Owning a house is a milestone in one’s life. In fact, people work hard all their lives to be able to live in a house that matches their idea of a dream house. When it comes to saving to buy a house, the earlier you start, the better it is. After all, every penny counts! If you're still living in your parent’s home, you can easily start saving to buy a house.

That said, even saving for a down payment isn't easy. Fortunately, there’s plenty you can do to make buying a house, easier. To get you started, here are our top money-saving tips for buying a home.

While it might be a good idea to start putting a little away each month to get into the habit, your first objective should be to pay off any debts as quickly as possible. Paying off credit card or other dues is a good way to start saving as it helps you avoid paying unnecessary interest. It also improves your credit score, something that is vital for getting a house loan .

From fractional ownership schemes to first-time homebuyer schemes, be sure to investigate your options before setting your savings goal. With these schemes, you can secure your dream home via low-interest rates and tax exemptions. By making the best of government housing schemes, you can ease up the financial strain of buying your first house.

If you're wondering how much to save to buy a house, you must first have a fair idea about the amount of money you wish to spend. Also, remember that you are not only saving for a downpayment of your home loan. You might also need to buy furniture and pay the property agent’s/broker’s fees. Therefore, ensure you set a practical goal - one you can achieve in a realistic timescale and one that gets you an affordable mortgage with the shortest possible term.

While you may not want saving for the down payment to take too long, you also wouldn't want to stretch yourself too thin. Take some effort out of saving by setting up some high-yielding investments. There are life insurance policies that help you save systematically for buying a home. Get in touch with our financial advisor now to know more. You can even try a systematic investment plan (SIP), which will deduct automatic payments on your monthly payday. In case you want to get started, you can check out any smart investment planning platform available in the market.

One of the most important money-saving tip is that you should always have a budget in place. Unless you're aware of your expenses, you can't save or plan to buy a house. Start by listing down your monthly income as well as expenditure. When creating a budget, set aside a certain amount that will go towards buying a house. If you are going to spend less, you need to know what you’re spending on. From to to , there are now more apps that can help you do it.

Spending less is one way to save more. Another is to earn more. You may consider upgrading your skills to get a raise or promotion at work. Moreover, if the place you work at allows you to earn a secondary source of income, there’s plenty you can do to give it a boost. Not only will you earn more money to buy your dream home, but also be happy doing it as it’s for a defined goal.

If you own any items that you do not need, selling them could get you some valuable extra cash. You can sell almost anything on OLX !

Just be careful not to sell anything you might need in your new home!

Whether it’s your parent, spouse, or close friend, having someone to hold you accountable is a great hack to avoid slipping into bad habits. Whoever you choose, tell them about your plans to buy a house and ask them to check in with you regularly to ensure you’re on track. While you can't save for a house in a year, you will certainly be able to pull it off in a few years if you have someone looking out for you.

Consider investing in properties that are still under development. When you buy a property that is still being developed, you get a higher return on interest. You should also research and identify land/properties that have upcoming facilities like airports, flyover and malls. Overtime such investments generate the best return! As it may not be prudent to buy a house or land in cities due to skyrocketing real estate prices - you should look for properties on the outskirts of the city. You may also purchase commercial property investment to generate a second source of income.

Saving to buy a house is a marathon, not a sprint. And, as with any marathon, the trick is to pace yourself. You are far more likely to give up if you overdo it and make yourself miserable! Instead, do not work hard. And do not save much, too soon. The surest way of successfully saving and buying your dream home is to set modest goals and achieve them consistently.