Buying Power: Move From Renter To Owner Comes With Challenge To Find Savings

For years, you’ve always been told it is financially smarter to own, rather than rent. The person saying that most likely is a homeowner, who probably is financially comfortable with their house payment and the subsequent utilities and bills that come with owning versus renting. For others, renting is the only option for some reasons. They might not have the kind of credit, income or debt to income ratio that gives lenders that warm and fuzzy feeling about giving them hundreds of thousands of dollars and the responsibility of owning a home and paying a mortgage every month. But ask any renter about what they’re aspiring to do one day as far as where and how they live, and they’ll tell you with most certainty that they want to own a home one day, preferably when they have the money to do so. Sure, some like the idea that they’re not responsible for the furnace blowing or the roof flying off or needing to spend money on costly repairs, but the majority want to have something to call their own. So saving money is paramount for this group. But aside from getting a bigger and better job, how exactly do you manage your savings plan if your income doesn’t change. Sure, you can score big with a budget that works, but that means sticking to it and also finding better, more efficient ways to save money that go beyond canceling cable or telling your expensive clothing habit to say so long. Like that clothing habit, why not look into ways to get the look you want but save money in the process. Consider with clothing and other products to think about buying used versus new. Of course, some things are better left to be new, but things like tools, vacuum cleaners, furniture and even your car can be something that is less expensive than right out of the box yet still be functional and practical without the price tag. And like the aforementioned cable canceling idea or ditching your mobile phone plan, think downgrade first before you out and out say so long. For example, why not invest in the entertainment value of Netflix versus cable as a whole, aside from making keeping basic cable for about $20 per month and the $12 Netflix gives you the cable mash up for less than 40 bucks versus the $100 you’re paying now. That savings annualized is nearly $1,000. A few years of just cutting your cable makes for a wonderful down payment, right? And in the end, cutbacks are what they are, but they’re about getting the home you want. Renters look at not so much deprivation, but rather creativity giving way to finding the means to spend money but in a way that puts some of that green in their pocket.

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