Owning a house is still a hope shared by many people. Especially when you enter your productive years, seeing close friends or peers buy homes and find residences with their ideal design can make you wonder when you’ll finally own your own house.

Amid a constantly rising cost of living, buying a home is not a decision that can be based on desire alone. There are monthly installments to pay, daily needs that can’t be postponed, and various expenses that only become noticeable after you start living in the house.

Don’t let yourself succeed in buying a home, only to struggle to enjoy your own income because most of it goes toward mortgage payments and household needs.

So, how can you prepare for your house without wrecking your finances? Read on for 5 things to consider before deciding to buy a home!

1. Calculate Your Ability to Pay the Installments

A house price that seems to fit your savings doesn’t necessarily mean the house is truly affordable. If you buy through a home mortgage, you also need to account for the installments you’ll have to pay every month for years.

For example, your monthly income may seem sufficient to pay an installment of IDR 4 million. However, daily expenses such as transportation, food, electricity, helping family, and other personal needs must still be met. Not to mention if you have vehicle installments or other debts that are still running.

Therefore, don’t make a decision based solely on loan approval or your current income. First, calculate how much money is left after all routine expenses are deducted.

You can start by calculating your home installment allocation. As an initial guideline, home installments are often recommended not to exceed about 30% of monthly income. That way, you still have room to cover daily needs and other expenses after buying your house.

2. Try Living with a Simulated Installment Before Taking a Mortgage

One way to find out whether you’re ready to buy a home is to run a financial simulation before actually taking a mortgage. It’s quite simple. If the estimated home installment is IDR 3 million per month, you can try setting aside that amount every month for a period of time.

Treat that money as an installment that must already be paid, even though you haven’t taken a mortgage yet. Through this simulation, you can evaluate directly by looking at your remaining daily income: is it still enough to live comfortably, and does your financial situation feel not too rigid or suffocating?

If the simulation feels burdensome, that’s an important signal to reevaluate your target house price or extend your preparation period. Conversely, if you get through it successfully, the funds accumulated during the simulation can be allocated to increase your down payment (DP) or to cover the costs of finalizing the purchase.

You can also start allocating part of your funds to build assets gradually, one way being through digital gold savings in the Treasury app. You can use features such as Auto Buy in the Treasury app.

This feature helps you set a regular schedule for setting aside funds in the amount you want, so the financial simulation can run consistently without the hassle of making manual transactions each time.

However, because gold prices can fluctuate, make sure the funds needed for the house in the near term remain available and are not entirely allocated to gold purchases. The money you set aside during the simulation can also help add to your savings for the cost of buying a home.

It’s better to know your limits from the start than to realize too late that the installments are too large after you’re already bound by a mortgage contract.

3. When Buying Your House, Don’t Let All Your Savings Run Out!

Gathering funds for the down payment (DP) on a house certainly takes struggle and major commitment. But when your DP target is finally reached, resist the temptation to immediately drain your entire savings to cover the initial costs.

Keep in mind that the home-buying process doesn’t end with paying the DP. There are still a number of transaction-related costs that aren’t small, such as bank administration fees, notary fees, insurance, and the Buyer’s Tax.

Not to mention post-move expenses, from minor repairs and initial renovations to buying basic furnishings. If you spend all your savings upfront, you risk falling into new debt to cover these follow-up costs.

Therefore, make sure you keep your home purchase funds separate from your emergency fund. An emergency fund serves as a financial safety net to maintain your stability when unexpected situations arise, such as a drop in income or an urgent medical need.

So that this reserve isn’t eroded by inflation yet remains safe and flexible, you can allocate it to asset instruments that are safe and can be cashed out at any time.

One option that has proven stable is digital gold. Through the Treasury app, you can set aside reserve funds in the form of guaranteed physical gold that is officially regulated and highly liquid. This approach can help keep the value of your savings preserved while you focus on preparing capital for your house with greater peace of mind.

Read more: Tips for Managing a Salary of IDR 3 Million Per Month to Buy a Dream House! – Treasury

4. Make Sure Life After Moving into Your House Stays Affordable

Once you’ve succeeded in buying your house, of course it needs to be filled and maintained. Expenses after moving can also differ from your initial estimates, especially if the residence is quite far from your workplace or the facilities you usually use.

That’s why you need to look at the overall picture of your expenses, not just compare the house price and the size of the installment. Before deciding, you can start estimating transportation costs, electricity, water, internet, household needs, and routine maintenance costs.

Home installments may feel affordable when calculated on their own. However, don’t let your cost of living after moving make your monthly budget even tighter. You can also create an expense simulation based on the conditions after you occupy your house.

From that calculation, you can assess whether the house you’re eyeing truly fits your needs and financial capacity over the long term. If it turns out that your post-move expenses are too high, you can still consider other locations or residences before making a decision.

5. Keep Building Assets Outside the Home You Live In

A home can indeed be a long-term asset. However, when you’re in an emergency, you also need assets or savings that can be easily cashed out when you need money in a short time. Selling a property takes time, while urgent needs can arise at any moment.

On the other hand, preparing to buy a house requires a balanced portfolio. You need a complementary instrument that not only protects the value of your wealth from inflation, but is also easy to cash out (liquid) at any time when sudden funding needs arise.

One instrument that meets these criteria of diversification and high liquidity is gold. The stable and flexible characteristics of gold make it an ideal choice to accompany your long-term plans.

Through a trusted platform like Treasury, you can start building a digital gold portfolio safely, as it is registered and supervised by authorities such as BAPPEBTI. With full physical gold backing and the convenience of transacting at any time, building a reserve of savings can be done flexibly alongside your house planning.

Buying a home is a major decision whose impact can be felt for years. Once your basic needs and emergency fund are secure, don’t just chase when you can own a home, but also consider what your finances will look like after the house becomes yours.

It’s okay if you can’t buy your house right now. As long as you keep improving your financial condition and prepare funds according to your financial capacity, there are many things you can do to move closer to that goal.

So, prepare for your house with careful planning, so that in the future you not only own your own house, but also still have room to enjoy life and plan for the future more comfortably!