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Saving up for a down payment for your brand new home might seem like a daunting task. How much should you save? How will it affect your monthly budget? How do you know if you are saving enough money? These are all valid questions. Fortunately with some structured financial planning, smart choices, and a little persistence, before you know it you will have saved up enough money to put down on a brand new home. How much money you need to save depends on the lender. Some lenders require a mere 5 percent of the price of the home. Other mortgage lenders ask that you put a down payment of 10 to 20 percent of the purchase price of your brand new home. Regardless of the percentage, the important thing is that you save up the money. Here are some other tips to help you save up that down payment. Clean up your credit. If you have items in collections, outstanding medical bills, or other problems on your credit report, then clean them up. This will raise your credit score which, while not a guarantee that you will get a loan, will increase your chances. Know how much you need to save. Obtaining the amount is as easy as talking to the person selling the house (often a realtor) or the mortgage lender. Once you know how much to save, then it will be easier to achieve the rest of the things in this list. Make a definite plan. As soon as possible after getting the amount, set a goal and make a plan to meet that goal. Your plan should have a deadline and a way to track how much you save each month. Star saving money. If you have to, open a savings account that is independent of all your other checking and savings accounts. Putting the down payment money in a separate account means you are less likely to spend it. Take savings out immediately. If you are able to do it, have an automatic withdrawal set up with your bank so that the money for your down payment comes right off the top of your regular paycheck. You will not miss what you did not see in the check to begin with. Pay off your other bills. If you have a credit card or student loan, then work to pay this off while saving for a down payment. It is a lot of extra work but the end result is so rewarding. You will be glad that you did. As you can see, saving up a down payment for your new home is easier than you might initially think. Saving money is hard, but that should not be a deterrent. Once you get in the habit of saving money, then after you purchase your home you can work to build an emergency fund to pay for things like home repairs or other unexpected expenses.