Balancing act How to get your dream home without breaking the bank

FINANCE JOURNALIST MICHAEL PASCOE TALKS ABOUT LANDING YOUR DREAM HOME WITHOUT OVER-COMMITTING OR BREAKING THE BANK

NO, YOU PROBABLY CAN’T HAVE IT ALL, at least not straight away. It’s unlikely that your budget will stretch to everything you would like to include in your new home.

The trick to being happy with your creation is to work out what’s most important – what you need, rather than what you want – and ensuring you satisfy those needs as much as possible. No matter how brilliant the home you build might be, you won’t be able to enjoy it if you finish up living in poverty, suffering mortgage stress. Start by working out an honest budget of what your lifestyle costs. That tells you how big a mortgage you can service and how much you can spend. Accepting that maybe you can’t have the marble bathroom can pay off later – or you can comfort yourself with the following thoughts while you wait for your bank balance to recover.