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Saving for your first home

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Buying your first home is a huge step and one of the biggest purchases you will make in your life. One of the most important challenges you will have is saving for the deposit.

Saving for a house deposit does take time and it’s important to be realistic about how long this may take. Depending on the state or territory, if you were to put aside $500 a week, it may take you five to eight years (for an average single income) to save for a 20 per cent house deposit.

Here are 3 simple tips we hope will help you start your master plan to save up for house deposit.

 

1. Check your current spending

  • Work out what you are currently spending your money on and set up a weekly budget of your income and expenses to work out how much you will be able to save per week. You can use our online budget planner calculator to help you work this out. 
  • See what expenses you can reduce the cost of (car insurance, phone bill, petrol, luxury items)

 

2. Getting on top of your debts 

  • Getting on top of your debts can sometimes seem hard and feel like you are not getting anywhere. It's a good idea to consolidate your debts and work out a weekly or monthly repayment plan so you can work on saving for that deposit. You can speak with one of our Lending Specialists today to discuss a Debt Consolidation plan.

 

3. Start to save

  • You will need to save at least 5% deposit of the purchase price of the property to be eligible for a loan. If you are looking to contribute less than 20%, you will also have to pay for Lenders Mortgage Insurance
  • Apart from your deposit, you will need to keep in mind other upfront costs which you will need to be able to cover including things like insurance, taxes, legal fees, moving costs
  • Use our Savings calculator to work out your savings plan