Back when we were kids, we were taught that shelter is a basic need. And as sure, as the sun rises on the east, then you best believe that Shelter till date is still a basic need. Here is the thing, a settled person has confident strides : Literally and Figuratively.

But how do you get there?

How does one get to this level?

Different setups define highest levels of comfort different. But in the African society, owning a home is a high level of comfort and security. So how does one get there?

How does one save up?

First and foremost you need to understand your budget and what kind of home you need.

Now, we do not want to be Debbie downers,but owning a maisonette without going through a couple of steps first may not necessarily be the best option for you. Mansions require a lot of capacity, and sometimes we lack that capacity. So it is okay to hold out on the mansion. For now.

This is where you analyse your earning power. One needs to understand their earning power and their purchasing power. The money that you get every month or every week or even every day, what kind or type of house can it buy?

Homes are classified into low-cost housing, affordable housing, middle class housing and high-end housing.

Now, here is a sweetener. The government has an initiative called the Boma yangu platform. In this initiative you are able to buy a house that would have taken you years to save on :

You can check out their website : https://bomayangu.go.ke/

Our homes, JoinVen, Serenity homes are in this initiative also.

So, once you understand your budget and the kind of home you need,you have already laid the foundation of how to start your savings.

Secondly, we advise you to join a sacco or visit your bank. Have a candid conversation about saving and about mortgage. Now, Mortgage sometimes is a conversation that is frowned upon, but this is a necessary conversation to have. You ought to understand, there is good debt, and there is bad debt. If you check with your financial institution and discover that you qualify for mortgage, that might be a route that you should perhaps consider. If you do not, well and good, there are other options on the table.

So, with the above foundations having been setup, we have outlined tips on saving for a home:

1.) Cut down on luxury.

Luxury is that thing, that you can survive without. This is a temporary measure, but a good one to start on. For example, taking vacations in a year, buying too much alcohol, spending generously on friends, always ordering take out or blowing up tonnes of money on partying over the weekends.

Now, these are all things which are important, but they are not essential. Your life will be okay if you do not do these events. Minimize on the spending and maximize on retaining your money.

Sit down with your partner or spouse, write down things that you consider essential and those that are a must have, and then also write down things that are just hands down luxury. Calculate how much you spend on each, then decide what you need to cut off your life.

The amount of money that you would spend on these things, now that becomes what you save on.

2.) Cut down on bad habits. Exercise financial discipline.

You know your bad habits. Impulsive shopping. You did not need those two extra pairs of shoes that you bought yesterday. You saw them and bought them without planning to. Learn to exercise financial discipline, because this is the backbone of everything. You do not need to buy a new phone each time a new model makes it to the market.

Trust us, there will always be a new phone in the market everyday.

3.) Start a side hustle that does not require a lot of start up capital.

Now, we have just told you to cut down on your expenditure, and here we are again telling you to spend money. Now, the trick is to start a business that can perhaps run from your house. You do not need to think of rent for this business. Can be baking, online biasharas such as selling clothes, shoes, hair products, beauty products, online writing. The secret is to ensure that you do not spend more than what the business is giving you. The economies of scale need to balance out.

The returns for this business, have one goal. They go into saving for your home.

4.) Sell things that you do not necessarily use in the house.

It would help in decluttering but also, this helps in building up on your savings for the home.

We will continue sharing tips on saving for your home, and how one handles the payments. So see you on our next post!