As a new homeowner, one of the first important tasks to accomplish is making a budget for home expenses. The homebuying process had a budget, but now it’s time to think about taking care of your home and enjoying it to the fullest.
To help you get started on making a household budget, here is a basic guide:
Deciding on financial goals can be an excellent way to build your budget. Some examples of financial goals to consider might be paying off your mortgage early or financing a major renovation project.
Track your spending habits for a month to examine the details of your cash outflow. Include fixed expenses, like monthly mortgage payments and property taxes. Variable expenses like entertainment, maintenance and transportation costs should also be included.
Figure out your exact income amount by listing all possible sources of money. This could include regular employment and also gains from selling or renting assets. For budgeting, use your net monthly income rather than gross monthly income to account for taxes.
Once you have your total monthly expenses and net income numbers, you can do the math. A basic formula for finding a starting budget is: net income - total monthly expenses = monthly budget.
After finding your results, you may find opportunities to adjust. For example, you might want to set aside more money into an emergency fund regularly, or find ways to limit your daily spending.
These are only the first steps in creating a workable household budget to account for ongoing costs of homeownership. Use this process as an example for building your own personalized financial plan for your life in your new home.
In twenty five years of real estate sales and marketing experience, I have sold hundreds of properties, while developing detailed knowledge of Sonoma & Napa area communities. I am a life-long resident in the North Bay and after a full day at work, I enjoy spending time with my four children, and participating in their many school and recreational activities.
Over the years, my clients have expressed diverse plans and dreams. I seek to truly understand and appreciate my clients' goals, focusing my efforts on realizing them. It has been fun learning more about the unique opportunities that attract people to the area such as the culinary community, the viticulture and wine industry as well as outdoor adventure tourism. It is important to me to listen to my clients, do what it takes to serve their needs and I am dedicated to treating everyone involved in a transaction both in a personal and professional manner. I work hard to anticipate and respond to the routine tasks at hand as well as the complex challenges that come up during real estate transactions while ensuring my goal to deliver you the outcome you desire.