We’ve all had that struggle of finding effective money saving tips for homeowners. After all, saving money is essential. It is also one of the most challenging things to do in a highly materialistic and ever-changing society.
This is exactly why it’s important for homeowners to always have that backup fund for emergency cases and future plans. More importantly, the RBA rate continues to rise, and it’s expected to rise further in the coming months.
Are There Any Money Saving Tips For Homeowners?
Absolutely! And to make it easier for you, we asked our team of mortgage brokers here at BFG what their favorite saving tips for homeowners are.
- Track your expenses.
It’s common for literally anyone to question where their money went. Trust us, we’ve been there too. Tracking your expenses is the first step to saving more money, because this allows you to identify what’s draining your wallet and how to budget better.
Depending on your preferences, there are tons of mobile apps that allow you to track and budget your expenses. Or better yet, you can go the old-school route and just collect receipts and note your transactions down on your records at the end of the day.
- Include your savings in your budget.
Oftentimes, we treat savings as an excess to your income. If controlling your spending habits isn’t exactly your best feat, you may want to consider adding a fixed amount or a percentage of your income to your budgeting mix.
One way to do this effortlessly is to automate adding your savings to a separate account through your online banking app.
- Set saving goals.
Having a reason for saving is also an effective way to save money. After all, having tangible or intangible outcomes in mind is your greatest motivator. The best way to do this is to set short-term and long term goals.
Short-term goals
Short-term could be an emergency fund that’s 3 to 9 months worth of living expenses. This protects you in case unexpected events occur. A short-term saving goal could also be as simple as saving up for your next vacation trip.
Long-term goals
A long-term goal, on the other hand, are major plans you may have that take more time to save up for. This could be a downpayment for a real estate investment or your retirement plans.
- See where you can cut spending.
This may not be first on the list, but cutting back on spending comes to mind first when saving money. We could talk about this all day, but we’ve narrowed it down to major tips you can try for yourself:
Plan expenses ahead
Have a list that breaks down your monthly expenses by priority. What you obviously want to put first on the list are your necessary living expenses such as groceries and utilities. That way it’s easy to identify the excess on your budget for savings and lifestyle spending.
Reduce electricity consumption
There’s a price you literally pay for comfort and convenience at home, and this sometimes comes in the form of an electricity bill. Sacrificing a bit of comfort by setting a schedule for entertainment like watching television and gaming can help. If that’s hard to let go, opting for renewable energy options is always a good idea.
Grocery shopping hacks
We get that you may not be able to let go of your favorite brand of shampoo. But it helps your wallet to opt for cheaper alternatives for products that may not be as important (but still essential).
Another way is to wait for your favorite products to be discounted or just simply take out of your cart products you can live without.
Unsubscribe
Check your debit and credit cards and see if you have any apps that you’re no longer using but are still subscribed to. Unsubscribing to e-commerce newsletters can also help you from being distracted into purchasing unnecessary stuff!
- Pay off debt.
While this may sound a tad bit contrary to saving money, paying off debt actually eases your spending and ultimately increases your savings. Because where debt is, there’s interest. And that’s a nasty expense you don’t always feel immediately.
- Round-up transactions
Say you spent $4.35 for a cup of coffee. When noting down your expenses, round it up to $5.00 in your records so that $0.65 goes into your savings. You’ll be surprised how much you can save by doing this.
- Check your home loan rate
As a homeowner, you may already be content with your home loan rate. But if saving is a priority (and it should be), you’ll always want to check interest rates. This helps you determine whether or not there is an opportunity to renegotiate or refinance.
Conclusion
There are tons of ways to control your spending and increase savings. Reducing your home loan repayments could be one of them. At the end of the day, what matters is your drive and dedication to save more money.
If you’ve tried out any money saving tips for homeowners that we listed above, we’d love to know how your experience was!
And if you need assistance in renegotiating with your current bank your current home loan rate, we’re also here to help. If it doesn’t work out with them, we can also help you refinance, free of charge. Talk to us–we’d love to learn more about your options. Send us a message or book a call with us today.
