It’ll take more than giving up your Netflix subscription or those daily coffee runs to save for a home deposit but knowing what your spending your money on is crucial to successfully growing your savings account.
KNOW Where Your Money is Going
With cashless payments, credit cards and AfterPay, it’s very easy to lose track of how much you’re spending. Creating a sustainable budget and sticking to it is the best way to understand where your money is going and allowing you to find ways to reduce unnecessary expenses, such as takeaway food, shopping splurges and taxis.
There are many tools available online that will help assist you in creating a budget and tracking your personal expenses. At Launch Finance, we have developed a budget planner within Excel for our clients to use. Please contact us with the subject line ‘budget planner’ if you would like a copy.
FIND SAVINGS Where You Can
Some costs cannot be avoided such as accommodation, food, bills and debt commitments – but you can find ways to reduce wherever possible:
- Learn to meal plan and start bringing your lunch to work. This doesn’t mean you have to cut out eating out/take away completely but set aside a limit and stick to it.
- Shop around and haggle to reduce your regular bills. You may get a better deal by switching or by negotiating with your current providers.
- Find alternatives to taxis such as carpooling or public transport. This is a huge cost that adds up your total expenditure on a night out.
- Make sure you’re not paying excessive interest rates on credit cards and store cards. Pay these off as soon as you can, and then close the account.
REDUCE Your Splurging Habits
Everyone has their own guilty pleasures when spending money… Whether it’s going on a shopping spree, lavish hobbies or expensive restaurants, set a monthly limit stick to it. Save up for that special occasion or item you’ve had your eye on – it will make the purchase that more satisfying.
Look for Ways to CUT COSTS
Another way to save for a home deposit is to look for opportunities you can see to eliminate costs such as cancelling that unused gym membership, switching your internet or mobile plans to a better deal, or a special deal you were going to purchase at full-price anyway.
By reducing your spending habits, you’ll achieve your goals in owning a home sooner and these saving habits will be valuable in generating wealth in the long run.
At Launch Finance we love seeing our clients’ home ownership dreams come true. If you’d like to meet with one of our expert brokers to review your finances, you can book an obligation free consult here or give us a call on (08) 9367 4222.