Twelve ways to save money to build your new home

An expensive and important investment in life is building a home yourself. This can seem daunting because how will you ever have enough money? Well, you might not have the money right now, but if a you are able to implement money saving tips into your life, you could save a large amount in a couple of years.

Here are the small ways to start saving money to build a home yourself in the future!  

1. Separate bank account:

It’s important to have separate bank accounts for saving accounts, rainy days and for the purpose of saving for building a home. The first step is to set a goal. How much money are you looking to save? From there, set up an automatic savings deposit. It’s important to start saving as early as possible. Anyone can sign up for free direct deposit or automatic withdrawal at your bank.

With several accounts, one will be able to transfer money into different accounts to help them save. This will stop you from spending money that should be put away and help you track how much money is being saved in different accounts. One account is everyday life, the other is a savings and the final one is for building a home.

2. Cut out the extras:

Do you need that monthly subscription box? What about an Amazon Prime account? Do you need Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and other streaming platforms? It’s time to get rid of the items that you don’t necessarily need and keep the ones you use frequently.

3. Plan out events where you’ll be spending money:

This is a simple solution to help you save! If you know the last Thursday of every month is date night, a family outing, a night on the town or anything else, schedule it out. When you write it down on a calendar, it will remind you in a couple of weeks you’ll be spending this money. Plan accordingly.

4. Skip the Starbucks:

This can be a hard habit to break. A delicious coffee in the morning with a snack, it’s delightful, but it adds up! A person can spend an average of one to five dollars on a coffee while brewing a cup at home only costs 16 to 18 cents!

Even more shocking, a person could be spending about $1,200 a year JUST on coffee.

A simple solution is to buy a coffee machine that matches your coffee addiction!

5. Let it go!

It’s time to let go of those old items and get some cash for them. There are hundreds of options for getting some extra cash by selling old furniture, clothing, dishware or more. One can use; Ebay, Facebook Market, PoshMark, Let Go or any other apps on Google Play or in the iTunes store! Stop saving that old sweatshirt, and get money for letting the items go. This will not only give you extra cash, but start to clean out the clutter to build a home yourself.

6. The 30 day rule

A great money saving tips would be the 30-day rule. Often times, at the store, we see something and immediately put it into the cart. Next time, wait about 30 days before going back to purchase the item. At this point, your urge to purchase that item will dissipate, save you money and not seem like a necessity anymore. If you lived without it for 30 days, more than likely, you didn’t need the item.

7. Invite others over:

Who doesn’t love a relaxing board game night at their friends?! This is a money saving trick that involves everything you already have! You can have friends bring their own snacks, drinks and a couple board games.

Check out the coupons for snacks in the grocery store flyers and grab a couple items. Save the money on the dinner and night out and play that board game you’ve never even opened.

8. Stop using credit cards:

When responsibility is used, credit cards are great for building credit, earning awards, handling emergency situations and other scenarios. On the other hand, a credit card can also cause an enormous amount of debt and financial struggles. If you don’t have the money for that fancy dinner, coffee, eating out all the time, or new furniture don’t put it on a credit card.

9. Coupons:

Grab that weekly grocery flyer, download apps, go to the website and learn about couponing on YouTube! You might already get coupons to your local grocery store so no need to go out of your way to save money.

Another great idea, shop where you get fuel points. Save money on groceries and gas!

10. Meal prep:

Sundays – the day of hunting, family fun and now meal prepping. Meal prepping is the perfect way to save money. On Sundays, prep a couple of crockpot meals or freezer meals to put away for later in the week. Prep breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner all on Sunday. This will help deter you from spending money on meals and encourage you to eat at home or at your desk.

At first, start small. You can meal prep for Monday through Wednesday and give yourself more linenacy the rest of the week. Even meal prepping a couple meals a week will help save money.

11. Buy in bulk

If you already have a BJs, CostCo or Sam Clubs membership enjoy the benefits of saving money by buying bulk items. Yes, buying in bulk does save you money. A comparison between brands and items was made from DaveRamsey.com

As anyone can see, even buying simple items like toilet paper or pasta sauce can help save more money on average when buying in bulk. Furthermore, once you buy in bulk the items frequently last longer meaning less grocery shopping in the future.

12. The 10 second rule:

When you pick an item up at the store, hold it for 10 second and ask yourself why you’re buying it. Is it a necessity or something that is currently bringing joy? If you can’t find a great answer to WHY you need that item, save the money for another day.These are 12 ways to start implementing better saving habits into your current life to help save to build a home yourself. At Homestead Homes, we can help you design your forever home with your budget in mind. For more information on home plans or building  a home, contact us today!