Everybody’s dream is to have their own house and lot and we all know having a shelter is one of the basic needs of a human being. As we try to be independent and live on our own, it isn’t easy as pie unless you already have an advantage in some way. Acquiring your own house and lot isn’t a plan that you only think about overnight, and buying a property isn’t just a purchase but long-term commitment, some even life-long. What we’re trying to say is, there are tons of stuff that you need to do and consider before even planning of buying a house and lot property. It is one of the ultimate dream of millions of people around the globe, that’s why they are working hard, saving for a house. Not everybody’s income is as promising as others but it shouldn’t deter you from planning on buying one. Read along to know more ways on how to save for house for a low income.
Ways to Save Up for your First House and Lot
Let’s face it, acquiring your own property isn’t cheap but it is definitely affordable. It is better to know that you have enough money saved up to make the purchase rather than just making a decision and just go with it. In situations like this, “just winging it” wouldn’t work so it is better to have everything smoothly planned and well thought out before purchasing your first house and lot. It might be easier if saving up for a house isn’t the only thing that our pay checks go to because of the other responsibilities and essentials that we need such as everyday expenses like meals and transportation, or monthly payments for utility bills and some membership fees and contributions. Although, it seems like making your dream of having your own home feels like an impossible goal to reach, fear not because it isn’t. There are so many ways that you could do to save up for your first house and lot faster. Here are some tips and suggestions to help you save enough money for your first house and lot.
1. Know your budget and set a goal
The first thing that you should do when planning to buy a property is that you should know your budget. Knowing your budget means assessing what you can save up for let’s say every month after paying your essential bills. By doing this, you’d get a rough idea on what kind of property or what cost of property you can afford so you know what areas or in which bracket of house and lot of properties you should focus yourself on reviewing. This isn’t a way of settling yourself on substandard properties but this is a way of making sure for you to find the best properties that is fit for you and would cater to your needs while not being too expensive that could lead to more problems in the future. Having a budget is common with every homeowner aspirant, it narrows down your list of properties to choose from. Having a budget also is the first step of setting a goal in your saving up journey because for one person to be able to start something, one must need to have a destination in mind.
Read Also: How to Save Money Effectively
2. Reducing your expenses
It is common knowledge that the best way to save up for something is to avoid or reduce spending on things that aren’t needed and luxurious. But most people are still wondering and still trying to figure out how to save money with living from pay check to pay check. It is true that for someone to achieve certain goals that you really want to reach, you should make some necessary sacrifices. For example, in things like groceries, instead of having a budget of 5000 per week, try cutting it down to 4500-3500 pesos. It would make a difference in your weekly budget but since prices are also going up nowadays, looking for cheaper alternatives in the mark wouldn’t hurt. Cutting down on luxurious things and unnecessary purchases would greatly help boost your saving up project. Here are some tips to reduce your expenses:
- Limit your online shopping and purchases. You can achieve this by disciplining yourself not to open shopping apps whenever you feel like to. Locking your apps might help but if you really can’t stop the urge to open these apps and go on a shopping spree then uninstalling them might do the trick. There are tons of things on these shopping apps that are appealing but do you really need them though? It is alright to treat yourself sometimes but doing them regularly especially when you’re trying to save up won’t help you reach your goal faster.
- Utility bills usually has the largest percentage on your monthly budget. Learning how to save up on electricity and water would greatly affect your goal in a positive way. Have a meeting with your family on how to save up in electricity and water consumption since it is much better if the entire family is doing it too. Turn off faucets securely when not in use and to avoid drops that increases your water bill. Learn how to recycle water to avoid over consumption, for example, the water that you used to rinse your laundry could be used to wash your vehicles or to water the plants in your garden. Having a disciplined family in using electricity is a must, not only does it help decrease your electricity bill for every month, it is also much safer as proper use of electricity would also lower the risk of an electrical fire outbreak. Turn off appliances that are not in use and reduce the usage of appliances that consumes a lot of energy such as aircons. Having low bills every month would make your saving up goal much faster.
- Since we’re on topic of saving up on bills especially on electricity, getting household appliances that are made to consume less energy would help you in the long run such as inverter appliances. Inverter appliances consumes energy based on what is only needed and required at a time compared to normal appliances that is constantly running with a constant amount of energy all the time. Getting yourself an inverter refrigerator, an inverter washing machine, or an inverter aircon would help you save up.
Read Also: 7 Tips to Save on Electricity Bills
- Transportation is one of the most common things that people spend on especially those who work in other places from home. If you own a car, you know how expensive fuel is especially with the current situation of the world we are in. Although, the transportation system in the Philippines is not as smooth as we would like it to be, it is a cheaper alternative rather than using your car everyday to work. Driving your car to work is convenient but sometimes, riding on public transportation vehicles would greatly affect your daily budget. If you’re traveling somewhere near, make it a habit to ride energy efficient and cheaper alternatives such as walking or jogging in the morning to your nearest market or grocery store or how about try riding a bicycle, not only does it is cost efficient it would also help you on your health because it is a form of exercise.
- If you’re currently subscribed to other services such as an internet connection service or you have signal cable installed in your home, consider downgrading your service packages to the amount that you only really need. Cutting down on these payments and getting a cheaper one would make a huge difference on your monthly expense. If you’re always at work and children in your home are spending most of their time at school, then consider having your cable disconnected if it is not being used regularly and on rare occasions only. Unsubscribing to services you don’t need and don’t use is a great idea especially when you’re trying to save money for your first house and lot.
- If you are working on site and most of the time you buy your lunch on fast food restaurants and food chains, consider preparing your meals at home and pack your own lunch and bring them to work. Not only would these help you save up on a huge amount of money, it would also be great for your overall health. Buying food or ordering take-outs takes a huge chunk of your budget when added up.
3. Avoid having debts and paying on credit
Most of credit payments or having debts has huge interest when being paid incrementally. One of the best ways to avoid having informal debts is to only spend on things you can afford with your current money. Don’t be attracted on things that you don’t need at the moment and only focus on things that matter. If you have other debts such as your credit card fees or car loans, don’t wait for the deadline to pay for them. Always try to eliminate and pay down most of your debts first. This would help you stay away from stressful situations and heavy financial pressure. Although, paying your debts might feel like you are saving less, once you’ve managed to pay them all off, your monthly budget would get higher and you can save faster, not only that, you can breathe much lighter as well.
4. Look for the best option
In finding a house and lot that best fits your budget, you shouldn’t just settle to what you see on the ads. You should do a lot of researching so that you expose yourself to a lot of options that you could choose from. Having a lot of options means that you have the ability to have a Plan B. If your first choice doesn’t seem like a good candidate as expected then you can immediately put all of your attention to the second choice without going through the looking for a house and lot process. Searching the web everyday and refreshing your searches regularly is encouraged since there are listings being posted almost every day. Try asking around as some people might know about properties being sold by other people.
If you find yourself reading this then you probably are on process of researching. Good news for you, you can look no further. Bria Homes offers a wide variety of affordable house and lot properties all over the country. There are tons of properties that you could choose from and add to your list of options. As one of the leading developers in the country, Bria Homes offers properties that could be yours through a Pag-IBIG loan or a housing loan from your choice of bank. What are you waiting for? One of the best ways to save up is to find a property that is affordable and gives you the comfort and tranquility that you deserve and Bria Homes is here to help you reach that goal.
Read Also: Finding the Perfect Bria House and Lot for You
5. Save before you spend
One of the most effective ways of saving up is putting your savings aside before even spending. By using this method of saving up you are forcing yourself to live your day with the only amount of money that you actually need. Having a fixed amount of savings everyday would make your saving up faster as it eliminates the chances of you spending on things that you really don’t need. Of course, you shouldn’t deprive yourself of buying something that you want from time to time just don’t make it regular and always keep your goal in mind.
Saving up is a task that we do even when we are still a kid. Do you remember yourself saving half of your daily baon just to have enough money to buy that sticker pack or snacks that you really want after school? It’s the same thing as saving up for your first house and lot. Although, it’s a lot more complicated and harder, knowing everyday that you are getting nearer and nearer of having your own place to call home is an inspiration to keep going. One day you’re going to wake up in your bedroom and realize that you’ve reached your destination.
Written by Rashid Mansan
