One of the great joys of being a budget coach is to journey with my clients as they save for and buy their first home. Buying your first home requires a huge commitment, it may well be the biggest purchase of your life so it is important that you take your time, do your homework and understand all the costs that are truly involved. A quick google search will quickly tell you the costs you must consider when buying a house, you know, the deposit, the real estate agents fees, the legal fees, stamp duty, the banks fees, connection fees, moving cost and so on. But what you will rarely find on this list is the importance of having a decent cash reserve. As a budget coach I strongly recommend that all of my clients include a cash reserve of$20,000 as one of the costs they need to consider when buying a house. Now I am fully aware that no one wants to hear this sort of advice, $20,000 is a huge amount of extra money to find and yes I know you are busting to get your first home but please here are three reasons you need to take …
Your Friends Can’t Afford the Daily Coffees in Their Budget Either
We don’t like to talk about money! We put on our best faces and pretend everything is okay! But inside just below the surface we are hurting, our finances are a mess, but how do you say ‘no’ when you have a budget to stick to?
How to Teach Your Teenager About Money
We have looked at activities and techniques useful for teaching primary aged children healthy money habits, including: How to Teach Your Children How to Manage their Money and How to Teach the Middle School Child About Money. I would now like to turn my attention to teenagers when it comes to teaching children about money.
Are Spending Habits Robbing You of What’s Important?
How much have you spent this week? Do you know? Okay, so have a think back, what have you spent money on today? How about this week? How much has it added up to? Do you know? If you are like most people, you haven’t really thought about how much you have spent over the last few days. Your first thought is probably – not much, I haven’t really been anywhere to spend money. But what about the bought lunches, morning coffees, take away and parking?