Personal Finance Information

How to Save for A Down Payment


Saving for a Down Payment is hard work, so it's a good idea to really want to own your own home by the time you begin your Savings Account. It's difficult to turn down a weekend in the Bahamas (or Downtown at the Clubs!) when you don't have a definite goal.

Step One: Get a Job! This will definitely help you to find the money to save! ha,ha!

Step Two: Keep the Job -- longevity on the Job is a major factor the Financial Institutions look for when your trying to qualify for a Mortgage.

Step Three: Go over your spending habits with a fine tooth comb. (Please, this is strictly figurative! No yucky combs on your Financial Papers!) Ask yourself some very serious questions -- Do you really need to spend $5.00 for a cup of coffee five times a day? Even though it's fabulously delicious?? Even one cup at $3.25/day is $1186.25 a year. Five cups at price per day would be $5931,25. That's a lot of money, and often enough for a Down Payment.

It's a good idea to right down everything you actually purchase -- lottery tickets, coffee, lunches, snacks, clothes you don't really need -- it's the 'little incidentals' that really add up.

Step Four: Start a separate Bank Account, just for your 'house-to-be'. Anything you can put in there is good -- if you can manage $25.00/week, that's $1300. a year; $50./week gets you $2,600. a year, and if you can swing a $100./week, that's $5200. in a year.

You'll be shocked at how easy it is to piddle away $100. on all sorts of little things -- when you make the big decision to Buy Your Own Place, all of a sudden, you'll find yourself prioritizing...and that doesn't mean you have to slap your own hand to stop yourself from frivilous spending (which, sadly enough, happens to be the most fun type of spending! ha,ha!). You'll just make the decision one day that you need to Own Your Own Home so you can 1) Make Money, 2) Not hand over your money and have nothing to show for it at the end of the day -- say, Monday...yuff, yuff! 3) Secure your Future.

Step Five: Find out how much you can borrow for your new place. Click on-line so you can quickly determine this info. Especially if you're new to the Real Estate game, it's less stressful than heading in to the Bank, plus you don't have to make a special appointment!

Step Six: Start Looking for Your New Place! Check out the great new Condos that are all over the place, now. They have really good Payment Plans, and if you make your Purchase before they're built, you'll score a great deal.

Contact a Realtor to find out what's available in your Price Range -- they're there to help you, and can really help to narrow down the field and get you into something you can afford and love.

Remember that you don't have to live anywhere forever -- a lot of people fall into the trap that they can't buy because they're not sure where they'll be 5 or 10 years from now... even if you only have a year that you're sure about, go ahead and Buy. You can always sell it, and you won't lose money on Real Estate -- maybe you'll walk away with an extra $10,000. - $50,000. from the Property Values going up! Now, that ain't bad! Not bad at all!

Here's a little Tip for Women: You know, it's more common than you might think that a lot of women are 'waiting for a man' before they even start to think about buying a place. Forget that! Men, Schmen! Go get it yourself, Girl! And keep it until you're sure you really like him... In the 'olden days', like when I was in my twenties in the early 80's (!), there was a weird thing that if a woman had her own place, then she was putting out a message that 'she didn't need a man'..., and so a lot of women would wait until marriage before attempting to purchase a home.

Thank God those days are gone! Puh-leeease! It's always nice to have a man, but women don't technically need them ... for any length of time, anyway... and you can go ahead and get your own place without waiting for anyone. You can be comfy and cozy on your own no matter who you are... you can always sell it later and buy something different together, which is a healthier to do for a new relationship, anyway, right??

So start Saving and before you know it, you'll be moving into your very own home. Then you can start saving up to go to the Bahamas, and go dancing on the Island!

Ailsa Forshaw is a Writer, Builder, Website Owner & Manager, Teacher, Mother... all in Alberta, Canada. She is Married with Two Lovely Children, and one gorgeous wee dog. Her Website, http://www.buildyourownhouse.ca, is chock full of all sorts of useful & fun information to help anyone become Financially Successful, Slim, Trim, and Happy... what more could you want?? Pop in for a wee visit! http://www.buildyourownhouse.ca http://www.theScottishDiet.com


MORE RESOURCES:

InsWeb.com Named to Kiplinger's Personal Finance "The Best List ...
MarketWatch - 9 hours ago
Published in the December 2008 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, "The Best List" includes Kiplinger's top picks in categories such as mutual ...


Mutual Funds & Personal Finance
Investor's Business Daily (subscription) - 41 minutes ago
BY DONALD JAY KORN So you should do some calculations to see if that or itemizing will save you more money. You take itemized deductions on Schedule A of ...


Alvin Hall takes your questions on personal finance and debt
The Takeaway, New York - 5 hours ago
Financial educator and author Alvin Hall took your questions on personal finance and debt on Friday, November 21, 2008. The Takeaway: Our Q&A with personal ...


NU Predicts Rise in Equity Release ; PERSONAL FINANCE
istockAnalyst.com (press release), OR - 3 hours ago
(Source: Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK))Although the enthusiasm of older homeowners to unlock capital from their homes by equity release schemes has been ...


PERSONAL FINANCE
The Spokesman Review, WA - 18 hours ago
Online bill paying has certainly made a nagging monthly chore easier. But there are still usually multiple Web sites to juggle – and passwords to remember. ...


New Zealand Herald

Business writer David Chaplin blogs on personal finance
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand - Nov 20, 2008
The Sydney Morning Herald, for example, reported on Thursday that the Australian stockmarket has halved in value since hitting its high last year - equating ...


More Personal Finance Daily stories
MarketWatch - Nov 18, 2008
"A good contrarian, though, will note that just when things look darkest is where we usually find the turning point." We're just getting started. ...


Cayman Net News

Commentary: Everybody's Business: Personal Finance in the Coming ...
Cayman Net News, Cayman Islands - 22 hours ago
There are many poor Caymanians who rely on public and private charities even in the best of times. In the worst of times, much more so. ...


Mutual Funds & Personal Finance
Investor's Business Daily (subscription) - Nov 19, 2008
BY PAUL KATZEFF Wait and see. That's the posture held in November by more than four out of five institutional fund managers polled for Merrill Lynch's ...


Yodlee(R) Announces Availability of Over 11000 Financial Data Sources
MarketWatch - Nov 18, 2008
The Yodlee Data Engine powers Yodlee's most recent innovations, including Yodlee PersonalFinance(TM), (the industry leading personal finance management ...

Personal-Finance - Google News

home | site map
© 2006