TOP 7 best tips to help you save money for an apartment

Greetings! Judging by the experience of my friends, taking an apartment on a mortgage is terribly expensive and very unpleasant psychologically. And it is clear that it is desirable to buy your first (second, third) real estate without loans and for your “hard earned”.

Last time we discussed the issue of choosing between . Today's article is intended to help those who still chose the first option. But how to save money for an apartment with medium or low incomes? I will not slide into frank platitudes such as “save, save and invest”, “increase income and cut costs”, “”. I will only suggest a couple of specific tricks and tricks that will slightly simplify and speed up this long and unpleasant process.

But first I will say a couple of "parting words".

Before you start saving for an apartment, you have to set yourself up for... an uninterrupted obstacle course of a couple of years. We all understand perfectly well that in 1 year, even with average incomes, it will not work to save money for buying a home. And even more so if the income is small.

In the short term, you will have to reconsider your lifestyle: hard, earn money in all ways and constantly think about where to put your savings so that they do not burn out.

It is extremely difficult to keep oneself in "hedgehog gloves" for a year or two or five. And sometimes it's almost impossible. In general, tune in for a long marathon with surprises. Agree, the prize in the form of a separate housing is worth such sacrifices.

Set specific deadlines for yourself first.

From the experience of acquaintances, I can say that it is extremely difficult to limit yourself in everything after four or five years of austerity. So focus on this (or better - a smaller) figure.

Get Started with Startup Capital

This is a very important point! “From scratch”, the business will move so slowly that many burn out without even saving up for a hallway. Therefore, either allocate an annual bonus for the start-up capital, or do a general cleaning in the house and.

And start with at least some minimum amount!

Involve others in the process

Those who live with you should participate in this by default. And relatives, friends, colleagues and acquaintances - at least provide moral support.

My friend in Kazakhstan told a funny story. At the point of sale (photo products, copier, office), he worked alone. With the permission of the boss, he brought with him a box with a beautiful picture of a country house and the inscription: "I'm saving up for a house!" I put it somewhere on the side and worked as usual. He says that customers laughed and asked a lot of questions, but he never left home with an empty box.

Why is environmental support so important? The fact is that for some time you will have to give up a bunch of unnecessary, but familiar and pleasant things. And to do this when everyone around you is living a “normal” life is extremely difficult.

Do you try not to smoke around a colleague who is trying to quit and has already lasted two weeks?

Turn the boring counting of every penny into a game or competition

This approach is easiest for young couples. And if you connect children (from seven years old and older) to the process, you get a long, long game for every day! The main thing is that the parents have enough creativity.

It is interesting to beat almost any situation.

We met in the evening and boasted about who saved how much in a day (walked three stops, didn't buy a pie, smoked half a pack of cigarettes instead of a whole one, etc.). We calculated the total amount - put the money in a beautiful piggy bank. Or they cast lots, who will get the money he saved - and he can safely spend it on whatever he wants. Or choose the "winner of the day" and give him a delicious "prize".

You can appoint a "Minister of Finance" every week. It is he who will control all expenses for seven days and scold the rest for squandering. You can draw a house, divide it into a hundred squares and paint over one at a time when the amount needed to buy a “piece” is accumulated.

In general, there are a lot of options! The main thing is to motivate yourself and other family members to save money every day.

Create a reserve fund in case of force majeure

Be sure to set aside money for unexpected expenses!

Otherwise, one fine day, half (if not all) of the money accumulated for an apartment will be spent on paying for the treatment of a family member or urgent car repairs. Moreover, the funds for force majeure must be kept separately from the money for the apartment!

And just forget about the "housing stock" ... This amount should not be taken into account at all in your plans for the next few years.

Be sure to allocate money for recreation and entertainment

Before buying an apartment, you are unlikely to be able to in Italy or Austria. But you should not completely abandon trips to cafes, cinemas, bowling or theater.

From the "saving mode" from time to time it is necessary to rest! A familiar couple used a technique called "day off". Once every two weeks, they chose a day for which they allocated a fixed amount of money (more than they usually spent).

They left home and ... actively rested. They said that during such weekends, the internal “calculator” is turned off - after all, money can finally be spent the way you want. Within the allocated amount, of course.

Be sure to invest your savings!

Just by putting money in a safe, you will move towards the goal with snail's steps. For example, the average salary in Kyiv now is about $300, and a one-room apartment on the secondary market can be bought for $30,000. That is, a person needs neither to drink nor eat for 100 months (or more than eight years) to save up for an apartment.

And if he invests a little bit in investment instruments, this period can be reduced by two or three times! One more piece of advice: when a decent amount is accumulated in the “piggy bank”, a small part of it (10%) can be carefully “scrolled” in profitable instruments with high risks.

By the way, I took Kyiv as an example, because in Moscow the numbers will be absolutely fantastic.

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