Achieving homeownership goes far beyond income. While income, credit, and debt-to-income matters; your money psychology or money story is what will make all the difference. Money habits, the stories we tell ourselves about our next move will either propel momentum or stall it.
I worked with a man we'll call Terry, for more than a year while he and three friends all took the challenge to become homeowners.
Terry had a clear goal; he wanted to become a homeowner. He was never confused about that fact. As a matter of fact, he was truly excited at the thought of being able to turn the keys on a home that belonged to him. The problem? Terry couldn't get himself to stop and truly take command of his financial outcomes. Terry wasn't a man who struggled to make ends meet. He made a decent annual income. Terry's issues simply came down to his inability or unwillingness to truly see his debt as a problem that needed to be solved.
Of course as a financial counseling client, Terry knew the purpose of his meetings and was quite attentive during the sessions. He agreed to every Plan of Action that required the same individual remedies for his credit standing: reduce debt-to-income by paying down highly utilized credit cards and improve his credit score. But no matter the plan or the agreement, Terry failed to resolve his credit issues.
Over the next year, Terry saw two of his friends become homeowners, with the third friend-couple set to close soon. That was not true for Terry.
Terry was not a lazy man. He was not unintelligent. He wasn't incapable or lacking guidance. Terry money habits and personality would not let him fully own the truth about where he was and was not heading. He would look directly at the debt, verbally acknowledge it as barrier to homeownership and still not be able to adhere to the plan when he encountered real life once the counseling sessions ended.
His money personality mattered. It almost always does.
Your money is more personality than anything else. It's your memories, fears, shame. For Terry It was ego, avoidance, protection. His outcome wasn't bad luck, it was a internal decision that had an external outcome.
This is why self awareness matters.
If you're serious about buying a home, you need more than excitement. You need honesty and you need to know what money personality you'll take this journey with. What habits will show up when payday comes? Do you hide debt? Are you overly optimistic and believe everything will work out no matter what you do? Let me tell you from experience watching client after client, it likely will not.
The path you take to homeownership asks something of you. It asks for discipline before reward. It asks for planning before celebrating and that you resist impulse and embrace a structured process to achieve it.
Don't let the road to homeownership be blocked by the dream that lacks action.
How Proofing Dough Can Help
If you're ready to understand your patterns, reconstruct your habits and make stronger financial decisions with more clarity, Proofing Dough has tools to help you do that in real life.
- Explore The Dough Factory for practical financial tools and downloads
- Read more on The Proofing Process blog
- Start with The Credit Clean Up Plan if your story includes debt, avoidance or credit stress
- Book a Financial Counseling session if you want personalized support
