How we Downsized our Spending and Upsized our Home
It was just few weeks after we married when we purchased an amazing piece of property in a quaint town close to where we both work. Yes, right after we married we decided to embark on our first real adventure--building a house together. For better or worse, right? Obviously, to build a house, you need cash. There are all sorts of magic numbers in the housing game - mortgage insurance, debt-to-income ratio, interest rates, and so on. In order for ours to all align, we needed a large chunk of cash as our down payment. What to do? Patience isn't one of our combined strengths - we wanted to get started immediately so we brainstormed for several days about ways to come up with the necessary funds. We talked about weekly garage sales, selling both our cars, each taking on a second job, increasing the rent on our rental property, but none of those ideas seemed very practical nor would they result in the kind of quick cash we needed.
So, we sat down together and decided to totally change our lifestyle in order to save for our dream home. We spent four months living on only 50% of our take home pay, and saved enough for our down payment in those 120 days. It was so hard. But it was such an amazing feeling when we broke ground on our home! Here are some of the things we did to really pinch pennies.
1. Ditch the Digital Clutter
Living in the digital world is pricey. We eliminated cable completely and found the least expensive internet provider we could find. We did the same with our cell phone company. Don't be afraid to negotiate in order to get exactly what you want. Several providers we contacted were eager to work with us to find options that fit our financial needs. There also are a lot of streaming services available out there, so if you truly can't live without, check into Netflix, Hulu, sling, etc. for your entertainment needs. Just remember, those payments add up quickly, and if you are seriously trying to save for a big goal, you can find free or low cost sources of entertainment with just a little bit of effort.
Eat dinner together each night, at a table, and chat about your day. Take a walk, dance to your favorite tunes or play cards. Visit your local library and rent some movies or TV shows or try an audio book to listen to while sipping wine and relaxing on the couch. Re-discover your favorite board game on a weekend night, a little friendly competition is always fun. Ditch the digital clutter and you'll save money and make memories all at the same time. 2. Forage for Food Deals When you go grocery shopping consider Aldi, a no frills, no nonsense, nothing-but-good food alternative to the fancy supermarket or the big box discount store. While it may not have a personal butcher, baker or salad bar maker, it is a solid choice for saving money on groceries. Aldi is almost always the winner on price comparisons on every item. The only caveat is when stores have weekly sales or specials - sometimes those prices beat Aldi's...sometimes.
We took grocery savings to a whole different level. We stopped going. Literally, we only went to the grocery store twice in 4 months. I'm not recommending this as a long-term lifestyle choice - fresh produce, milk and eggs are all staples in our everyday diets. However, at the time, it was a sacrifice worth making. It's amazing what you will find buried in your freezer or in the back of your pantry. We had a lot of fun creating recipes with random ingredients that had gotten pushed to the back of the shelf. In fact, it was another source of cheap entertainment in addition to being a thrifty approach for cutting our grocery bills. 3. Save a Latte – Brew at Home Do you share my coffee weakness? I love a hot cup of coffee in an adorable little coffee house. Or a fresh cup of joe from Starbucks on my way in to work. But coffee is not cheap - especially if you drink a triple white chocolate mocha with soy every day.
Debbie over at One Little Project at a Time has a great roundup of copycat recipes to get you your java fix on a lower budget.
Invest in a sturdy travel cup or a cute mug from the thrift store and plan ahead. Start perking at home and you will be roasting your fatter wallet in no time. 4. Stop, Drop and Don't Shop I'm not a huge shopping fiend, but I do like a new outfit or accessory every now and then - especially as a reward after a stressful week.
Don't. Do. It. To help keep myself accountable, I joined in on a hashtag challenge where I didn't buy a single item of clothing for a month, and I wore a different outfit every day. Seriously, we all have tons of unused clothes just taking up space in our closets - make use of them and save your paycheck for something really exceptional. If you must have something new for dinner with the girls or your best friend’s wedding, check out the many thrift store options and consignment shops for something fun and out of the ordinary.
Don't get me wrong - none of these choices were easy ones. And we didn't always love the way things were going on this journey. But we did it - we spent four months saving over half of our take home pay, and in a matter of weeks, we had enough to start on our dream home. What's your dream, or your goal? Does the amount of money needed seem out of reach? You can make the short term sacrifices necessary to get there and you will always be glad you did.
