WITH A LITTLE CREATIVITY YOU CAN SAVE FOR A HOME
If you’re like most people you dream of owning your own home one day. But with the ever-increasing cost of buying a house, saving up for a mortgage down payment can seem daunting. It can be difficult and you most likely will have to make some sacrifices to your lifestyle but unlocking the door to your very own home for the first time will make it all worthwhile. I’ve compiled the following 5 tips that some ingenious homeowners have used to help make it a little more doable.
1. BANK ONE PAYCHEQUE
If you’re saving with a partner this is a great way to speed things up. Friends of mine did this and it helped them save up a significant mortgage down payment in just a few years. It might be hard for some couples but if you’re willing to make a few sacrifices and live off of just 1 of your paycheques it can really help you save up quickly. Especially if you can bank the larger paycheque and live off of the smaller one. For example, if you or your partner are earning a take-home of $30-40,000 a year and you bank that, after just 3 years that’s a savings of $90-120,000. That would make a sweet down payment!
2. MOVE BACK HOME
I know! For a lot of you, this might be considered a last resort, or even undoable. However, if your parents have a basement, space, or a room they’re willing to let you live in, this can be a fantastic way to save; especially if you can get meals thrown in! It may take some patience (okay a lot) on both your parts, not to mention the diplomatic skills of a UN worker, but parents are usually pretty willing to do anything to help their children get ahead in life and you can save a lot of money. Think about it! You could potentially save almost all of your take-home income. So, let’s say you or you and your partner are banking around $50-80,000 a year, in 3 years that would be around $150-240,000. In some cities, you can even buy a house outright for that. For that kind of money, you could live at home for a mere 3 years, right?
3. FIND CHEAPER HOUSING
Sometimes a little downgrade can help you upgrade! If you are currently renting, another option is to find a cheaper apartment. Instead of renting in that fancy building in the trendy part of town, perhaps look for something in a building that is a little older or just outside your preferred area where units are often more reasonably priced. Saving even $300-500.00 a month can really add up. In just 2 years, that could mean a savings of $7200-12,000. Ka-ching!! Or if you’re really determined to fast-track your savings program, I know a couple who moved into a basement apartment to save up as much as they could. In 2 years, without any other lifestyle changes, they were able to buy their first house with a down payment of $35,000 that they’d saved just by downgrading their housing situation. It seems like a big sacrifice but they said the 2 years went by quickly and now they have a beautiful home that they’ll live in for many years to come.
4. GET A 2ND-JOB OR SIDE HUSTLE
If you have the time and are willing to work long hours this is another great way to help save for a down payment. Working just 3 nights a week or on the weekend could potentially bring in another $100-250.00 a week for a total of $400-1000.00 a month. Add that up over a year & you’ve got a nice sum! I’m not saying it would be easy but it can certainly help add to your savings.
5. ASK FOR GIFTS OF MONEY INSTEAD OF PRESENTS
On top of all the savings that you’re doing yourself, this is a great way to top up your mortgage down payment. Ask your family (and possibly friends) to gift you money instead of presents for every birthday and holiday that you would normally exchange gifts on. Admittedly, unless your parents are Rockefellers, this isn’t going to be a standalone solution but it can add to what you already have. I have 1 friend whose parents usually spent around $300-500.00 a child for birthday and Christmas gifts. Instead of getting another present that she really didn’t need anyway, she received the money instead. She also asked her grandparents to do the same and at the end of the year, she was able to add another $1,200 a year to her savings. Doing this alone will probably not get you the total mortgage down payment amount you need but she figures adding this amount to what she was already saving enabled her to purchase her condo about 3 years earlier than she would have been able to without it.
So these are just a few tips for helping to save up for a mortgage down payment for your first house. Not all of them will work for everyone but I hope that there’s something here that will help you. I’d love to hear any other ideas you may have or if you’re a homeowner I’d love to hear how you did it!
Please Leave A Comment
If you like this post I would be so grateful if you left a comment! Comments help other people find my posts so they can enjoy them too. Thanks! I appreciate your support!
For more savings tips check out this post on 8 Painless Ways To Save Money.
