You CAN Afford A Home

You can afford a house. You just need to know how to do it.

Before anyone goes off and says that I must have had help, my parents must have given me money, or it was because I was lucky is wrong. Luck had a bit to do with it, but hard work is what really came into play here. I am a mixed-race, college drop out, unmarried, adopted woman, who was pregnant at the time she bought her house.

Celebrating my one-year anniversary of being a homeowner this past November really put things into perspective.

I own a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in a good neighborhood, with a good yard, my own car, a 7-month old son, and my collection of animals. And I bought this house all by myself, my name is the only one on the lease, and somehow I did this at the young young age of 20. The housing market was sky high, and I knew that this house would only fall in value when the market crashed, but I knew I would rather pay a mortgage than rent.

When you look at the pros and cons of owning your own home, I heavily leaned towards my own home. I was in control of the house, no random pop-in from the landlord checking to see if my house was clean enough, no wait times on fixing broken toilets or hot water heaters, I could decorate however I wanted and have whoever I wanted over at whatever time I wanted them.

Landlords, in my opinion, were too controlling, and the prices they made you pay? Ridiculously expensive compared to the rules you had to follow. The 1 bedroom, 1 bath apartment I moved out of cost the same as my mortgage for my house. Insane right? Totally worth having to pay for any repairs out of pocket and insurance on my house.

And if you think buying a house is a dream you may never have, you are wrong. I am here to tell you how to do it.

Rent is sky high at the moment. The apartment I paid $650 for in 2021, is now $795. That is insane!

The easiest way to start saving money is to live rent-free if possible. Which is almost impossible if you are out on your own. But try to live with a roommate or multiple roommates if possible.

Cut out excessive spending and other non-necessities. I don't mean live as a shut in and don't go out ever. I mean limit it. Set yourself a dollar amount, put aside said amount and do not spend more than that. I set myself a $100 a month limit. I still went out with friends and relaxed at home, but I was able to save so much by doing so.

With that note, I also cooked at home. A lot. I maybe ate out once a week, and that includes fast food. I bought in bulk whenever I could, and had fun while doing it! Expensive steak dinners became pot-pies, casseroles, stews, and chili!

I also cut down on my spending by not using the communal laundry mat at my apartment. I bought a cheap $30 washer and spin dryer combo off of Amazon. It sat in my bathtub and I washed small loads at a time, they spun dry and I hung them on my porch or in my living room to dry out. Saved me the $2 a load to wash and $3 a load to dry. A total of $5 saved per load! But, when I had to wash big items like my blankets, I used the laundry mat.

I spent money on Netflix, but did not pay for cable or internet as well. I am not a big internet person, so I went down to my local library or mall and used their free Wi-Fi. I used my phone plan to watch Netflix every now and then. I honestly used most of my free time reading books, playing board games, or watching movies I already owned.

I also helped rank up money by getting a full-time job that paid well. Yes, I did start off my job as minimum wage, but I knew my worth. I made sure to stick at a job that gave me multiple raises, and when I bought my house, I was making $16 an hour at 40 hrs. a week (min. wage was at $11).

Something that I noticed was I am a workaholic. I will work myself nearly to the bone and since I am doing so, I don't have time to spend my money. So what happened to all that money that was coming in on my paychecks? It rested neatly in my bank, to not be touched until I had what I wanted.

I also was looking for a house for a long time. I spent nearly a year looking for my perfect home, and I even changed my housing search to the next town over, as the prices dropped almost $20,000!

I made sure to never, ever, touch the money I had put back for the down-payment. Another driver totaled my car a few months before I moved into the house, and I was sure as hell not going to loose this house. I already had the paperwork done and was at a point of no return. By the time the guy's insurance company wrote me a check for a measly $4,000 to replace my car, I had 2 weeks before move in date. I was so sure I was going to fail and have to reject the house. But I was able to find a old Chevy with enough cargo space to help me move some items, a week before I was to get the keys. Talk about a close call!

At the end of the day, it is possible to own your own house. You won't have it by the end of the year. It's a tough grind to get there.

To get a decent house, it would require a 10% down payment maximum. I paid 3% down on mine, but it depends on what type of loan you get. If you were to pay for a $115,000 house, which is still a good home, but not the best, you would need $11,500 down payment for 10%. I would round up for fees and basic items (changing locks, deposits on utilities), so $12,000. Put back $100 a paycheck, that is 5 years until you can get into a home. If you have a partner, each of you put back $100 a paycheck and you can get it done in 2.5 years.

$100 dollars, in my state, is 3 Door-dash meals for myself, fees included. It is the cost of 8 cases of a 12 pack of Budweiser beer. It is the cost of 2 new outfits from my local Wal-Mart (shirt, jeans, and shoes). I am not saying cut out what makes you happy, but limit it. Take date-nights and make it inexpensive, have a cookoff, go to the park and have a picnic, go to the library and choose a book for each other. Instead of getting Starbucks every day, do it once a week, and have fun trying out copy-cat recipes you can make at home!

I now have a partner- in- crime that helps out with the bills, but I know I was able to do this all by myself.

You can do this. You just need to take a step in the right direction.