If you’re looking for questions to ask yourself to figure out the financial aspect to buying your first home, you might want to read our article ‘How to determine how much you can afford for a home’.
While we touch on finances throughout this article here, we wanted to ask some bigger picture questions so you understand where you are in your journey.
“Do I feel obligated to buy a home?”
We’ve all heard about the Great Australian Dream. We’ve probably all dreamt about it, having a spacious home, enough bedrooms to have a spare, a few bathrooms and a nice backyard for the kids to play in. Financially, we’re told that this dream will tick both boxes when it comes to stability and security to help set us up for the rest of our lives.
It’s a concept that has been drilled into many of us from a young age, and it’s been around for decades. I can tell you that a variation of this dream still lives within me, and it might be your dream too.
However, what if this dream doesn’t resonate with you? It’s good to know whether buying a home is something you really want for yourself, or whether it’s something you feel like you have to do.
Buying a home is a huge commitment, where priorities, lifestyle and goals may need to change drastically to save as much as possible. With such important changes to make, it’s important to realise if this journey feels like an obligation.
“Can I *really* afford it?”
Again, there is a significant financial aspect to knowing whether homeownership is for you. But, what’s equally important is to understand the changes it could make to your lifestyle.
Budgeting is incredibly helpful and I’m sure you’ve heard the whole ‘you need to create a budget’ as a financial tip for some time now. Really, budgeting gives you an overall picture of how well you can handle your money – and this is important with regards to your lifestyle.
Mortgage repayments are just the beginning, where homeownership costs can come in many forms. Be realistic with what you can afford to not stretch yourself too thin, to help eliminate stress and ensure you don’t end up living in a way you’re not enjoying.