Tracy Johnson's Blog
Saving for a down payment on a home is a long process that requires discipline and organization. But we all know that with so many other things going on in our lives it can be hard to spend enough time focusing on your budget.
Fortunately, there are several tools available to soon-to-be homeowners who want to keep track of their spending and make sure they meet their down payment goals. In this article, we’re going to talk about some of the best budgeting apps, websites, and other tools to help you keep yourself accountable so you can be living in your new home as soon as possible.
Why budget for a down payment?
If you’ve saved money in the past for a purchase without a budget you might be wondering why you should go through the effort of creating one now.
However, there are many reasons to have a budget, especially if you’re planning on making an investment as large as a home. Here are just a few:
Keeping an accurate budget will let you know almost exactly how much you can expect to save for a down payment
Budgeting helps you locate and cut out expenses that would be better used in your savings account
Budgeting will give you peace of mind along the road to saving for your down payment
Now that we’ve talked about the importance of making a budget, let’s talk about some of the best ways to get it done.
YNAB
You Need a Budget, often shortened to YNAB, is one of the most useful tools for learning about and creating a budget. I don’t know about you, but I was never formally taught how to budget in school. But, it would have been a useful class to have!
YNAB combines budgeting tools with educational materials to help you save while you learn more about managing money. It can be easy to feel lost when it comes to learning about personal finance--that’s what makes YNAB so great.
Their basic precept is that you “give every dollar a job,” meaning there won’t be any money in any of your accounts or in your paycheck that doesn’t have a purpose. That doesn’t mean you can’t spend money on yourself every once in awhile, just that you’ll have planned ahead for moments so you can manage them.
You Need A Budget is available for Apple, Android, on Alexa and in your browser.
Saving with your spouse
Planning a budget yourself is complicated as it is. But planning together with a spouse can be even more confusing. However, there are ways to effectively make a family budget to save for a down payment.
First, you should both make sure you have individual budgets to make sure you know how much money from each of your incomes can go into savings. Opening a joint savings account and having a certain percentage of your paycheck direct deposited into that account is a good place to start.
From there, monitor your savings for a month to see if you need to alter this number, and try to stick to your monthly savings goal.
Newton, MA 02460
Rental
$5,850
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If it’s time for a deep clean of your home, you may want to grab the duster and just go at it. Dusting is a task that should be done on a regular basis, but it’s not always the case. There’s a right way and a wrong way to dust. Read on for a few simple tips to make your dusting tasks a breeze.
Should You Vacuum First?
When you dust, all of the dirt and particles will fall on the floor. It only makes sense to dust first, then vacuum. You may want to get right to vacuuming, remember that dusting first is always the best approach.
Where To Start
When you're trying to tackle cleaning the entire house, it can be difficult to decide where to start. The best strategy is to start at the doorway of any room and work your way inward. You should also start at the ceiling and work your way down to the floor. It can be easy to forget ceiling lights, fans, and other fixtures that are high up but it’s important to get at these areas because dust often collects thickly there. Some other places to be sure you dust are:
Bookshelves
Televisions
Baseboards
Countertops
Microwave
Door frames
The deeper of a clean that you’re looking to achieve the more areas you’ll need to focus. For routine dusting, you can do more of a once-over approach. This way, you won’t need to spend hours on dusting each time you go to clean your home if you keep up with it.
Frequent Dusting Will Keep Your Home In Better Condition
The more often you dust, the better condition the things in your home will be. Dust can place undue wear and tear on furniture and break down electronic items. Dusting will prevent scratches and blemishes because dirt won’t be on the issues to scratch them. Your furniture will look like new after a deep clean. You’ll appreciate the shine!
Other Areas To Focus On
Don’t forget to dust these other key areas in your home when you’re doing a deep clean:
Vents
Corners of rooms
Doors
Lights
Picture frames
Lampshades
There are even a few ways that you can prevent dust from collecting in your home. Try using area rugs and pull up wall-to-wall carpeting. Use doormats at each entrance to your home to help keep the dust from collecting there. Keeping the windows in your home closed is also a great way to prevent dust and pollen from collecting in your house.
Watertown, MA 02472
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$3,175
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