How to save money to get into your own property

30 Dec How to save money to get into your own property

You would have read in the media that one of the main reasons people can’t purchase homes these days is because of high spending whith isn’t giving them the chance to save enough for a deposit. If you’re serious about buying a property then there are some steps you can take to safe your deposit and get into your own property. It will take some cutbacks but it will be worth it to own your own piece of land rather than renting for the rest of your life. When you’re young you may not care about this, however, when you’re older and living on a limited income, owning your own home and saving on rent will give you a much better lifestyle than if you were to live on a pension with your superannuation, paying rent. Remember as well, if you rent when you’re older, you’re also subject to rental increases, which are often much more than the pension increase. This can pose problems for you.

So getting onto how to save money, here are some tips to help you do exactly that?

1 – Give up the takeaway coffee

It may not seem like a large expense, but at $4.50 x 2 per day, five days a week for 48 weeks a year adds up and is quite a substantial amount. After a year you would have $2160. If you deposited that into a savings account or another investment, that would increase and you would possibly enjoy the benefits of compound interest, depending on what you invested in and the current interest rates.

2 – Book a cheaper room when on holiday

Nobody would suggest that you shouldn’t still take holidays, but do you really need a five star hotel? If you’re anything like most travellers the chances are you won’t spend much time in your hotel anyway, so why not book something cheaper? By booking something cheaper you can still have your holiday, without the hefty price tag, giving you the ability to save.

3 – Pay down your credit card debt

In an ideal world you wouldn’t even need a credit card, however realistically, most people do use credit cards. To save money on interest try and pay off your credit card regularly rather than the minimum amount. A report earlier this week by Finder.com.au found that most people only pay the minimum and this means that they could spend decades paying off their credit card debt. When you pay the whole amount you won’t pay any interest and that will be money you could save.

4 – Rather than going out for dinner, invite friends over

When you go out with friends the main thing is that you’re spending time with friends, so why go to an expensive restaurant when you could invite them over for dinner? If you went to a restaurant you could spend $50 – $100 per head, and that would be if you were watching your budget. If you invite friends over, a bottle or two of alcohol will set you back no more than $30 and the food should only be $10 per head. You could also ask your friends to bring a plate so you’re not stung with the full bill.

These are just some of the ways you can save money and hopefully get into your own home much faster than if you were to spend recklessly.