Among the expenses you plan for every month, such as utilities, your phone bill or even your car payment, there is a small kind of spending known as “ant expenses” (small, everyday expenses that quietly add up).
These are the daily expenses we don't factor into our budgets because they are only a few coins, but when added up they become a significant amount that you can put to much better use.
According to generational studies, millennials (people born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s, that is, young people who became adults around the turn of the millennium) are one of the generations that spends the most of their income on items they don't need or on purchases that go beyond their budgets.
In Costa Rica this generation makes up a little over 30% of the country's total population, roughly 1 600 000 people out of more than 5 million inhabitants.
That's why on our blog we want to advise you with 5 easy steps so you can put those small expenses toward a better investment, such as the down payment on your new home.
- Identify the extra expenses
- Review your income and expenses to set payment dates
- Start a savings fund
- Add extra income to your savings
- Find the home that fits your needs
Let's start with the most important step, which is to identify every extra expense you have. Try to analyze what you really need and what you don't.
We recommend making a list of all your expenses; you may find some you didn't even remember having, which will help you plan your finances better.
Often the places where we spend the most are the small things, like that craving for a snack at lunchtime, or a soft drink and a pastry in the afternoon.
Individually, these products don't cost much, but if you buy them regularly, they can turn into a big expense over a two-week pay period or a month.
The ideal is to plan what you like to eat and buy it when you do your grocery shopping; bringing food from home will always be cheaper than buying it outside.
By setting payment dates based on your income and expenses, you can organize your finances better. Keeping your money in order will help you spot the cash flows that are going beyond what you planned.
On the other hand, if you use your credit card a lot, setting your own limit will help you spend less on unnecessary things.
Once you've pinpointed everything that is making you overspend, you can start saving. Regardless of what you plan to use the money for, it will be a great help.
Financial institutions offer different benefits on savings accounts, so it's advisable to research which one can best serve your savings and earn interest on that money.
If at some point you receive an extra income, it would be a good idea to make it part of your savings, for example a salary raise, some kind of bonus or even your year-end bonus (aguinaldo). This will help you grow your savings with money you hadn't budgeted for.
Finally, find the dream home that fits your needs. Today the real estate market is very broad, so you should carefully analyze what each company offers and what it costs.
At CasaMax Inmobiliaria we offer a variety of designs and prices, with down payments of between 10% and 15% of the total home price, an amount that can be reached by saving all those expenses that weren't really necessary.
We invite you to get to know each of our projects! Our sales advisors can give you more information on reservation prices and down payments so you can be closer to making your dream of owning your own home come true.