The Benefits of Budgeting When Paying for a Mortgage

Are you a new homeowner or maybe you’ve been in your home for a while but are really trying to budget and save? Well look no more! We’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks to save a few bucks in different areas of your life so you can put your funds towards that home of your dreams!

Cut out the drive-thrus and eating out as much as possible.

According to the USDA, carry-out food options accounted for 4.6% of a household’s total budget spend on average and 4.9% on meals to be prepared and consumed at home. Consider a meal planning option that helps bundle the ingredients you use each week to cut down on unnecessary waste and extra spending.

Instead, pack a lunch or meal prep a few days’ worth of meals at one time. Save time and money – a win-win!

Weed through subscriptions and cancel what you don’t use.

Have a random music account from college or an app for your kids that they never use on the tablet? By cancelling even 1-2 unused subscriptions you could save enough to do a small home project at the end of the year (hello painted cabinets and new hardware!) - or pay a little extra towards your mortgage each month. A tiny bit amounts to a lot over time!

Eliminate unnecessary utility spending.

There are a few simple and safe adjustments you can do to your utilities that will make all the difference to your wallet. You can lower your hot water heater’s thermostat by around 20 degrees to earn big-time savings on your energy bill. Typically, the unit is set at above 140 degrees, but moving down to 120 is not only indistinguishable, but also frugal.

Setting your washing machine to cold when washing your clothes is another way to limit the damage on that pesky energy bill. Your washing machine uses as much as 90% of its available energy to heat up water, so switching over to cold is a more efficient, and even beneficial to delicate clothing, method of optimally utilizing your utilities. A perfect add-on to washing on cold is to hang up your clothes to dry in the warmer months rather than tossing them in the dryer, another energy-eating utility. The savings won’t be life-changing right away, but you’ll find yourself gradually spending less money over time.

Capitalize on good deals.

Remember when your Grandma would sit down with a pair of scissors and cut all those coupons out of the Sunday paper? Well, you could say she was ahead of her time, as using the coupons offered by a store is another easy way to save up money for your dream home.

These days, we all shop online. So take advantage of the special deals offered by stores for their digital shoppers. Signing up for a company’s email list is one way to stay in the loop on their amazing promotions, though the spam to your inbox might get a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, there are several browser extensions available that will find the best deals for you!

There seem to be endless costs associated with being a homeowner, so it’s important to cut extra expenditures and save where you can. The list above is only a few examples of ways to save money in your daily life. Setting a monthly budget and becoming more aware of opportunities to save can be transformative for your financial wellness!