Saving for a deposit is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome when beginning your property journey.
If you are renting and paying bills, trying to save for a deposit at the same time can seem overwhelming.
Here are five tips to help you save your deposit as quickly as possible.
Get professional advice
Typically, a home deposit will range from 5% to 20% of the property’s value. This all depends on your income, credit score, budget, and whether you have a guarantor (such as your parents). Seeking the advice of a home lender or mortgage broker can be very helpful when creating a savings plan. You will need to work out how much you want to spend on a house and the deposit size in order to understand how much you can borrow. To get started, use our home loan borrowing power calculator.
Create a separate account specifically for savings
Once you do all the critical research you should have a rough idea of the deposit size you need. Opening a savings account specifically for a house deposit could make it easier to track your savings and deter you away from withdrawing money from the account.
Look at your options and try to open an account with a higher interest rate and low fees. We offer competitive interest rates for a range of savings accounts.
Work out a budget
It’s important to follow a plan or savings strategy to keep you on track.
Make time to sit down once a week or a couple of days before your next payment cycle, and thoroughly go through your bank transactions. Write down the date your bills come out so you know how much and when money will be withdrawn, and you can figure out how much is left over for saving and spending.
Check your account balance regularly and ensure you adapt your budget for unexpected costs (e.g. car expenses, medical bills). You may find you’re able to save more in some weeks and less in others, but it’s all working towards meeting your goal.
Our budget planner and savings calculator can help you crunch the numbers.
Cut your daily spending
If you are prepared to sacrifice spending for saving, you may be surprised at the extra funds you accrue over time. Small things like buying a coffee, going out for dinner, and purchasing unnecessary snacks can add up to hundreds of dollars throughout the month.
The mymo by BCU app can give you the full picture of your spending across your credit cards, home and personal loans, and more from every Australian financial institution, so you can see exactly where your money is going. This includes how much you’ve spent on takeaway food, cafes, and restaurants, giving you the full picture of how much those little spends can really add up.
Try cutting down on your usage of utilities at home, like avoiding using the air conditioner or only doing full loads of washing, and consider minimising your rent by finding another housemate or moving to a cheaper area.
Set realistic goals
While saving for a deposit can feel like a long process, it is important to keep everything in perspective. Don’t create unreachable goals that set you up for failure.
Even though your priority has shifted to saving for a deposit, be sure to maintain some balance in your life. If you are too frugal and eliminate all social events and lifestyle habits, you’ll be unlikely to maintain your budget in the long-term. Set smaller goals along the way, have a date and saving targets that you can tick off as you go. Once you see you are making progress towards your goal, while still being able to enjoy your life, it will motivate you to keep going.
If buying a house is on the horizon for you, start by speaking to one of our mobile lenders.