Why Your First Home Purchase Should Fit Your Entire Financial Plan
Buying your first home in Australia is exciting, daunting, and often the largest financial commitment you will ever make. Most guides focus on the loan side: how big a deposit you need, which government scheme you might qualify for, how to negotiate at auction. Those things matter, but they only cover half the picture.
This first home buyer’s financial planning guide takes a different angle. It looks at how the purchase fits into your broader financial life so you don’t end up cash-rich in equity but stretched everywhere else.
Know what you can sustain, not just what you can borrow
Banks assess what you can repay based on a snapshot of income and expenses. That number is rarely the same as what you can comfortably live with for thirty years, because lender serviceability buffers and standard living-cost benchmarks rarely match a real household budget.
A practical exercise we often suggest is to write your budget at the higher repayment with a 2 to 3 percent rate buffer, and live as if those repayments are already happening for three months. If it works, you have your real ceiling. If it doesn’t, you have your answer.
Build the deposit (and don't forget everything else)
The deposit is the headline number, but it’s not the only number. Stamp duty, conveyancing, building and pest inspections, lenders mortgage insurance (if applicable), loan establishment fees, moving costs and the immediate post-settlement spending on furniture and minor repairs all sit outside the deposit.
A useful rule of thumb is to budget another 4 to 6 percent of the purchase price on top of your deposit for these costs, and to keep an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses untouched even after settlement. Settling into a new home with no buffer is a stressful place to be.
Use the First Home Super Saver scheme strategically
The First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme is one of the most underused tools available to Australian first home buyers. Voluntary concessional contributions to super are taxed at 15 percent, which is typically lower than your marginal rate, and you can later withdraw those contributions plus deemed earnings to put toward your deposit.
For higher income earners, the tax saving alone can add thousands to your deposit over a few years, though the trade-off is that the money is locked inside super until you withdraw it for a first home, so it suits buyers with a clear timeframe.
Stay across the 2026 First Home Guarantee changes
From 1 October 2025, the First Home Guarantee changed materially: income caps were removed, the annual cap on places was removed, and property price caps were lifted in many regions. More first home buyers can now access a 5 percent deposit without paying lenders mortgage insurance.
LMI on a typical Australian first home can run into tens of thousands of dollars, so qualifying for the guarantee is often worth real money. State-based grants and stamp duty concessions sit on top of this, and the rules vary by state, which makes it worth checking your specific situation. Working with a qualified family financial planner helps you map these schemes against your bigger financial picture rather than chasing them in isolation.
Get insurance right before you sign
Buying a home changes your insurance needs overnight. Once you have a mortgage, the financial impact of illness, injury or death is no longer just about you. Income protection, life cover and total and permanent disability cover should all be reviewed around the time of purchase, not years later.
Home and contents insurance is the obvious one, though landlords insurance is worth knowing about if you ever rent the property out, and title insurance can protect against ownership disputes that emerge after settlement.
Plan for life after settlement
The first 12 months in a home tend to be the most financially intense. Repayments start, council rates and insurance fall due, and unexpected maintenance shows up faster than you’d expect.
An offset account, used properly, both reduces interest and keeps your savings accessible. Setting up an automatic transfer of a small amount each fortnight into a separate maintenance fund stops you raiding the offset every time the hot water system goes.
Make it part of the bigger plan
Buying a home is one chapter in a much longer financial story that includes super, insurance, investments and eventually retirement. Treating the purchase as a standalone event often leads to over-commitment in one area and gaps everywhere else.
If you’d like a clear, personalised view of how a first home purchase fits with the rest of your financial goals, book a chat with the team at Marin Wealth and start the journey with a plan, not just a loan.
