If the thought of purchasing a home is stressful enough, there’s one major consideration you also need to be aware of.

Financial health is something that is often neglected by many but should be considered as important as the intention of getting a new home.

Why? Real estate properties do not come cheap and if you are not aware of where you stand in terms of your finances, you end up not getting to the next step of your real estate journey or worse, you could end up not being able to afford your regular mortgage payments and lose your property in no time.

Financial health is important

Financial health is not an insurmountable goal as long as you put your heart and mind into it. You’ll be surprised to find out how an average Australian spends their dollars.

Do you know how much money you are spending on food, shopping or gas? Better yet, do you know where your money is going or how much money you have in your bank or pocket?

A recent survey revealed that only one in three Australians monitor their spending, which makes the majority mostly unaware of where their money goes.

But one thing stands out from the results of the survey, those earning $75,000 annually and up are the most likely to keep a detailed breakdown of budgets and expenses. 

This is the same group who take advantage of financial advisers or accountants to help with financial planning, such as the ones you can avail of from financial wellness programs for employees.

Manage your spending

The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that the biggest spending areas of a typical Australian are on housing, transportation, and food, followed by social security or personal insurance, healthcare, utilities, and entertainment.

These figures should concern you if you want to become financially healthy and you have to take the first step of rethinking your spending habits.

Adhere to your limits and budget

Going back to the Gallup survey, one of the factors responsible for the lack of budget consciousness among Americans is the advent of technology. The convenience of going online to check your bank balance or easy access to credit has caused increased spending for most people.

Web apps or online productivity tools are a dime a dozen over the internet nowadays promising to help you manage your income and expenses. This may have played a role in making people rely more on technology to handle everything for them.

However, such tools have a general function rather than provide you with a customized financial planning method catered to address conditions not covered within the parameters of the app or online tool.

The Gallup folks agree that each one should still be budget-conscious to ensure you have visibility over your cash flow and allow you to make drastic adjustments in spending when necessary.

How to get started

Take every opportunity to be well-acquainted with your company’s employee wellness programs. You may not be aware of it, but a significant portion of these programs include consultancy sessions with financial advisers to help you stay on top of your finances.

Of course, you need to do your part as well and resolve to make sure that you heed the advice lest it could amount to nothing.

Get started, no matter how small

Based on the statistical data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, you need to start making changes and make a firm commitment to stay financially healthy. You can start by trying to reduce your fixed spending. This means you can try to find ways to adjust your spending habits on food, transportation, and housing.

Look for more practical methods such as spending a day or two a week commuting to work, and see if you can find more affordable food alternatives when doing your groceries. If you are renting a spacious flat, try to look for living space that you could maximize instead of having empty rooms just gathering cobwebs.

There are a lot of ways you could try to start to be financially healthy so begin to reconsider all your options. Do not worry about starting small because you start with baby steps and gather pace as you move along.

Once you have started your quest for financial health, you’ll be surprised one day to see the results and how they will impact your real estate goals, finances and even your life.