You’ve designed every detail of your dream home or planned out your real estate empire, but the need to save up that deposit seems to block you at every turn. The good news is, with the right approach, saving for a deposit might not take as long as you think.
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How to save for a house deposit
1. Set a goal amount
Estimating how much you’ll need for a house deposit and other upfront home buying costs can motivate you, as it gives you a set figure to work towards.
To work out your goal amount, look at house prices in areas you’d like to buy in and use our borrowing power calculator to see how much you could borrow.
You can then track your progress towards your goal in the Bankwest App, and know when you’ve hit it with Bankwest Easy Alerts.
Our Home Lending Specialists can help with your savings plan, talk through your options and answer any questions you have about buying your first home.
2. Track your spending
To get a real understanding of your spending habits, look at your transactions over the last 90 days and do a self-audit. By categorising where you spend your money, you’ll be able to see where you can afford to spend less. Even the little details are important.
3. Set a realistic budget
Let’s face it, if you take away every last treat, you’re actually more likely to fall off the wagon and end up saving nothing. Pick one or two things every month that you’re not going to feel guilty about – a movie, a massage, a night out – and really savour it.
With a more realistic budget, you’ll find that saving for your house deposit doesn’t feel so arduous.
4. Choose a savings account with a competitive interest rate
Some savings accounts reward you with a higher interest rate for good savings habits, like making no withdrawals or depositing a regular minimum amount.
5. Set up automatic transfers to your savings account
Setting up an automatic transfer from your everyday bank account to your savings account every payday takes away a lot of the effort and means you’re less likely to spend your savings on everyday purchases.
6. Swap your credit card for a Debit Mastercard®
That way, your spending money’s limited to what’s available in your bank account. You also get to dodge the interest charges that come with a credit card, and you could avoid an annual fee altogether.
Keep reading
Crunch the numbers
Savings calculator
See how much you could save with one of our savings accounts or term deposits.
How much can I borrow calculator
Calculate your borrowing power and what your home loan repayments might be.
Browse our range of savings accounts
…and find one to suit you.
Need help saving for a deposit?
Get in touch with a Home Lending Specialist, and they’ll respond within one business day. You can talk on the phone, meet at a branch, or have a Mobile Lending Manager come to you.
Bankwest Easy Alerts are available for your mobile personal transaction and savings accounts. Limited alerts only are available for credit card transactions. Bankwest Easy Alerts will be sent to any compatible iOS and Android device on which you have the Bankwest App and enabled notifications. Whilst some alerts may be sent to your device once you have enabled notifications, in order to receive the full range of Easy Alerts available you will also need to activate the Bankwest Easy Alerts service within the Bankwest App. Terms of Use apply. Bankwest Easy Alerts is currently supported on iOS 11 and Android 5.0 devices and above. Bankwest Easy Alerts is not available on tablets and Windows devices.
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The information contained in this article is of a general nature and is not intended to be nor should it be considered as professional advice. You should not act on the basis of anything contained in this article without first obtaining specific professional advice. Also to the extent permitted by law, Bankwest, a division of Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL / Australian credit licence 234945, its related bodies corporate, employees and contractors accept no liability or responsibility to any persons for any loss which may be incurred or suffered as a result of acting on or refraining from acting as a result of anything contained in this article.