Читать книгу Home Buying Kit For Dummies - Eric Tyson - Страница 32

Even if your income and spending fluctuate, you may have developed a basic spending routine. Every month, you earn a particular income and then spend most of, all of, or perhaps even more than what you earn on the necessities (and the not-so-necessary things) of life.

When you want to buy a home, saving is one area where it pays to be above average. Consistently saving more than 5 to 10 percent of your income can help turn you from a renter into a financially able and successful homeowner. Why? For two important reasons:

 To purchase a home, you need to accumulate a decent chunk of money for the down payment and closing costs. True, wealthy relatives may help you out, but counting on their generosity is foolhardy. The attached strings may make such a gift or loan undesirable. If you’re like most people, you probably don’t have any wealthy relatives anyhow.

 After you buy a home, your total monthly expenses will probably increase. So if you had trouble saving before the purchase, your finances are really going to be squeezed postpurchase. This will further handicap your ability to accomplish other important financial goals, such as accumulating money for retirement. If you don’t take advantage of tax-sheltered retirement accounts, you’ll miss out on thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars in valuable tax benefits. We discuss the importance and value of funding retirement accounts later in this chapter.