Saving for a property purchase over the holidays
Over the holiday season, it can be more difficult to keep control over your spending. However, saving for a property doesn’t mean you have to forego fun over your holidays.
Here are some practical advice for sticking within your budget, allowing you to keep saving for a property, while enjoying your holidays too.
Budget over the silly season
If you are saving for a house, you have hopefully already created a budget so that you can see what your essential costs are, as well as how much you can save each month.
For the holidays, create a new budget using your regular budget as a guide. Factor in any items you will need for Christmas day or a holiday away, gifts, activities, any additional spending you will be required to do. And then stick to it!
Have money that is inaccessible
Today as we tap everything we purchase, it’s easy to spend more than we intended because there is no physical cash transaction. Even swiping our bank card, or signing on our credit card, required us to stop for a moment and physically see the amount of money we are spending each time. Having cash that is “locked away” into an account we cannot access will ensure your savings for your property remained untouched.
Another solution is setting up alerts with your bank; some banks can send you a notification each time you spend money which will allow you to keep it in check.
Sell your items on eBay
You probably have a few items lying around that you don’t use anymore but are in great condition. In fact, you may even have clothes with the tags still attached. You may be surprised when you look around.
There are many sites that allow you to auction or sell your clothes and household items like eBay or Gumtree. The extra cash will come in handy over the holidays.
It can help you to make your own rule that if you make a big purchase, that you sell something else to off-set it.
Create a vision board for 2019
The holidays are the perfect time to create a vision board. Find pictures of a property and whatever else you want to achieve in 2019, place them on your vision board and put the board somewhere you will see it every day.
Looking at your goals, that visual image, will help you to stick to the plan and make better decisions that take you closer to your goals.
Vision boards are so important to achieve your goals because they serve as a tangle check-list. Vision is more effective than simply imagining it so a vision board will ensure you achieve your goals.
