John L. Scott

Putting Finance First: Saving Tips For a New Home Purchase

by Susanne Brothers 02/10/2021

Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay

Preparing to purchase a home? It’s time to get your finances in order. Although this is an exciting time, you’d be surprised to learn how much a new home purchase can leave you strapped for cash. Saving for your home can get you prepared to have money for your down payment and a discretionary fund to cover any additional expenses that may come up you haven’t anticipated. Here are a few tips for saving for your new home:

  • Budget
  • Creating a monthly budget will help you see what you spend money on and where you can cut unnecessary expenses out.

  • Stash your savings
  • Put every penny you save in an account that is hard to withdraw money from. You can use another savings account for other things, but this one should be off-limits.

  • Automate it
  • Your savings should automatically come out of your paycheck or withdraw from your checking account. By doing this, you’ll get used to not having that money while building your nest egg.

  • Bank any excess
  • If you got a refund from a rebate or something else unexpected, take the time and send that money to the savings stash.

  • Downsize
  • In order to get fully ready to move into a home, you may have to downsize your place to save money. Saving 20% of your rent to go towards the home fund is helpful and commendable.

  • Additional work
  • Taking on side jobs while you’re saving will help you get the amount you are trying to save in your pocket a little bit faster. This extra money can help pay down bills and save at the same time.

  • Cut retirement giving
  • Until you save the amount you would like to use for your down payment and other incidentals, cut the automatic payments into your retirement account. Once you have achieved the amount you would like to save, restart your automatic withdrawal.

    This can be a tedious process, especially if you aren’t used to saving. Confide in someone close to you to keep you accountable. This person is someone who won’t tempt you with going out to eat or meeting to catch the latest sales. You can also make it a goal you share with everyone, and they all start saving for something special too. It’s a process so cut yourself some slack when you’re feeling as if you could be saving a lot more, or you slipped up. If eating out was your thing, buy the ingredients at the store and cook a gourmet meal, or if you went to the movies, subscribe to a streaming service instead.

    You’ll put yourself in the position to get your home sooner than you think while adopting habits you can continue to use throughout the year.

    About the Author
    Author

    Susanne Brothers

    Susanne Brothers, ABR, HOWNW Certified Specialist
    Realtor® with Meadows Group Inc., Realtors
    Licensed in the State of Oregon #201218009#201218009

    Whether you're in the research phase at the beginning of your real estate search or you know exactly what you're looking for, you'll benefit from having a real estate professional by your side. I'd be honored to put my real estate experience to work for you.