Planning to purchase a home is daunting and often resistance comes in the form of timing … when the rates are
better, when there are more options, when more money has been saved.
I get it!
However, as author Priya Ardis aptly shares, “If you keep waiting for the right time, it may never happen.
Sometimes you have to make the most of the time you have.”
Yes, rates are higher now than they have been in the last decade, yet, you can refi a mortgage. Yes, inventory is
still statistically low, however, there are still choices. And, unless you’re living for free with your parents, you are
paying rent to build someone else’s wealth. There’s no better time than the present, which only leaves one
objection: funds.
Admittedly, this is the only acceptable argument. So, what are you doing about it?
With even a few simple changes, you could save $5,000 or more in a year without feeling you’ve had to revamp or
curtail the life-style you enjoy. Let’s put that in perspective:
The median price for a Starbucks Venti latte is $4.95 and accompanying pastry another $3.75. Eliminating those
daily workday treats would put over $2,250 back in your pocket annually. The office coffee suddenly got a lot
tastier, didn’t it?
Many programs are available on streaming or other delayed providers … market studies show cutting cable saves
$123 a month! Also, consider cancelling services, memberships and subscriptions you’re not using.
US households spend approximately $232 per month eating out … cooking a home or stretching leftovers so that
cost is cut in half equates to almost $1400!
Other simple adjustments, like moving the dial on the thermostat 8-10 degrees for an 8 hr period of time or
lowering the temperature on the water heater below 140 degrees may be “only” $250, yet that more than
covers the cost of local and state recording fees on the purchase transaction!
There are plenty of other ways to not just keep you from spending, but to actually make small stride towards your
goals: participate in paid surveys, drive for Uber or become an Amazon Flex delivery partner, heck, donate plasma
… the point is, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Fact is, a little sacrifice never killed anyone, and homeownership comes with many rewards beyond reinstating the
above treats (seriously, if you can afford them with rent, and you let them go while saving for a down payment,
after closing I encourage you to head back to Starbucks).