Many Americans want to own a home by this year. But the real estate market is making it hard for them. Experts have stated that the average prices of homes have increased by 13%, costing Americans between $340,000 to $400,000 to purchase a home. The lack of supply is one of the main reasons for this increase.
Many people are looking for help from financial experts to get their dream home. What do financial experts have to say? Look for alternatives and change your costly lifestyle. Start saving up for your dream home instead of wanting it badly this year.
Home Building and Fixer Upper
The first thing you should consider this year is that you might not purchase the home of your dreams. So the first lifestyle change you should make is to let go of such lavish dreams. Practicality and purpose play a bigger role if you have the goal of purchasing a home this year or the next coming years.
Experts believe that if you’re in the rush of having a home but can’t afford its prices today, then you should either purchase a fixer-upper or build your own home. The former is seeing more traction nowadays, as fixer-uppers are 50% less than the average market value of homes in the market. The latter works well if you have time in your hands. It’s your best choice if you want to start building your dream home.
If you pick the right custom home contractor in the market, you can also save a decent amount of money. Building your home will certainly give you more freedom than purchasing a fixer-upper as well. You can identify the rooms you need now instead of changing them in the future.
Now that we’ve had alternatives and cheaper choices at hand, it’s time to look into some lifestyle changes that will help you save money for your home.
Looking out for Your Health and Exercising
Did you know that most debts that accumulate in the US are medical debts? It’s estimated that 79 million Americans have medical debt, owing to health centers an average of $2,000 each. The average differs as there are about 17% of Americans can’t pay for their medical bills. If you’ve been under some medical treatment for the past few years, you would know of its costs. Is there any way to stay away from this expense? Experts believe that exercising can save you tremendous amounts of money.
Studies have shown that people who live a healthier lifestyle can avoid most inpatient visits in the hospital, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they stop going to hospitals entirely. Instead, they are likely to utilize more preventive healthcare services, which helps them avoid severe medical conditions. Additionally, exercising also helps with this, as the more people exercise, the less likely they get obese, which is related to many diseases we know of today.
There is no real estimate as to how much money you will save by living a healthy lifestyle. It’s safe to say that you can save upwards of $2,000 every year because that’s the average medical debt Americans have. But these savings depends entirely on the kind of person you are. There is definitely a high chance that you will save a decent amount of money by never needing an inpatient visit to the hospital. That’s $2,000 off every year on your mortgage, which is already higher than the average mortgage that Americans pay for every year.
Buying Essential Needs in Bulk
Many millionaires and billionaires buy their essentials in bulk, and they don’t do this because they can, but because it helps them save money. Financial experts believe that waiting for discounts and buying non-perishable essential items can save you a tremendous amount of money and multiple trips every month to the grocery store.
If we look at this in a practical way, fewer trips to the grocery store, less of our time wasted, and less money spent on gas. It seems obvious now. Of course, it won’t save you a boatload of money, but it will help you save enough money to pay the bills while you wait for your dream house to finish construction.
Minimize Travel
Lastly, it’s time to get your priorities straight. Researchers have found that many Americans still travel despite their mortgages. In addition, some experts have found that Americans are more likely to splurge their money during travel than any other event in their lives. This is why you should minimize traveling if you want to save up for your home.
However, this doesn’t mean that you should stop traveling. Instead, choose cheaper and local destinations. It will still satisfy your need to travel without the need to spend as much money.
