Budgeting for Homeownership
Posted by Elizabeth Dennis on June 14, 2010 | No Comments
As we have seen in our prior post, Are you a Responsible First Time Home Buyer?, mortgage lenders will often offer you more than you can actually afford. Here we have provided a list of common monthly budget items for you to reference when calculating your non-housing monthly expenses. Be sure to consider:
- Groceries
- Utilities
- Telephone
- Insurance (Auto and Health)
- Medical Payments
- Car Payments
- Car Maintenance and Repair
- Public Transportation
- Alimony
- Child Support
- Children’s Expenses (Clothing, Activities, School)
- Childcare
- Dining Out
- Entertainment
- Big-Ticket Items (Furniture, Electronics, etc.)
- Vacations
- Hobbies
- Memberships
- Charitable Donations
- Savings
- Gift Giving
- Miscellaneous
- Add 5% for Items Overlooked or Unexpected Expenses
For budgeting on a monthly basis, it is a good idea to break down these categories into sub-categories. But for purposes of getting an accurate home affordability picture, using the above numbers will put you on the right track toward responsible homeownership.
Filed Under: Mortgage, Newbuyer's Own
