Surprisingly Effective Ways of Achieving Your Dream Home
If someone tells you they don’t have any idea what their dream home would be, they are either fibbing, unimaginative or already living in it without realizing. Not everyone wants a pool or a tennis court or a mile-long driveway, but everyone has a picture of what their ideal home would look like, whether it’s vague and easily changed or a solid and nearly tangible image they can close their eyes and enter. While the very term ‘dream home’ makes it sound like an impossible goal, here are some subtly useful points to remember when striving towards living the way you want to.
One: Save Money
Apart from unlikely flukes such as winning the lottery or having a distant relative leave you a hefty inheritance in their will, it’s not easy saving money. Striking a balance between keeping yourself alive in the present and storing something away for the future can be tricky. It takes focus and dedication to see your bank account grow. Set yourself spending goals by writing down everything you use in a day. Repeat the process for a week then multiply by four to calculate roughly what you spend in a month. Never round this figure down as it’s important to give yourself a financial buffer in all aspects of life, even if it is just mentally at first. Next month try to only spend money on the things you absolutely cannot live without, such as food, rent, bills, etc. Resist letting your friends talk you into unnecessary shopping sprees. You’ll be grateful for your self-discipline once you find yourself in a dazzling new home.
Two: Picture It
While it can sound like a flimsy attempt at wishing the universe to provide something for you without putting in the effort, picturing yourself in your dream home can help to focus your everyday actions that will slowly but surely guide your path through life. Habits define us whether we like it or not, so develop some that you think will bring you closer to your goals. When we strive to live the way we hope to, we subliminally encourage those around us to treat us as our ideal selves would be treated. This applies to achieving your dream home in that by imagining yourself there, you are more likely to make choices that have the potential to grow into something more substantial later on.
Three: Find It and Be Patient
It’s no use letting life go by in the hopes that wishful thinking is enough to get you what you want. Start hunting for your dream home by keeping a clear list of ‘wants’ and ‘do not wants’ in your mind. Open Listings will help you track down your ideal property online, making it easier than trekking all over the place and putting yourself off your dream home entirely.
Overall, the search might take a while, but be patient. Unless you are in a hurry to move out of your current house for whatever reason – in which case you’ll have time to concentrate on your dream home at a later date – then you can afford to wait for the right place to come along. Houses are bought and sold all the time so it’s hard to predict what will come on the market and when. Keep an eye out for the properties that meet your criteria but don’t limit yourself with unreasonable standards. If somewhere ticks ninety percent of the boxes on your list, there’s no point waiting around another few months only to miss a perfect opportunity.
Four: Have an Open Mind
Following from that last point, it’s vital you don’t adhere too rigidly to your own checklist. If you concentrate too much on the small imperfections and flaws then what could have been your new dream home might slip through your fingers. Keep a budget for renovations or a change of décor. You may see a beautiful house in an ideal location but it has the worst wallpaper and flooring you’ve ever seen. Don’t let the easily fixed and superficial blemishes distract you from the deeper appeal of the place. It can be tricky imagining your own style and furniture in a different place but take the time to see the building for what it could be. However, if somewhere feels too detached from your version of ideal, it’s unlikely to ever make you as happy as your dream home. Move on and keep hunting.
Five: Style It
Now you’ve found a property with nearly all the elements you wanted most, but there’s a few things missing from the list which make it just short of ideal. Here is your chance to boost your home from a pleasant space to a dream one. Resist the urge to rush into buying new paints and light fixtures just because it feels necessary. Let your instincts and taste shine through gradually. Perhaps you work best if you take it one room at a time, or maybe you like to match the furniture to the wall color rather than the other way around. It’s unrealistic to expect your dream home to magically and immediately materialize, so avoid the mistake of attacking it with a flurry of decoration in one big burst. The more thought you put into styling your home, the more it will match up with your perfect image.
Six: Enjoy It
In today’s hectic world, many people have difficulty switching off when everything is going smoothly. Taking a moment to relax and breathe is something you can become unaccustomed to, especially after spending a lot of time focusing your energy into a project like creating your dream home. Instead of turning it into an endless project that never brings you satisfaction, remind yourself of how excited you were at the beginning of the process and how proud you should be to accomplish what many hope to achieve. Let your dream home become reality and make space in your mind for more ambitions and goals.
