How to budget and save for your first home

Careful budgeting and saving are important steps in preparing to buy your first home. Just like any major life decision, it’s essential to consider your financial stability and assess whether you need to increase your savings for a deposit.

This guide offers handy hints and tips to help you budget and save effectively, making your home buying journey manageable and enjoyable.

1. Understand the costs
2. How to start saving money for a house
3. Analyse your expenses
4. Look for extra support
5. Watch the market

1. Understand the costs

Whether you're saving for a house deposit, planning for legal costs, or figuring out your basic living expenditures, it’s important to be aware of all the associated expenses of buying your first home. Examples of this include:

• Your deposit (and the value of the house)

• *Stamp Duty

• Mortgage payments and fees

• Solicitor fees

• Legal costs

• Surveyor’s fees

• Insurance

For a detailed overview on additional fees you can expect to pay when buying your first home, take a look at our guide here.

*Subject to change.

2. Start saving for your first home

Set achievable financial goals based on your monthly income and expenses.

Make sure you have extra funds available even after calculating your expected expenses during the home buying process. This can help you in paying for unforeseen living expenses and fluctuations to variable mortgage interest rates.

3. Analyse your expenses

To boost your savings, consider cutting unnecessary expenses. You can do this by:

• Look to switch to cheaper utilities providers

• Give yourself one treat meal a month, whether it"s your favourite takeaway or restaurant

• Reduce commuting costs by walking and cycling. Sell any unused or unwanted items.

• Streamline any debts into single manageable monthly payments.

• Create a budget planner to track how much you’re saving.

If you need any further money saving tips or suggestions, this guide from the Money Helper can help.

4. Look for additional support

Explore financial schemes and support to help ease the financial burden of buying your first home.

Tilia Homes offers a range of support options for first time buyers, including advice on first-time buyer mortgages and home buying schemes like shared ownership and the First Homes scheme.

5. Watch the market

Stay up to date with market trends, government schemes and new home buying incentives to ensure you make informed decisions and find the best deal to suit you.

Buying support from Tilia Homes

At Tilia Homes, we’re proud to offer guidance and support if you’re considering purchasing from one of our new build developments.

To learn more about buying your first home, you can get in touch with us or check out our other first-time buyer guides here.