Renting offers a great amount of freedom and generally, you’d have a lot of things taken care of for you. But for many people, renting isn’t the most sustainable option in the long term. Renting isn’t cheap, especially if you’re living in a major city and saving for a house while renting isn’t cheap either! So we’ve outlined some tips and steps to help you along your journey.
Reassess Your Finances & Living Situation
Saving for a house is a big commitment and can take some time depending on your financial position. It’s important to have a good look into your finances and start to shed some costs. If the place you’re living in is pretty expensive due to being in a central location, can you move a bit further out and commute instead?
Saving money on rent is one of the biggest cost savers. Minimizing the amount you pay can put you one step closer to owning a home!
Pay Yourself First!
Paying yourself first means paying a portion of your salary into your savings account as soon as you get paid, before you spend money on anything else.
If you want to start paying yourself first, move a portion of your income into a savings account on payday.
Decrease the Little Luxuries
We wouldn’t advise cutting the luxuries that you enjoy out completely, as saving for a house is already hard enough! However, you can decrease the number of luxuries that you enjoy throughout the year in order to save money.
This can include things such as travel. If you usually travel abroad twice a year, maybe decrease that to once a year or opt for a few domestic trips/staycations instead. Another example could be eating out, we tend not to think too much of it at the time, but these costs add up very quickly!
Now that you’re all saved up, let’s talk about credit! Read our previous post: Ways to Improve Your Credit.