Buying a new home might require that you live your life a little bit differently, especially if you are on a tight budget. But adjusting your lifestyle doesn’t have to be an impossible task. A few small changes can help save money without too much of an effect on your daily routine. In fact, you might just end up healthier and with a whole lot more cash in your pocket — and who doesn’t want that?
Small changes can be easily made by asking yourself a few preliminary questions, such as, “Will my new home require me to go into debt?” If the answer is, yes, then you will need to find ways to budget for your new home in a manner that will change that answer, if you don’t want to lose your home.
Here are some money-saving and budgeting tips to help get you started.
How Can I Create a Budget for My New Home?
For this you will have to implement a few core principles, such as “save more” and “spend less.” Your goal, as always, is to spend less than you earn.
Yes, we realize that is easier said than done. Therefore, you will need to develop a budget using your “must haves,” making sure you include the money you will put into your savings and money set aside for emergencies such as repairs, potential medical issues and loss-of-job scenarios.
Now you will need to tally up your expenses and compare them to your earnings. How much do you have left over? If you don’t have anything or have only very little left over, you will need to start cutting your expenses in every possible area — which leads us to the next topic, what expenses can be cut and how to go about doing so.
Where Can I Cut Expenses for My New Home Budget?
There are plenty of ways to save money for your new home budget if you just think outside of the box. Every small change you make can add up to big savings, and you can make those small changes without any significant effects on your lifestyle. In fact, you will probably hardly notice most of the changes.
Here are several lifestyle changes you can make to help pay for your new home budget and hopefully have enough left over to put into your savings account:
1. Move all credit card balances to a card with the lowest interest, and do the same with your bank accounts. If you are paying a monthly fee for anything, consider moving your account into something that doesn’t assess a monthly fee.
2. Analyze all your monthly bills. Are there any avenues to cut expenses there? For example, do you really need 400 cable channels and a DVR? What about your electric bill? Can you change all your light bulbs to energy efficient ones, lower your water heater temperature and wrap it with an insulating wrap, caulk all your windows and doors, lower or raise the thermostat a few degrees? Can you find ways to use less water?
3. Always search for discounts and coupons before going shopping. Sign up for as many reward cards as possible from your favorite merchants and use them every time you make a purchase.
4. Give yourself a 30-day waiting period before buying anything. If there is an unnecessary item you want to purchase, make yourself wait 30 days before actually making the purchase. Often, you will find that after 30 days you can do without that item after all. This is a great way to avoid instant gratification purchases and impulse buys.
5. Eliminate bad habits and wasteful spending. You might be surprised at exactly how much you could save if you take a good hard look at what you spend your money on, especially all those small purchases that you tend to not notice.
For example, do you really need a Starbucks coffee every morning? Why not make your coffee at home and take it with you? Do you really need to hit the vending machine every day for that afternoon pick me up? Why not buy some healthy snacks in bulk and carry them with you? Do you really need to go through the drive through to grab that sausage muffin every morning for breakfast? Why not buy some English muffins, egg patties and sausage patties and make your own? You can easily wrap it in wax paper and pop it in the microwave before you leave the house or once you get to work.
Do you realize what a significant amount of money this will save just from eliminating a few small, wasteful habits and without having to make any drastic changes in your lifestyle at all? In fact, you will probably become addicted to saving and begin trying to find other ways to cut your expenses — especially once you see how much extra money you have in your pocket every month.
What Else Can I Do To Save Money On My New Home Budget?
Now that you have all those bad habits out of the way, you can move on to other ways to cut your budget that will also save you loads of money. For example, if you eat out two or three times per week, try cutting back. If you eat out for lunch, try making your lunch instead. When it comes to an occasion when a gift is required, why not make a heart-felt homemade gift? Do you often go out for entertainment? If so, start entertaining at your new home — it can be a lot more fun anyway.
Do you like to shop? Yep, you got it. This is another huge area where you can cut back to save loads of money. In this area, especially when it comes to clothing, you can either cut back or simply change your shopping habits. For example, you can find some less expensive clothing stores to shop in or buy knock-offs. It’s also possible to find some of your clothing at a thrift shop or garage sale.
Don’t be so quick to turn your nose up, because when shopping at a thrift shop or garage sale, you will frequently find clothes that are new and still have the tags on them. The only difference is that you might have to dig through a lot of junk before you find a hidden gem. But if you can buy a brand new shirt for $2.50 at a thrift shop that would have cost you $35 at a retail store, and you could do this several times a month, how much money does that save you? This is mind-blowing, isn’t it?
Do you get the picture? You really can save a significant amount of money each month by just changing a few habits and your normal way of doing things. All it takes is a little reflection, some quick assessments, and few lifestyle changes and you will be well on your way to lining your pockets with money while you’re enjoying your new home.
2 Point Highlight
1. Buying a new home, might require that you live your life a little bit differently, especially if you are on a tight budget.
2. Adjusting your lifestyle can be easily done with a few small changes that, if done properly, won’t have too much of an effect on your daily routine.
