When you were a child, you were asked to draw your ideal house. So you followed the instructions: you got a piece of paper and happily drew a simple house–with a door, three windows, and a chimney–using your favourite pencils or crayons.

Now that you have been working hard for the past years, you realized that you have the ability to make that dream house come true! Of course, you want your first home to be as perfect as possible. Thus, this article suggests money-saving tips that can help you finally turn your house drawings into reality!

Money-Saving Tip #1: Be realistic

Your journey to your first home, paid with your blood, sweat and tears, is no joke! Thus, you should be realistic on what to invest in.

As suggested by Miriam Caldwell, you should be honest enough on what you can buy and what you can afford with your money. She also stated that a good idea might be to have a mortgage that goes well with paying your taxes and insurance and that falls between 25% – 30% of your regular earnings or income.

Money-Saving Tip #2: Start today

How to save for your first home? Just start today, as suggested by Jennifer Segelke Jeffers. Thus, considering options such as opening up a savings account may be a good one.

Based on a survey by the National Association of REALTORS’ 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, sixty-one percent (61%) of people who have just bought their new homes made most of their savings for the down payment.

Saving for a new home is not something that can be done in just one step. This entails a lot of effort and sacrifice. Thus, you should start as early as possible and keep that drive alive in order to get going every single day. As Brian Koss of Mortgage Network in Danvers, Massachusetts said, “If you’re young and are thinking about buying a home someday, don’t wait to save — start now.”

Money-Saving Tip #3: Decide on your priorities

There are two types of things that people spend for: wants and needs. Thus, according to your current lifestyle, identify which aspects can be classified as ”wants” and which are “needs”?

If you are looking for money-saving tips because your first home is one of your priorities, then you may start cutting down expenses on some of the things that you can do away with. Activities such as eating at expensive restaurants or having vacations can be reduced. Budgeting is suggested in order for you to identify the things that you can spend less on.

Money-Saving Tip #4: Spend more hours at work

This money-saving tip is one of the easiest and most basic things you can do in order to earn more for your first home. If working more hours is equivalent to having an additional source of funds, then you may take the opportunity to do so.

Money-Saving Tip #5: Look for a second job

If you are not paid for working overtime, then you may also consider having a second job or sideline. Even if it would take just a few days, grab the chance. Earning a little more is better than having none at all!

Here are some options on how to save for your first home’s deposit by having a sideline:

• If you are good in academics and you feel like tutoring will work for you, then do it! You can also consider online teaching jobs, which is quite popular nowadays.
• If you have a good singing voice, then you may consider singing at events such as weddings.
• If you are good at speaking and entertaining people, then you can try hosting at events.
• If you are good in writing or editing, then you might as well consider freelance writing or editing.

Aside from those mentioned, there are other options such as being a mystery shopper or playing during gigs. You just have to look around or search for more additional jobs on the internet.

As The Joker said, “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.”

Money-Saving Tip # 6: Don’t look at saving as a punishment

As suggested by USA Today, don’t make yourself feel as if you are being punished for saving every single day. Sure, this process would take long, and it would also take lot of effort, but if you treat this process as “painful”, then you most likely won’t be successful in the long run. Thus, you may pleasure yourself once in a while. For example, you may cut down your budget on eating out at expensive restaurants, but you may compensate for it by cooking at home with expensive ingredients. Do not deprive yourself too much. Reward yourself once in a while!

Money-Saving Tip #7: Look for different options

This money-saving tip considers visiting many houses for sale in order for you to have many options for your new home!

Homebuyers are often shocked by the differences in the prices of properties for sale by different firms. Thus, visiting different companies may help you distinguish which ones you can afford, and list them in your options to consider.

Doing this can also help you weigh down different options on various aspects such as your preferred location and budget.

You can also use resources such as Finder, to compare the latest home loans and learn expert tips for homebuyers to save more when applying for your first loan. 

Money Saving Tip # 8: Have a roommate!

Paula Pant of affordanything.com shared how she earned $40,800 within two years without working too much–by having a roommate!

If you are currently renting a house and currently striving to have your first home from your own hard work, then this is one way to help you recharge your income! Living alone surely makes you spend more. This is especially true for the house rent and daily supplies. But having a roommate will definitely give you a good lift on your expenses, as you are going to pay less than the original price.

Money-Saving Tip # 9: Reduce your transportation expenses

Work surely requires you to spend for transportation expenses, especially when you are running late. However, we shouldn’t forget that transportation expenses greatly affect anyone’s savings. Thus, strategizing for a way to get to work while spending less is a must, especially when you are currently working on your way towards your first home!

However, if you have the choice of taking public transportation, then you may consider it for a while. See if you can have the option of telecommuting or working from home. This can really help you save money from expenses. You can also try carpooling. It is one of the known options that have been brought about by the sudden upsurge in technology and the bright ideas for leveling up transportation options.

If you just live near your workplace, then you can just wake up earlier and do a morning walk! Walking to work even gives many benefits. It does not only enable you to save, it also helps you stay in good shape. The following are the positive effects of walking to work:

• Better physical fitness, as walking is a form of cardio exercise that is easier to do since it doesn’t require you to go to the gym.
• Fewer health issues, as it helps you lose calories and be in a better shape. It decreases the chances of having obesity-related issues as well.
• Increased mental well-being, as scientists said that doing physical activities such as walking can affect the human brain by causing certain chemical changes, such as releasing endorphins. This chemical change can have a positive effect on your mood. Thus, walking to work can give you positive effects such as having a higher level of motivation, self-esteem, and energy level.
• More time to organize your mind, since walking can help you think about your dilemmas and problems, which you are currently undergoing or facing. Compare this with your office scenario where you can find pressure just about everywhere.
• Lower stress levels, as a research from the University of East Anglia has found some years back that walking to work can help you feel less stressed. The research also said that walking to work has been helping people focus better and become less strained.  

Money-Saving Tip # 10: Sell pre-loved items

You might be planning to move out to a new home soon. As such, you might as well look for the things that are still usable, but which you might not be needing anymore. We are talking about clothes that do not fit anymore, your unused perfume, CDs, books, and other items.

You can do a garage sale or sell your stuff online to earn more for your first home. There are many sites that are available for this, one of which is ebay.com.

This will help you to gain an extra source of funds. It can also allow you to organize your stuff better. Moving out requires a lot of organizing and strategizing in order for you to do it completely well.

Money-Saving Tip #11: Begin to pay your debts

Of course, how would you start earning more when you still have something that can reduce your savings? Saving for your first home is almost the same as growing your funds; thus, you should pay your debts first in order to make the home buying process go smoothly.

As written by Nila Sweeney, paying debts can give you the following benefits: (1) you can borrow more money and (2) you have the freedom to use your hard-earned money for your home. In this regard, it is a must for you to pay your debts first, whether it is from credits cards, personal loans, or a personal debt from a friend or relative!

Money-Saving Tip #12: Shop at discounted stores!

Saving for a new home is surely hard, but you just have to look for other options when it comes to buying the stuff that you need. You don’t necessarily need to make the sacrifice of not buying something, when you have stores that can help you use less cash.

There are many stores that sell discounted items such as Kmart Australia and Target Australia. After all, this money-saving tip suggests that you don’t really have to live with less to be able to save more money. You just have to look for options that would allow you to have more with less amount spent!

Conclusion

Saving in money is not an easy process, especially if you have to cut off what you have in order to invest in one thing that you can have for the long haul – your dream house. Thus, you should not forget that you are doing a compromise for a long-term investment.

You should also not also see saving as a punishment, as aforementioned. Don’t forget to take care of yourself, as saving will be not successful in the long run if you won’t reward yourself once in a while.

Once you have successfully moved in to your new house, you should also be prepared for other matters that will follow, such as how you will move your things.

This is another stressful matter to be dealt with. However, there are many available suggestions for this. You can do it on your own, or ask help from people who are close to you such as family and friends. You may even hire an extra hand to help you out. Professionals such as Spacer can help you with this dilemma.

Don’t lose heart– there are altogether too many options to take. Good luck on your journey to your new home!

Do you have extra storage or parking space that you can rent out? This is another way for you to save some funds.