For someone who doesn’t actually eat avocado, I sure do get told quite a lot that my breakfast habits and presumed consumption of smashed avos are the reason I will never own a home. Thanks folks, I’m enlightened! My life is changed forevermore, and I will abandon my nonexistent avocado habit post-haste!
Look, while I accept that I probably won’t own a house anytime soon, I’m also pretty confident that when it comes down to it, my brekkie preferences aren’t gonna be the deciding factor. That is simply far too much riding on the poach of a good egg, and I say that as a true lover of the oval beauties.
Here’s a few tips to help you save up your funds, allowing you to achieve both culinary satisfaction and a down payment.
1. Take the savings straight outta your pay
If you’re trying to put some money aside to gradually save up for a house, the easiest way to do so is to set up an automatic transaction and have a percentage of your pay taken out immediately. You won’t see it in your account, it’ll just go straight to a designated house fund account.
Not only will it make you feel stacks better about the situation (because watching large sums of money leave your account is pretty depressing, I think we’ll agree), but it also makes it easier to create a budget that treats those savings as something external. Most importantly though, it won’t tempt you to spend those savings on something else, presumably between the hours of 8pm and 11am.
2. Nix all your existing debt
Got yourself a lil credit card? Maybe a personal loan that enabled you to trek it around Europe on a mega Instagram-worthy trip? Still paying off a car that you ignore in favour of Uber anyway? These are all debts that you’ve gotta get rid of ASAP, folks.
The less debt you have, the more you’ll actually be able to borrow, meaning you’ve got to save up slightly less in the long run. To that I simply say: cheerin’. For real though, you want to minimise the amount you owe as much as possible, so next time you’re handing your card over to pay for brunch, use your debit card instead of credit.
3. Figure out your priorities
This is probs the biggest thing you’ll have to decide on, so take a leaf out of Ron Weasley‘s books and sort out your priorities. Balance is important in all areas of your life, so it’s not going to be good for your long term health and satisfaction if you simply cut out all the good stuff in favour of saving.
And yes, you’ll have to make a few sacrifices here and there (so long, Uber Eats) but ultimately if giving up a weekly movie sesh with your pals means you can afford the food that you frankly deserve AND still save funds to put aside, then it’s worth it.
4. Buy your shit in bulk
Who says you have to go out for food all the time? Buying all your products in bulk means you’ll save money and have a ridiculous amount of food that you can shove in the freezer or meal prep to make later. It’s a very simple thing that actually makes a stack of difference – and you can still gorge yourself on deliciousness if you wanted.
And besides, even if you aren’t saving up to afford a house, it’s a good thing for both your health and your bank account’s health. Because really, eating out every day for a week ain’t doing much for either tbh.
If all else fails you can leave it up to luck – Oz Lotteries has a charity lottery draw with $2 tickets that could see you winning a cheeky million-dollar house in South-East Queensland, so that’d skip all the savings part and take you straight to the banana and peanut butter pancakes you deserve.
