One of the most important exercises that you should undertake before taking on the responsibilities of home ownership is to complete a budget of all of your anticipated expenses.
Although some of the expected costs may be estimates, it will serve as a template to work off when you're looking to project how far your dollars will go.
Fixed costs such as mortgage payments, property taxes, and other liabilities such as personal loans and credit cards will remain the same, while other expenses such as utilities will fluctuate throughout the year.
The difficult part is being reasonable with the associated costs in other expenses such as medical, dental, personal savings for education and vacations.
Be brutally honest with yourself and see how your new home and its associated costs is going to impact your financial freedom.
Budget provided by Genworth Canada -
