Updated on March 5th, 2023
AD – Sponsored | In general, saving money is not an easy task. However, if you do find yourself in the unique position to save for a house, there are a few tried and true steps to saving money. There are obvious ways such as creating a savings and investment account. But let us go over a few daily goals that are less obvious but could help you cut expenses and save up for a home.
Use Coupons
Clipping coupons is a tedious task and I would even go as far as to say as it is one of the average person’s least favorite things to do. If it was more of a favorite, more people would use them. Although it may seem silly because a lot of coupons are for small amounts, sometimes the foundation of your savings can increase if you focus your efforts.
If you are looking to start small, which is all that is needed, start with the newspaper. Grab the Sunday paper because it always has the newest and best coupons, and clip ones that are relevant to you and your spending.
Make it a point to use at least half of the coupons you clip when you do your shopping during the week or at least use half by the time they expire. You may find that this one task of clipping coupons may be harder to follow through with than you think, and if coupons are not for you, you can read my post on 5 ways to save on groceries without coupons.
If you have established exactly how much you need to save by using a house payment calculator, you may have already established a percentage or dollar amount of your income that you need. The bit you save on groceries may be able to give you another percentage you are able to put into your savings account.
Cook at Home
We spend a lot of money feeding ourselves and our families. You may have a family to feed as well, and you are hoping to do so in a bigger space that you can call your new home.
The best way to be able to use those coupons you clipped is to cut back on your take-out and dining-out meals. In your plan for savings, attempt to shop for food to make at home as much as you can. Healthy home-cooked meals are the best as well.
We would all love to save money and be healthy, but working families may find it difficult to have the energy at the end of the day to cook a home-cooked meal. However, you can try to plan at least 3 home-cooked, coupon-purchased meals a week.
If you can, you can also look into getting a meal-delivery kit. These kits can save you time, money, and energy.
Cancel Unused Subscriptions
With the money you would save from canceling subscriptions you do not use or necessarily need, you could have extra money for your home savings. You could also use the extra money to help you purchase a subscription you will use, like a meal-delivery kit (once again, we spend a lot of money on food).
What happens with most unused subscriptions is that you sign up for a free trial, and you forget to cancel or perhaps the amount is just not enough to worry about at the time. If you look at what you are spending on these forgotten charges, you may realize you are paying a good amount of money towards something you never use.
These 3 simple ways are just the basics of cutting out wasteful spending and once you can cut them out, you can move to other important parts of your budget to assist with building your down payment.
Cooking at home is my favorite tip to save. I also pay attention to quality/price brands and different supermarket options. Thank you for sharing. It’s never too late to start saving.
That’s a good idea and store brand can be as good of quality as name brand so it’s a great way to save.
I am planning to buy a house in the near future and so I am looking to save where I can. I have started my weight loss journey again and so I have stopped the takeaways – it became so easy and Deliveroo was just too easy, I dread to think if I added up how much I spent even in the last few months. Thank you for sharing these tips!
Lauren
Good luck with buying a new house! I completely agree food delivery is so easy and quick to use, but when you add up the cost of food plus delivery, it gets expensive.
The “cook at home” part hit the spot haha! I mean, I usually do that but sometimes I have phases where I eat out a loooot & it always shows in my bank account at the end of the month 😀
Lots of love,
Krissi of the marquise diamond
https://www.themarquisediamond.de/
I agree! There are days where I have no energy to cook dinner so I order delivery or take out & it does show at the end of the month
These are such great tips! Coupons make a huge difference. I like to look online before I head out because some retailers will have them on their website. Cancelling unused subscriptions is also important! Since they often charge automatically, it’s a good idea to see what you’re using and what you can save on. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks! I completely agree with looking for coupons online too! Yes and if you don’t use the subscription, then you’re automatically losing money every month.
Very interesting and helpful article, thank you for sharing!
Love and Wellness
You’re welcome!
These are great tips! Cooking at home is SUCH a gamechanger when it comes to saving money 🙂
mia
Thanks and I completely agree!
Thank you for sharing great ways to save money. There are so many apps and streaming companies today good to unsubscribe from what is not used often. We hardly have coupons in Singapore in physical stores, mostly for online shopping.
You’re welcome! I agree there are so many streaming companies today so it’s good to unsubscribe from ones you don’t use.
Coupons aren’t really a thing in Denmark either unless you’re shopping online, but in some countries like the US I know coupons are very popular.
Thank you for these. I never use coupons but maybe I should. I do use a voucher app though.
You’re welcome! In Denmark, coupons aren’t thing, but in other countries where they are, they can be beneficial especially if they’re for items you already buy.
That’s great you use a voucher app!
So true! I mostly agree with no. 2 & 3. Thank you for sharing.
No problem!
We definitely agree with that last cost-cutting measure. Unused subscriptions just lead to money leaks. We met someone who just ended a gym membership because they had not used it in two years. approximately $200 a month on one subscription alone can have a drastic effect on our ability to save for investments.
That’s shocking that someone had a gym membership and didn’t use it for 2 years! That is a waste of money and it could’ve been put to a better use like savings.
My extra tip – and it’s an odd one – would be don’t go to do your grocery shopping when you’re hungry! Not only do you run the risk of buying an extra snack (using more pennies!) but you might also purchase higher price, less healthy options too! If you go shopping on a full stomach, you’re more likely to stick to your list and choose healthier options. Tried and tested by me, I promise!
I completely agree! If you go grocery shopping while hungry, you will likely buy food that’s not on your list that you don’t necessarily need