IT’S easy to get stuck in the rental cycle and to start feeling as though you will never own your own home.
Huge deposits and tighter borrowing guidelines are making it harder for first home owners to get into their first home.
But don’t despair – here are some simple ways to help you on your way to owning your own home faster.
Skip the Cuppa
Many young professionals have at least one or up to three barista made coffees a day and while it’s great to support local independent businesses, the cost of the perfect cuppa can add up. Anyone buying two coffees a day at $4.50 each over a five day working week will spend over $2100 a year on coffee. Multiply that for a couple and you’re losing out on over $4000 in savings that could go towards a deposit. Try cutting down to just two coffees per week or switch to tea and see the savings start to stack up.
Feed the Piggy Bank:
When it comes to saving, every little bit can help to reach your goal. Bust out the old piggy bank and start to drop your change in there each night when you get home. It is amazing how quickly it can add up and soon you will have a few hundred dollars to take to the bank and deposit into your growing savings account.
Pack a Lunch:
Buying lunch each day while at work can also deprive your savings account of thousands of dollars. If a worker spends an average of $10 per day on lunch for a five day working week, that’s over $2400 for the year. Pack a lunch such as left overs from last night’s dinner and you will make big savings.
Use the First Home Owners Grant:
There are a range of large land releases throughout the Sunshine Coast region offering the perfect chance for first home owners to get into the real estate market. The First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) is now $20,000 and can be used by couples or singles who have never owned a home before to build a new home or buy a new home that has never been lived in.
The icing on the cake is a range of lenders will recognise the FHOG as part of the deposit. So, instead of saving over $30,000 for a deposit, first home buyers may only need to save $10,000 (which is easy to do if you skip the top-quality coffee and take a packed lunch for a while).
Everyone’s situation is different so check with a mortgage broker or your bank to see if you qualify for the FHOG.
