When you're starting from $0.00 it can seem like FOREVER & a day before you will have 5%-20% down payment of a purchase price for a home ! It's so frustrating and seems like a daunting task. Personally, I employed a lot of the things I'll list below and it really helped me to save here & there and it added up pretty fast.
Set up a TFSA; TFSA stands for Tax-Free Savings Account. So a couple reasons why you should do this. A) You can set up an automatic payment to come directly off your pay and go into this savings account so that you don't see the money & never count on it being there. You get to choose the amount so do something that you won't be overwhelmed with & want to change later - consistency is the key to success. B) With a Tax Free Savings Account you don't have access to it. Its dependant on the plan you choose but some have annual allowances where you can access them etc. Otherwise you pay to access the money, which means you wont touch it (which is the idea). C) With a tax free savings account, you're earning money through interest ON your money. Free money? PERFECT! and lastly, D) You can write the TFSA contribution amount off of your annual income. This means you pay less taxes and can in turn, save more money that way too! This really worked for me because I've got terrible spending habits but if Im forced to save, I will and I don't even notice the money gone because it doesn't ever make it to my account. It makes saving feel like less of a chore!
Cancel Memberships that you aren't using; Hi Goodlife & Five Star. Personally, I have like four gym memberships. WHY? I don't even go to ANY of them right now! Cancelling memberships like these can save you a minimum of 50$ monthly. Thats 600$ a year PER membership. Got 3? Guess that, thats your lawyer fees for buying a home. Call and cancel those ASAP. I had to cancel Goodlife, Five Star, Ipsy, A couple things like Apple Music, Spotify etc - They might seem small but they all add up. In total I saved 250$ a month I didn't even REALIZE I was spending because it was 10$ here, 50$ there. Over the course of a year, thats 3,000$... Significant amount. So, look at your bank statements and make some changes.
Drink less Coffee! This sounds silly, and for me it's Red bull. I don't drink coffee. However, lets say you drink 2-3 a day. I'm not saying DON'T DRINK IT AT ALL, that would be crazy, most of us need that jump start to our day or a cup to carry us through that afternoon or evening lag. However, you don't need 3 cups a day, you can surely get by on one and it's also healthier for you to cut back so... two birds one stone. Let's say you're getting Starbucks twice a day. 7$ a drink x 2 = 14$ a day. Do you even want to know what that is in a year? Get ready for it... $5,096 LOL ON COFFEE. I spend a solid 10$ daily on Red Bull. Im so upset to admit that is nearly $4,000 annually on a stupid drink I shouldn't even drink because its crazily unhealthy. SMH.
Ladies, This one is for you - Dye your hair back to your natural colour. Why? How could that save me money? Well, you can let your natural hair grow out (which is super healthy anyway) and save $150-350 monthly. Get extensions? On average (cheap supplier and installer) The cost for Extensions are $800. If you have a hair god like @ultimatellengthsextensions you'll pay $1300-1500 for your hair. So, guess what. If you're getting your hair coloured monthly, thats $1,800-$4,200 annually. If you get JUST extensions in thats $4,800-$6000 annually. And, like many women do, GET BOTH; thats $6,600-$10,200 annually. literally all I need to say is... BRUH. Stop getting your hair done. Go to the salon and get your natural colour put back in and let your hair grow out. Or what I did was a Balayage so my roots were ok to grow in.
Pick up a Part Time Job; Yes, its tiring to work full time but if you want to buy a house, consider getting a part time job just to save up the Down Payment faster - examples of GREAT ideas are serving, bartending or anything else where you could potentially make tips! Uber or Uber eats is also a great idea.
During holidays, don't splurge. I know its fun to buy people you love great and expensive gifts, but the seasons are supposed to be about spending time with those loved ones. Consider being honest and saying that you are trying to buy a home and people, i promise, will understand. Set a limit for yourself and don't exceed it. This can save thousands over the year with Birthdays, Weddings, Christmases, Showers etc.
If you have the opportunity to move back home, no explanation needed DO IT.
Stop ordering Take-Out! This was a really hard one for me because my work schedule is so insane but it really does cost way more than buying groceries and cooking. You pay a premium for the food, the delivery, etc. its also a lot more unhealthy. Let's say you spend 100$ a week (we all know it can be way more) on take out - thats $5,200 annually. How much do YOU spend a week / day on take out ?
Cancel your cable and any extras on your cell bill. Most of us don't even watch Cable, so why do we have it? Just stream from the internet or buy a cable box that is prepaid. You pay 100$ upfront and thats it or some of them have monthly plans around 10-20$ monthly if you NEED cable but kick the Cogeco or Rogers/Bell to the curb! it's a waste of money.
The last suggestion I have, which may seem kind of weird is give yourself an allowance. Spend SOME money. If you deprive yourself the entire time you are trying to save you will be not only MISERABLE but probably less likely to have the motivation to keep doing things like work that part time job, not eat take out etc. So give yourself a limit you know you can sustain (back to the consistency is key thing) and do something for yourself with that money that will allow you to keep pushing hard & getting to where you want to be.
I really hope these aren't too crazy & hard. I know I struggled with some of them. Sometimes, just being gracious to yourself and allow yourself to take two steps forward and a half step back, it's okay not to be full force the whole time. I'm happy to also share government incentives with you that help first time home buyers with their down payments! Just send me a message :)
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