Many of you are willing to buy their new home, they have a good credit score and their income allows them to do so, however, they haven’t been able to save the money required for the down payment or the closing costs which usually combined would range from 5-7% of the house sale price.
Today I would like to share with you my personnel experience in buying my first home, we have been there and we did not have enough cash for the down payment or the closing costs but, we were confident that we will be able to within a year, and this is what we decided to do so.
• We reviewed our expenses, item by item and marked the expenses that are no longer necessary example as a result:
• We cancelled cable subscriptions, Linked-Inn subscription
• The expenses showed that we spend a lot of money on take out lunch and dinner outside decided to cook and home as it cheaper for a family of four and healthier
• It came to our attention that utility companies do have discount offers every now and then, we kept tracking of such offers and managed to save 10% on our monthly bills.
• We invested in smart thermostat system, also helped us to better manage our bills, also some utility companies provide cash back to encourage people save on their monthly bills.
• We consolidated our cell phones bills in one taking advantage of and offer was going on for 4 cell numbers
• We made sure that we use our credit cards for all our expenses, so that we make use of the 2% and 1% cash back but remember to pay in full and on time to avoid the interest rate.
• We integrated the security system with the same internet provider
• My husband travels a lot and accordingly we decided that one car will be enough for us, and if we must use another car, we just Uber. We saved on the lease and insurance
• We shopped around for our car insurance to get the same benefits for lower pricing
• We watched our online purchases; with such convenience it is very easy to get carried away and spend a lot without watching how much you are spending.
When we add all these savings, we were able to save $10K in one year, is not that great!
On top of the that:
We both agreed that Tax refunds are untouchable, and we always saved it for future projects/plans, that year it went to our down payment.
Also, we had the option to withdraw money from our traditional investment account, eventually we decided not to, but if you are planning to do so, I would recommend to consult with your financial advisor.
Bee Maslamani
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