Buying a home is an important financial step in anyone's life, but you have to start saving now to buy that dream home. Every little step you take towards becoming more money smart can help you achieve your short and long term goals.
Financial guru, Dave Ramsey has a few tips about getting a good and solid start on your money path.
Start an emergency fund. As the old saying goes, nothing in life is certain except death and taxes. You never know what life has in store and sometimes there are a lot of twists, turns, and bumps in the road. Build an emergency fund of $1,000 dollars to give you some cushion if anything happens.
Pay off your debt via the snowball effect. This strategy is great to helping you build momentum and getting your debt paid off. Dave Ramsey advises you make a list of all your debts and then pay off the smaller debt first. Once that one is paid off, move to the next, and continue you down the list until all your debt is paid off. Not sure how you are going to wing it? Consider getting a second job to pay off your debt, sell some of your items, and whatever else you need to do to get your debt paid off.
Build a 3-6 month savings. Once the first two items above are completed, now is the time to put enough money into savings to sustain you for 3-6 months if anything unexpected happens in life. This account will be there if you lose your job and need some cushion while you look for another one or whatever happens in life, you will be covered.
For steps 4-7, take a moment to read Dave Ramsey’s entire article, The Seven Baby Steps, and remember that every dollar you save is getting you one step closer to reaching your financial goals. If you are considering buying a home, Dave has an awesome mortgage calculator worth checking out (but still talk with a financial officer and get pre-approved to make the home buying process easier).
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