With Christmas upon us, it’s important to keep on track of your financial goals. Don’t be swayed by all the festive celebrations and stick to a budget. Here’s a simple guide to keep to this holiday season to be on your way to acquiring your own home in no time.
Start your budget with two buckets.
The first bucket is for those items you can’t live without. These items would be things like food, utilities, transport and phone.
The second bucket is for those things that are nice to have, but they’re not essential. This bucket may include things like entertainment, designer clothes and leisure activities.
Once you’ve allocated items to each bucket it’s time to filter them. This is necessary whether you are looking to save or simply steer clear of getting into debt.
Remove anything from bucket 2 that really is a luxury and potentially causing you debt. There may be some items in bucket 2 that you just can’t filter away. For example, personal training may be a “nice to have” luxury item, and not absolutely necessary, but if it’s something that’s really important to you and you just can’t quite give up those chiseled abs then move it across to bucket 1.
Once you’ve moved any remaining items in bucket 2 to bucket 1 you have your list of expenses.
Setting an allowance is an important part of a budget, whether you’re saving to get out of debt or saving to save. Start by setting up automatic payments for all those “can’t live without” items on your expenses list. This way you won’t be tempted to draw out more money than you should.
Need a hand with budgeting? Use our budget planner calculator.
Mortgage House
At Mortgage House, we’re no strangers to the homeowner’s journey. If you are looking to save for your home loan deposit, you can contact us for advice about the best options for you when it comes to saving for your mortgage.
