Trying to figure out how to save money for a house can make you want to pull your hair out. No worries, here’s a big list of out of the box ideas to try.
The corner of the couch had never been so cozy. My favorite cuddly blanket was wrapped around me as I settled in to watch one of my favorite shows.
Just as I was getting really comfy, there was a sudden
PLOP
outside the window next to the couch.
Of course I looked outside to see what had happened.
And there was a big bag of stinky garbage.
My lovely upstairs neighbor…the ones who let their kids run in circles around the apartment at all hours of the night…who fought constantly to see which one could argue the loudest…
decided that carrying their trash down the stairs and out to the dumpster was just.too.much.work.
Ah, the joys of living in an apartment.
I guess the one good thing about all of that was that it inspired us to save up money on a down payment for a house. We couldn’t wait to get out of there.
But how do you go about saving money for a house? It’s super intimidating to save up that kind of cash.
Well, let me show you a few tricks that make saving easier.
How Can I Save Money For a House Fast?
Use a combination of these ideas to start rolling up the savings.
1. Keep The Vision
If owning a home is the most important thing to you right now, this shouldn’t be hard.
It’s as simple as this: Do you want that yummy looking limited time pop flavor you saw advertised on the door of the gas station? Or do you want a house?
(Think those couple of bucks every day don’t add up? This chart proves it does.)
Is hanging out at the bar with friends or co-workers the most important thing to you right now? Or is it the house?
(I’m not telling you to permanently ditch your friends. Just invite them to your place instead of spending money.)
Remembering how sweet it will be to have your own home should take the sting out of saying no to all kinds of spending.
2. Cut Your Spending
And I mean cut it. Check out these 40 crazy things we did to get out of debt for some ideas.
3. Do Some Math
You’ve got some idea of what your budget is, right?
Use a simple mortgage payment calculator to find out what your payments will be on that new house. Don’t forget to add insurance and taxes.
Well, you might as well get used to that monthly payment now, right? Take the number from the calculator, subtract what you’re already spending on rent, and start saving the difference.
The sweet thing is that if you save up enough down payment, by the time you actually buy, the bill should be lower than what you’ve gotten used to paying yourself. Win/win!
4. Get A Side Job
Every extra dollar you can bring in for savings will save you on interest costs.
Here’s a list of full time work from home jobs to get you started.
(Don’t worry, you can work a lot of them part time if you prefer.)
5. Save All Your Dimes
If you aren’t a cash person, become one. Then, whenever you get a dime in your change, save it.
A 20 ounce bottle will hold $100 in dimes!
Or, save every kind of change you get for even faster money.
6. Hoard the Extras
If you get paid bi-weekly, you’ll get “extra” paychecks a couple times per year. Save as much from those checks as you can.
Bonuses? Tax refunds? Dump them in your savings.
Refund checks…returns (that you actually remember to make with the receipt)…that $5 you found on the sidewalk…
Save it all. The funny thing is that the more you start to look for these little bits of cash, the more of them you’ll find.
7. Sell Stuff
Anything you have lying around that can be sold on Ebay…do it.
(Here’s a list of funky things you can actually sell that you might not have thought of.)
You can even sell things on Amazon. (Don’t worry, it’s not as tough as it sounds. Try this free ebook to get yourself started.)
8. Look for Grants
See what grants are available for first time home buyers in your state.
9. Use a Chart
I created a fun money saving chart that’s perfect for people who struggle to save a regular amount of money with every paycheck.
Use it and see how quickly you can save up $1,000.
10. Break Up Your Paycheck
This trick works like magic, and it only takes a little time to set up.
How Much Money Should You Save To Buy A House?
You should save as much money as possible as a down payment to buy a house.
Duh, right?
Ideally you would save at least 20% of the cost so you can avoid extra fees, including paying private mortgage insurance (which protects your lender…not you).
Remember that every dime you pay up front will save you interest over the course of the mortgage. Also, if you can save enough, you may be able to afford payments for only 15 or 20 years instead of the conventional 30.
That will save you even more in interest…not to mention how much money you’ll have to invest when you no longer have a mortgage in a shorter time!
How Do I Save For A House In 2 Years?
It’s totally possible to save money for a house in 2 years. But you’ll probably have to make at least one big change in your life.
I didn’t want to make changes to my life. Sure, we had tens of thousands in credit card debt.
But we also had 5 kids. And a house that needed work done.
Still. Living with all that debt was exhausting.
And after a while, we realized that living a #yearofno (where we didn’t spend money on any extras for a year…actually two…read more about it here) was better than living the rest of our lives with debt noosed around our neck.
That was a big change in our house.
You can make other big changes to reach your dreams.
Things like…
- doing your own #yearofno spending
- asking for a raise
- changing jobs
- moving to a cheaper place
- taking on a second job
- learning how to live frugally
- negotiating all of your bills (Try this phone service for just $20 per month.)
- get rid of monthly bills and payments that aren’t essential
- selling your expensive car and getting a cheaper one
- becoming a one car family (or a no car family)
Saving money for a house is easier when you pull out this list of tricks.
May your days be free of falling garbage.
Oh, one more super fun way to save is doing the #brightsaver challenge! You’ll love it. Sign up here:
How have you saved up for a house?
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
