How The Block’s Bianca Chatfield is saving for a house during COVID-19

Make a budget

When you’ve got a savings goal as substantial as a house, it’s important to set a budget and be prepared to make sacrifices.

“This is even more important during these challenging times so I’ve had to take a good look at my finances and decide what are necessary and unnecessary expenses,” Chatfield said.

“I’m happy to admit I have been fairly naïve in the past and never really sat down and worked through my financial goals.”

She said that when she did, she realised she was spending money on things she wasn’t using anymore.

“Checking in with my budget was something I hadn’t done in quite a while, but when Covid-19 hit, it forced me to revisit my finances, which is when I uncovered a few obvious areas to save.

“For instance, myself and my partner Mark were both paying for individual Netflix subscriptions – even though we live together, as well as Kayo and Stan.”

Cut out non-essentials

Eliminating things she wasn’t spending money on anymore, like unused streaming subscriptions, and instead popping that money away into a savings account has helped her get ahead.

“Simple steps like cutting back on our subscriptions, ordering less takeaway and shopping less online have helped us. I would say we have saved at least a couple of hundred dollars over a month, and then I’ve kept that going,” Chatfield said.

“For me, one thing I could do was funnel a bit of the money saved on takeaway and subscriptions into a small renovation account. 

“I wanted to make sure I was putting a little bit of that money that I was saving from my subscriptions and no online shopping, and then transferring a little bit into a renovation account so that hopefully when I buy, I have that renovation account ticking away and adding up.”

Spend with care

While Chatfield concedes it’s not possible to cut your spending entirely, you can be more careful with how you spend.

“Knowing your non-negotiables like rent, food etc and then having the negotiables that you weigh up on whether you really need it. You can be extra aware of where your hard-earned money goes. It all adds up,” Chatfield said.

“Reducing the cost of your needs doesn’t always have to come with extreme sacrifice if you look for ways to reduce, reuse or renegotiate your essential spending. It’s about spending with care.”

However, she does admit to spending more money on coffee.

“It’s the only reason to be out of the house some days!”

Remember your savings goal

For a former netball player, keeping one eye firmly on the goal should be easy. But Chatfield admits it’s been hard to stay positive during the pandemic.

“I’m sure everyone is feeling that at the moment, but focusing on the things I can control and am enjoying at the moment has helped me with my mindset during the pandemic,” she said.

“Making sure I am in control of what I'm spending and understanding my financial situation has played a really big part in my overall wellbeing.”

She said that setting a clear savings goal has kept her focused.

“It’s about sitting down and going, ‘Okay, this is what’s going to happen. This is what you can control right now and this is what you can’t control.

“I’m getting there, but it’s a process. It’s about taking little steps to take control of your financial wellbeing in order to reach your goals.”

Being realistic about how much money you can afford to put away is also important, particularly right now when many people have either lost their income or had it reduced.

“If I want to purchase a new property, it's going to take some adjustments to my spending and make sure that the properties I am looking at are within my reach and not going to put me under unnecessary financial pressure,” Chatfield said.