up buying a house, I didn’t quite put down 20% I did make a sizable down payment which I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t done the following:
Except for a car loan which I paid off early I didn’t rack up any other type of debt. When I paid off my car early the had been to save the money that had been going towards car payments for my house down payment. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen due to my move to Florida. Housing is more expensive here so the extra money went toward rent. On the flip side though, by not having the car loan debt my monthly expenses stayed flat instead of increasing.
Related read: How To Financially Prepare As a First-time Home Buyer
From doing research and talking to people I knew it was best to have about 20% to put down and when I started saving that was my goal. This was a little tricky because depending on the house, the dollar amount for 20% would vary, but knowing the max amount I’d want to spend helped me figure out a number I should shoot for.
(I am not a financial expert. All information is based on my own personal experience and research. This information is not meant to be financial advice and is just for educational purposes. This post includes some affiliate links. Should you click an affiliate link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
Once I had a goal, I had to figure out how to achieve that goal. When I first started working towards my goal the best way to do that was to save, save, save. This meant saving as much as I could of what I was making and finding ways to earn a few dollars here and there that could also be saved.
Related read: How I Decided I Was Ready To Buy A House
In order to save as much as possible, I identified several tactics that would help me. So when I did end up buying a house, I didn’t quite put down 20% I did make a sizable down payment which I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t done the following:
1. Lived below my means
This was probably the biggest way I saved money over time. It was hard in the beginning because I didn't make a lot of money and didn’t have a lot of disposable income. I soon realized that to save as much as I could I had to spend less. As I advanced in my career and received a raise I would adjust my budget so most of the extra income was being put into savings or retirement accounts. This meant that I- Stayed in older, cheaper apartments instead of moving to newer more expensive ones
- Shopped mostly sales and used coupons when it came to groceries and other items like clothing
- Didn’t eat out much
- Wasn’t updating my wardrobe every season
- Didn’t go on elaborate vacations every year and saved up for the ones I went on
2. Stayed out of debt
I use my credit card for just about every purchase I make because it’s easier and quicker than cash. Also, I found that using a credit card is safer for me than cash. I find I spend more and more easily when I’m using cash. So though a credit card is my go-to for payments I don’t have any credit card debt. I make sure I spend only what I can afford and pay my bill off in full each month.Related read: 7 Tips For Paying Off Your Debt Quicker
Except for a car loan which I paid off early I didn’t rack up any other type of debt. When I paid off my car early the had been to save the money that had been going towards car payments for my house down payment. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen due to my move to Florida. Housing is more expensive here so the extra money went toward rent. On the flip side though, by not having the car loan debt my monthly expenses stayed flat instead of increasing.
3. Regularly monitored my budget
By seeing exactly what was coming in and out of my account each week I could make quicker decisions and adjustments to my spending. To track my budget I started with an Excel spreadsheet, but soon moved to an online budget management system. The online system allowed me to automate the tracking of my spending and saving by linking my bank accounts and credit cards.Related read: What Are Sinking Funds And How To Set Them Up
4. Set up a dedicated savings account
To make sure I didn’t touch the money I was saving for my down payment I set up a savings account with an online bank that had a high-interest rate. Having the money in an online bank meant I couldn’t easily touch the money allowing it to grow through regular deposits and compound interest.
How do you save up for a big purchase?
0 Comments
Spam comments and comments with links promoting other sites will be deleted by the moderator.