Down payment, down payment, down payment—that’s what it’s all about when you’re trying to work your way up to buying a house. In some cases (such as a military veteran working under the umbrella of a VA loan), a down payment might not be needed.
In most cases, however, it’s common to place up to 20% of the purchase price down on a new home. In addition to using money-saving tips for a down payment, these tips come in handy for other expenses as well, such as closing costs and moving expenses.
Minimalism is among the best money-saving tips for home buyers
Take time to think about your current lifestyle. What can you do without—as in, what things are absolute necessities (mortgage) and what things are not (Netflix)? One of the best ways to save money to buy a house is to downsize your lifestyle, to become as minimalistic as possible while setting funds aside for a down payment and other home-purchase expenses.
Are you willing to do without your daily trip to Starbucks so that you can save money for a down payment? While you might not think that’s a lot of savings, consider that the average person who buys drinks daily at Starbucks spends more than $1,000 per year on 20 ozdrinks. Besides your daily coffee or iced drinks, consider cancelling subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify or Amazon Prime. All these savings together may add up to more than you’d expect.
Put all vacations on hold until you buy a house
Life can be busy and stressful, so it’s understandable that you’d want to take a vacation to get away from it all and relax with the people you love. Even if you create a vacation plan on a shoestring budget, you’re still spending money that you could be setting aside for a new home. Consider putting all vacations on hold and add whatever monies you would have spent to your house fund, instead.
Find ways to generate income
If you’ve set the goal of buying a house in 2024 and are looking for money-saving tips, try adding a side hustle (or two) to your plan and save all profits as part of your house fund. What skills, talents or services can you provide to generate income? Can you make products to sell? Are you able to set time aside to create a microbusiness like pet walking or house sitting? Research business ideas that create residual income as well.
Use a rewards-based credit card
There are many rewards-based credit cards that can help you increase cashflow. You can then use this money toward a down payment on a new home. You just must be careful and only use the card for necessary purchases you would be making anyway (like grocery shopping or filling the gas tank in your car). The key is to always (as in, no matter what) pay the balance off immediately. If done successfully, you can earn hundreds of dollars back this way, which will grow your house fund every time you cash in your rewards.
Use these money-saving tips as a foundation to think of more ideas and ways that you can spend less and earn more to achieve your goal of becoming a new homeowner in 2024.