Cut 6 Expenses To Save $855 a Month Toward Down Payment

Saving up a down payment is one of the most challenging aspects of buying a house, even if you put down less than the 20% experts recommend. But chances are, your budget has room for improvement that could help you reach your goal faster.

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Using the most recent (2023) income and expenditure data from the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other sources, GOBankingRates found $855 in common monthly expenses the average household can cut in favor of putting the money toward a home purchase.

Households with incomes of $70,000 to $99,999 spend an average of $9,705 on food each year, and $3,624 of it goes toward food away from home (including restaurant and cafeteria food, as well as snacks purchased from a store or vending machine). Cutting out those purchases and shifting social gatherings away from restaurants could help you reach your down payment goals much faster.

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Recent studies from Gallup and IWSR from have shown a downward trend in alcohol consumption, so chances are you’re drinking less or have considered cutting back. Cutting out booze altogether is a good way to save the $512 per year on average that Americans spend on alcohol.

Americans keep their cell phones for less than three years before trading up, according to Statista. During that time, many pay for cell phone protection that can cost $10 per month at the lower end. If two members of your household have phone protection plans on your nearly-new phones, you could save $240 per year by eliminating them. A good-quality screen protector and extra care when using your phone will help you avoid the most common damage — cracked and broken screens.

A 2024 Gallup poll found that about 11% of Americans had used tobacco in the past week. If you’re a pack-a-day smoker, you could be spending nearly $3,000 per year (assuming a cost of $8 per pack). Vapers spend less — about $82 per month, on average, per a study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research — but can still boost their annual savings by nearly $1,000 if they quit.

American adults spend an average of $3,381 on impulse purchases over the course of a year, per a 2024 Capital One Shopping analysis. Some of these purchases are things consumers might’ve needed anyway, so GOBankingRates assumed that half of impulse purchases are unnecessary, for an annual cost of $1,690 per adult.