My wife and I paid cash for our last three homes.
And yes, itisnice not having a monthly payment.
There also are many other reasons to buy a house for cash.
Steve Gillman’s duplex in Florence, CO. Photo Courtesy Steve Gillman
you might get a better price and save thousands in closing costs.
But is buying a house in cash evenpossiblefor the average person?
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My wife and I first paid cash for a home in our 30s.
In fact,14% of adults ages 24 to 34 live with their parents.
Live like they do, and bank the difference.
Bonus: Here are44 ways to save money fast.
Here are some more ways to save for a house:
The last item deserves an explanation.
The stock market may provide better long-term returns than other options.
But it also might be down 50% when youre ready to buy that house.
To get a higher return, invest on a social lending platform likeLending Club.
Either way, keep costs low so you save even more money.
I was mortgage-free in a couple years, and had an extra $225 to set aside every month.
This is a touchy area for many people.
If you try it, you might feel the same way.
Fortunately, there are options between extremes, so you could live comfortably while still saving money each month.
Sure, it wont be quite as nice, but youll have save an extra $3,000 per year.
Also, look for otherways to save on rent.
I did one more thing to pay off my mortgage quickly:I rented out rooms.
We literally drove around the country for weeks until we found a place where houses were selling cheap.
By then, we were able to pay cashwithout selling our Michigan mobile home.
The U.S. has a number oftowns with affordable housing, and evenplaces where houses are almost free.
But also consider other types of housing.
College studentJoel Weber built a tiny housefor around $16,000.
You could also look into school busses and other housing alternatives.
Live cheaply, and you might save money quickly.
You dont have to go to extremes that dont suit you.
Just look for the cheapest areas to live and find a nice, small home selling for cheap.
And paying less doesnt just save you money upfront.
Youll also spend less on annual utilities, property taxes, insurance and maintenance with a small home.
Our $17,500 home fit both categories.
Six months and $2,000 in repairs later, we sold it for $28,000.
Our first of three homes in Florida was a condo we bought in 2012 for $89,000 cash.
Downsizing your homemight be a great way to free up equity and pay cash for a new home.
Start by cutting your housing costs and saving money.
If you rent, rent something more affordable so it’s possible for you to save more.
If you borrow to buy, start small and look for alternatives to keep your costs low.
Starting small doesnt mean you’re able to never have a large home.
It just means when you get there someday, you’re able to pay cash.
Ignore all the advice and articles about how much house you could afford.
That frees up $600 more to save every month.
Add it to your regular $300monthly savingsand its almost $11,000 per year.
Thats close to $16,000 per year piling up in your savings or investment accounts!
Steve Gillman is the author of 101 Weird Ways to Make Money and creator of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com.
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