So, you are renting and thinking that at this rate you will never be able to afford your own home? Well, I am sorry to say that if you don't do anything about it, you are probably right! BUT, you can definitely do something about it! Unfortunately one of the biggest mistakes a lot of us make is doing nothing, eg, just sitting there doing the same thing over and over again and wondering why nothing ever changes. I don't want to sound harsh, but if you have been renting for over a year now and you haven't saved anything (or very little), it is unlikely you are going to save much more this following year, or the year after. So, what do we do I hear you ask? Simple, change what you are currently doing. Let us look at a few ways you may be able to save some money whilst you are renting.

SAVING TIPS WHILE YOU ARE RENTING:

1. Move back in with family or friends. No way I hear you say! Well, if you want to own your own home you will need to make some sacrifices along the way. I don't know to many people who have been able to afford their dream home without making any sacrifices. Unfortunately, most people I know don't have the pleasure of owning their dream home straight away. Do me a favour and calculate how much money you are spending per week on renting. Now, multiply this by 52. Wow - that is how much you could have saved in the year if you were lucky enough to move back in and live with family for year!

Most lenders in today's climate require a substantial deposit, which can be demonstrated in the form of genuine savings (ie most probably wont accept gifted deposits), as the banks want you to be able to demonstrate that you can save. If all your money is going towards renting, unfortunately all you are doing is helping your landlord pay their mortgage and putting you further away from owning your own home. Unless you are on a very high income, saving for a deposit whilst renting could take forever! I know this tip wouldn't work for everyone - but I also know that it has worked and will work for a large number of people.

2. Ok, I know my first tip wouldn't work for a lot of people and not everyone feels like they need to own their own home. That is ok, as I have a few other tips that may be useful. The next thing I need you to do is ask yourself if living where you are currently living is essential. Eg, could you live a few more minutes further from the city (generally the further away from the city and seaside locations the cheaper the rent), could you live in a smaller house/unit, without the need for so many bedrooms, etc. Surprisingly most people I ask this question too generally respond, that they could move out further, as they have their own transport, or the additional rooms are just used to store junk. If this is true for you as well you could probably save at least $50 per week, (that's over $2500 per year). With that sort of money you could even afford a nice holiday at the end of the year!

3. Do you have an extra bedroom? Would you mind having some extra company? If you do you could potentially be missing out on earning over $5000 per year in rent! Share accommodation, rooms for rent, etc are starting to become ever so popular! Obviously you will want to be careful who you accept as a room mate, but chances are you will quickly find someone that is willing to pay half what they would have to pay if they were renting a home/unit themselves. There are many ways you could advertise for a room mate/share accommodation, there is the local paper/s, bulletin boards at work/shopping centers and sites like Gum Tree which are visited by thousands of people and cost you nothing to post an add.

4. If you are in a relationship and you know another couple in a relationship (that you feel you could live with), you may be able to rent a larger (quite often double story home) together. There are many homes on the market with two kitchens and two bathrooms, so you could quite easily live together, but have your own quarters for independent living. When you split the cost of this house in two, you would probably find that it is cheaper than living in a home by yourselves! Quite often these types of homes also have swimming pools etc, so you are getting more money for your buck!

5. Find a home closer to work or public transport. When looking for a new home to rent one of the easiest ways to save money is find a place that is close to work or public transport and sell your car! Have you ever added up how much keeping a car on the road costs you? Lets do some real quick sums based on a $10,000 car, purchased with a 5 year personal loan. Loan repayments alone would probably be over $200 per month. Registration and insurance probably around $1500 per year. Fuel, probably around $50 per week. Maintenance at least around $700 per year. So over a year you are probably spending over $7000 just on keeping your car on the road! I know that you will still have to pay for public transport and the occasional taxi, but chances are it will still be cheaper than owning a car! A lot of couples have two cars between them, however, with a bit of careful consideration when they are looking for a place to live they could probably rent smart and dispose of the other car.

Well, hopefully a lot of you can take at least one of these tips to save money and put it towards something a bit more enjoyable for yourselves, eg a holiday, new furniture, deposit for a house, etc. I know these tips may require you alter your lifestyle somewhat, however I am sure the rewards will eventually outweigh the sacrifices and put you one step closer your dreams!

Happy saving.

Mr Tips