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Patient shopper, savvy saver

The good bit is that saving for a house doesn’t have to be a lengthy, stressful and drawn-out affair. You need a good strategy and a level of patience though. And if you’re a savvy shopper already, then you’re going to stand in good stead when it comes to getting that deposit.

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Everyone loves to shop, right? Well, the biggest purchase that most people will ever make in their lives is that of their house. Choosing to go shopping for a house is a big deal, and if you are fortunate enough to be in a position of lining up viewings to go and make the biggest decision you could make for your wallet, embrace it. It’s not a position everyone is lucky enough to be in, and if you love to shop, this is about to be the best shopping trip of your life. The only real downside? The cost. A house is an expensive venture and you can’t just pick one off the shelf. There are rules, deposits, fees, legal requirements – so many hoops to jump through for the purchase of a house, and it’s all on you to ensure that you jump those hoops and make it work.

The good bit is that saving for a house doesn’t have to be a lengthy, stressful and drawn-out affair. You need a good strategy and a level of patience though. And if you’re a savvy shopper already, then you’re going to stand in good stead when it comes to getting that deposit.

Saving for a house deposit is an insane task, so you can’t look at the whole amount and try to save that. A good bit of advice is to break down those savings into more manageable bites; smaller goals are always far easier to achieve. The best piece of advice you will ever find is that you should be a far savvier shopper to get where you want to go. The more time that you put into saving, the bigger the deposit you will have, meaning that you could have far more choice for the home that you want, or you could put on a smaller deposit and use the rest of the cash to furnish the place. In the meantime, though, you need to decide whether you have the patience and the grit about you to manage to make the savings that you need to make and change your life to, well, change your life. Below, we’ve put together some of our favorite savings ideas to help you get to your dream home.

Shop Smart. A big part of buying a house is dreaming up how to furnish and decorate it, right? Well, if you start shopping at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DealDash, you’re going to get some fantastic deals and you’re able to bid on the items that you want. You could furnish your entire property and find some excellent statement pieces to ensure that your house is stylish and as up to date as your budget allows you to be.

Shop Savvy. You know your incoming and your outgoing amounts of money, right? Well, it’s time to look at what you buy and make some savvy swaps. Do you love the branded cheese at the store that costs $10? Did you know you could pretty much get the same flavor of cheese for $4 less by choosing the store brand? That $4 may not seem like a lot, but when you buy cheese every week, you could move that little bit of cash into your savings account and boom, you’ve saved $200 in a year. Being smart about your swaps while you shop can really make a huge dent in your savings account, and you won’t be putting anything to waste while you do it. You have to still make yourself happy, though, so don’t swap to things that you genuinely don’t like.

Income Smart. When you get your paycheck, you’ve already divided it up to go where you need it to go to make ends meet. So, it’s time to take your savings out of your total amount before you’ve even got your check. Are you aiming to save $400 a month and you earn $2500? Well, from now on you only earn $2100. That additional chunk of cash cannot be touched, and you can set up an immediate payment on payday each month so that you’re not tempted to touch it. Don’t try to live first and save second, because you’ll never make those savings that you are so desperate to make.

Income Savvy. If you don’t feel like your full-time job makes you enough money to save, it’s time to get savvy with your income. Pick up a second job at a bar or pull extra freelance work from home. You need to savvy with your income so that you can continue to live at a rate that you are accustomed and yet make it work with your savings at the same time. Pulling a second job doesn’t have to mean you spend every spare hour working but imagine how much that you could bring in by doing two evenings a week as a delivery driver. Those shifts driving around can change your income dramatically.

Sell Smart. That car that you barely use? Sell it. Those electronics gathering dust in the garage? Sell those, too. You can look at your whole house and see a goldmine of cash just sat there waiting for you to capitalize on. If you are smart about where you sell things, you can ensure that you get the best prices for them, and really ramp up your house deposit amount.

Sell Savvy. Don’t get ripped off when selling your things. Sure, you’re looking to make some quick money, but not quick enough that you are underpaid for the things you’ve put cash into. Don’t be taken for a ride, and don’t settle for less than what you truly want for your items.

Getting that house deposit together is not going to take you forever and if you are committed, you can really see that savings account grow over time. Don’t waste any time, either. The whole property market can shift on a dime and you could lose all your plans. Make a plan, stick to it and be patient. You’ve got this.

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Your "not that regular" all-around gal, writing about anything, thus everything. "There's always more to discover... thus write about," she says in between - GASP! - puffs. And so that's what she does, exactly. Write, of course; not (just) puff.

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