You can be excited to be buying a house, then realize later that you sit there and think to yourself, can't really do much since after all the fees, you are left with no money in your pocket. On top of that, there's still that mortgage you have pay on installment for 30 years, which amounts to half of your monthly salary month, not to mention, there are other expenses like fixtures and bills and food.
Here are some tips on avoiding from getting to be house poor:
Think 10,000 times of the pre-approval cost. Just because the bank lets you know that you can purchase a $400,000 home doesn't mean you need to spend all $400,000. It could be that you're not happy with an installment that high on the off chance that it implies you won't have a pad and can't keep on adding to your reserve funds.
Consider questions like, "can you keep on contributing the way you need to?" or, "Will you still be able to build an emergency fund with that?"
So before you get started about being excited in owning your own home, it is more important that once you find the right house, make it in writing to compute your entire installment, this way you can also write down your financial plan for extra costs. Remember, a goal not put in writing is only a wish.
After buying your house, try not to do enhancements immediately. You might need to hold up a couple of months to perceive how your costs work out before you discharge your reserve funds on another kitchen. Same for purchasing a houseful of new furniture. Spread out your buys to expand the use of your funds. If you can get some warranty from off of the repairs or appliances put in would be great so as to make use of your funds to proper purchases.
You can also make a change of your tax withholding. According to HGTV, "payroll withholdings should also be reexamined and, perhaps, reduced to account for the reduction in net tax liability," "Talk to your tax preparer or use the IRS withholding calculator, to get the numbers right."
