Saving for a down payment is hard work, so it’s a good idea to really want to own your own home when you start your savings account. It’s hard to turn down a weekend in the Bahamas (or Downtown at the Clubs!) when you don’t have a definite goal.
Step One: Get a Job! This will definitely help you find the money to save! LOL!
Step Two: Keep the Job – Longevity in the job is an important factor that financial institutions look for when trying to qualify for a mortgage.
Step Three: Go through your worn clothes with a fine tooth comb. (Please, this is strictly figurative! No gross combs in your financial documents!) Ask yourself some very serious questions: Do you really need to spend $5.00 on a cup of coffee five times a day? Even though it is fabulously delicious?? Even a cup at $3.25/day costs $1,186.25 a year. Five cups at price per day would be $5931.25. That’s a lot of money, and often enough for a down payment.
It’s a good idea to write down everything you actually buy: lottery tickets, coffee, lunches, snacks, clothes you don’t really need; it’s the “little incidentals” that really add up.
Step four: Start a separate bank account, just for your ‘future home’. Anything you can put in there is good; if you can manage $25.00 a week, that’s $1300. one year; $50./week gets you $2,600. a year, and if you can make $100./week, that’s $5,200. in one year.
You’ll be surprised how easy it is to blow $100. on all sorts of little things: When you make the big decision to buy your own place, you suddenly find yourself prioritizing…and that doesn’t mean you have to slap yourself on the wrist to stop. of frivolous expenses (which, unfortunately, happens to be the funniest type of spending! Ha ha!). You’ll just make the decision one day that you need to own your own home so you can 1) Make money, 2) Not hand over your money, and have nothing to show for it at the end of the day, say, Monday. … poof, poof! 3) Secure your future.
Step five: Find out how much you can borrow for your new place. Click online so you can quickly determine this information. Especially if you’re new to the Real Estate game, it’s less stressful than going to the Bank, plus you don’t have to make a special appointment!
Step Six: Start looking for your new place! Check out the cool new condos that are everywhere now. They have really good payment plans, and if you make your purchase before they’re built, you’ll get a great deal.
Contact a real estate agent to find out what’s available in your price range – they’re there to help and can really help you narrow down the field and get you into something you can afford and love.
Remember you don’t have to live anywhere forever – many people fall into the trap that they can’t buy because they’re not sure where they’ll be in 5 or 10 years… even if you only have one year that you know for sure , go ahead and buy. You can always sell it and you won’t lose any money on Real Estate, maybe walk away with an extra $10,000. – $50,000. of property values going up! That’s not bad! Not bad!
Here’s a little advice for women: You know, it’s more common than you think that many women are ‘waiting for a man’ before they even start thinking about buying a place. Forget it! Men, Schmen! Go get it yourself, girl! And save it until you’re sure you really like her… In the ‘old days’, like when I was in my mid-twenties in the early 80s (!), there was this weird thing that if a woman had her own place, then she was sending out a message that she ‘didn’t need a man’…so many women would wait until marriage before trying to buy a house.
Thank God those days are gone! Pooh-read! It’s always nice to have a man, but women don’t technically need them…for long, anyway…and you can go ahead and get your own place without waiting for anyone. You can be comfortable and cozy on your own no matter who you are… you can always sell it later and buy something different together, which is healthier for a new relationship anyway right?
So start saving, and before you know it, you’ll be moving into your own home. Then you can start saving to go to the Bahamas and go dancing on the island!
