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Finance

Budgeting Tips to Save for a New Home

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Moving into a brand new house is like hitting a reset button. You have to make new friends, you have to adjust to your new home, and if you are relocating for work, you have to spend a lot of time getting acclimated to a new job. Some people can adapt in a heartbeat, and everything is fine. 

But others don’t adjust as quickly, and those people are the ones who struggle the most. No matter which type of person you are, moving is a necessity, and adjusting is part of the process. 

So many factors go along with changing lifestyles; it’s not just one flat bill. That being said, below are some great tips you and your family can use to budget for your new life.

Determine What you Can Spend Monthly on a Mortgage

A great rule of thumb that most people today follow is to never spend more than 25% of your monthly income on your mortgage payment. It’s the cap, so if you find a great home where you can pay anything less, you are in the black.

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Pad Your Down Payment

Down payments are the most challenging thing to work around in a budget, so increasing your down payment can do a lot of good in the long run. A good number to aim for on your down payment is 15%. A little over, and you should still be in good shape.

Use a Mortgage Estimator 

Once you get an idea of what you are going to pay for your mortgage, use a mortgage estimator to find out how much you will be paying monthly. This calculates how much money you will be spending periodically based on the information you put in it.

So, you put in what you, or you and your spouse, make monthly with the percentage and any other factors it asks for, and then it will give you an estimated number. This way, you already have an accurate figure for budgeting.

Conclusion

Diving into a new life without any hiccups is nearly impossible. You are going to struggle, and mistakes are going to be made. But, to successfully adjust to a brand new way of living, you have to embrace these mistakes. 

The way that the people who adjust so fast do it is they dive headfirst into whatever makes them most uncomfortable. Most times it is redoing the budget for a new home. It scares a lot of people, and sometimes they can’t adjust. This is how people end up in a lot of debt. 

The way to avoid debt or any other struggles involving the new life you are going to make yourself is to attack your problems headfirst. Being proactive and trying to fix your problems is the best way to adjust to your new life, even if you fail, because failure leads to success.

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Sean Jacobson

I'm Sean, a former HR and business consultant providing you insights into the business world for Leader to Leader.

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