Say Goodbye To Down Payment Dread.

The final boss in a video game. The last stretch of a marathon. A down payment.

What’s the connection? There’s always one final hurdle before reaching your goals, whatever they may be. While the final step to anything could feel like a daunting task, it doesn’t have to be when you’re properly prepared — and that’s what we’re here for.

Whether you’re hoping to find your new home soon or you’re just wanting to learn more, it’s important to strategically save for a down payment.

Here are our favorite tips for successful saving:

Set Attainable Goals
A goal will help keep you stay on track throughout your entire savings journey, but before you begin, you will want to set clear, realistic goals. There will be two separate goals working in tandem: the dollar amount you need to save and the time frame to save it in. Remember, the more aggressively you save, the quicker your down payment savings will grow.

Evaluate Current Expenses
Ready to flex your budgeting skills? When you look at your typical expenses, there will be two basic categories: essential expenses and optional expenses. Essential expenses are required for living, like housing, insurance, groceries or transportation. Optional expenses are costs you can easily live without, like a gym membership, entertainment subscriptions, frequently going to restaurants or a rigorous beauty routine. Realistically, cutting out or scaling back on optional monthly expenses is a surefire way to ensure your down payment savings grow exponentially.

Eliminate Frivolous Spending
If you’re not willing to sacrifice on monthly optional expenses, you can still have an aggressive approach to savings by cutting out large expenses. As much as you look forward to that annual beach trip, it might be wise to forgo it this year – think of the money you’ll save on transportation, lodging, food and activities. If you have your eyes on the newest model of your dream car, it might be wise to tap the breaks on purchasing if you still have a form of reliable transportation.

Generate Extra Income
If cutting back isn’t what you want to do, another solution is to find additional income. This is the perfect time to take up a side hustle and, hopefully, turn your passion into profit. Some popular options could include food delivery, ride-sharing, tutoring, dog walking, babysitting, blogging and cleaning.

You don’t have to fear a down payment, it’s just smart to prepare for it. Plus, if you’ve heard rumors about having to put 20% down on your home loan, that’s just not true in many circumstances. There are numerous loan programs that offer significant down payment percentage discounts.