Budgeting After Becoming A New Homeowner

Congratulations! You’ve bought a new home! Or, maybe you’re in the process of buying a new home. Either way, that’s exciting. A large chunk of money that you’ve been saving for a while is about to leave your bank account (which is never easy to see) and there are a bunch of new homeowner expenses to think about! So it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start thinking about your budget again.

First: Establish The Essential Bills And Fees

There are ongoing costs to being a homeowner that you know about. While some will fluctuate, it’s still important to budget for what the average will be. These are the bills and fees that are non-negotiable. They should be the things that you budget for first.

• Utilities

• Property tax

• Mortgage

• Insurance

• Home owner’s association fees (if applicable)

• Hot water heater rental (if applicable)

Second: Lay Out Other Reoccurring Expenses

These are things that you pay each month but if times were super tight you could cut back on these.

• Internet

• Phone

• Car

• Streaming services

• Groceries

• Toiletries

• Cleaning supplies

Third: Budget For Anticipated Expenses

These are things that you know you’re going to need eventually, so you might as well start putting a little bit aside each month to save up for them.

• Home maintenance supplies (shovel, hose, tools, command strips, etc.)

• Home renovations and projects (new roof, finishing a basement, painting, etc)

• Home repairs (if the dishwasher acts up, something breaks down, etc)

• Christmas (gifts and decor)

• Clothes and other essentials

Fourth: Budget For The Things You Want In Your New Home

Do you need furniture for your home? Or do you want to replace some of the pieces you already have to fit better with your new home’s design? Calculate the costs of everything that you want to do, figure out how much money you’ll need to save up for those things and divide that by the number of months that you have to save up. (For example, if you know that you want a bbq for your backyard and the warm weather isn’t for another 8 months, then divide the cost of a bbq by 8 months and that’s how much you’ll need to put away each month).

• Furniture

• Upgrades

• Outdoor pieces

• Decorations

• Small kitchen appliances

• Odds and ends (small things like a shower curtain or dishes)

Fifth: Think To The Future

It’s a good idea to put money away each month for a safety net and for retirement. A safety net is a chunk of money (usually 3-6 months’ worth of income) that is set aside for emergencies. If there is a terrible storm and a tree lands on your roof or if you suddenly lose your job, your safety net is there to help you not go into debt when life throws you a curveball.

Of course, saving for your retirement is also important. You can set up automatic transfers into an RRSP so that you don’t even have to think about it each month, but remember to reflect that in your budget.

• Safety net savings

• retirement savings

Sixth: Don’t Forget The Fun

Even the most die-hard savers need to put some room for fun in their budgets. If you budget for fun then you don’t need to feel guilty spending that money!

• Eating out/ordering in

• Date nights

• Fun activities (movies, drinks, etc)

• Trips

• Shopping