8 Expenses To Cut Now If You Want To Buy a Home by 2030
Written by
J. Arky
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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If you have the goal of owning a home in the next five to six years, then you probably have a game plan in your mind when it comes to saving up, where you want to live and exactly what kind of home you are looking for. All of that is necessary preparation for what will come next, but it does not fully answer the question of how you will go about affording a home by 2030.
“In ideal situations, it takes 15 to 30 years to completely pay off a mortgage loan, plus interest. So it only makes sense that you begin now to prepare your finances for home ownership. Because the truth is, no matter how well you prepare, you are sure to encounter lots of surprise or extra costs when you are finally ready to become a homeowner,” said Mafe Aclado, general manager of Coupon Snake.
One of the best ways you can pave your own way to home ownership is to cut down on your cost of living and find cheaper alternatives to meet your basic needs.
“The truth is, even without a stagnant income, cutting costs is the most effective way to make enough room amongst your financial responsibilities for a 20% or more downpayment on a house and this is important if you want to secure a more favorable loan term,” Aclado said.
Here are eight expenses to cut now if you want to buy a home by 2030.
Personal Transportation
“Most people who want to buy a house overlook the financial effects of their daily commute,” said Johnny Austin of Sell My House Now LLC, who described how expensive gas, car repairs and tolls can quickly add up.
“This cost is primarily reduced by opting for a home nearer to your job or using public transport,” he said. “An affordable and more accessible journey to work enables one to save money and enhance their work-life balance, hence allowing funds for a home purchase.”
Utility Bills
While you cannot fully cut out utilities like electricity, gas and water, you can find creative ways to lower those monthly bills in order to save for your dream house by 2030.
“Fact is, home maintenance is expensive and is one of the biggest shockers first time home buyers are faced with when they become homeowners,” Aclado said.
“There is also the fact that the cost of maintaining an apartment is nothing compared to how much it costs to maintain a home,” he explained, referring to the example of a typical single-family home.
“So, it would be good practice to start making it a habit to keep your utility bills at minimum,” Aclado said.
Delivery Memberships
Service membership for home delivery — including Amazon Prime, Instacart Express, or DoorDash DashPass — usually come with an annual or monthly subscription fee that is pricey.
“These recurring costs can add up quickly and become a significant expense over time, especially for a homeowner,” said Chris Hoffman, real estate agent and CEO of Lehigh Valley.
“By cutting out or reducing the use of delivery service memberships, potential homeowners can not only save money but also develop better financial habits and discipline, which can be crucial when taking on the responsibilities of homeownership by 2030,” he said.
Professional Services
Money spent on routine professional services such as manicures, personal fitness trainers or grooming in luxurious salons could drain your pockets, Austin said.
“The overall expenses involved in these essentials may appear petty,” he explained. “However, when combined, they become enormous. Reducing this luxury spending can strengthen savings. Minimizing expenditures on such items can hasten your path to homeownership.”
Credit Cards
Alcado put it in simple terms: “It’s easier to stay out of debt when you [keep and] set a personal credit card limit and also automate [your] credit card payment.”
Alcado explained why this is the case. “Cutting down your credit use helps you ensure that you use credit wisely and also helps improve your credit history, because the less credit you use, the less you have to pay back and the easier it is for you to pay back on time without insuring late fees and trailing dirty on your credit record and this is important because your credit history determines how much loan you get and the interest rates you can access.”
Hoffman agreed, highlighting the fact that credit card interest rates topped 20% recently and that debt has a way of eating up the wiggle room in a home buying budget.
Fitness Memberships
“Gym memberships are costly and are often used less by individuals with them. Paying for something you rarely use is an ineffective expense,” Austin explained.
“This change saves money that would otherwise be directed towards gym fees,” he said. “Besides reducing costs, the change also facilitates your savings to buy a future abode.”
Vacation and Travel
While you wait to buy a house, the best course of action is to ditch any other plans to travel.
Between transportation, accommodation, food and other unplanned expenses you might be on the hook for, Aclado said, “The truth is that there is only so much you can do to make sure you don’t spend so much when you are in a new environment.
“So, if possible, minimize the frequency of your vacations, this way, you have more saved up for a down payment on your home,” he said.
Cell Phone Plans
In Austin’s opinion, many people need help with expensive mobile plans offering more capacity than they require.
“Cell phone plan options are changing,” Hoffman said, advising potential homebuyers to “review the latest options and your current data usage to see if you can take advantage of a smaller data plan or a family saving plan. You may be able to negotiate your plan’s cost if you’ve been a long-term customer or are considering switching carriers.”
“Considering cheaper plans from other providers or even discount carriers will lead to significant savings over time if you act on them timely enough,” Austin said.
“This makes it possible to save more into an account specifically meant for buying a house, thereby boosting the chances of achieving homeownership dreams significantly sooner than anticipated in life,” he explained.
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