Once you’ve determined how much house you can afford and the general price range of the homes you plan to look into purchasing, you can start building up a lump sum of money to use towards your down payment. Whether you’re starting from zero or already have a good amount saved up, there are several ways that you can save money up for a home down payment.

Automate It

Set up an automatic deduction to be taken out of each of your checks and to be deposited directly into a savings account that can be used to acquire money for your down payment. Many times people deduct up to 2 percent each check without it hurting monthly expenses and payments, and after a few months, you’ll have a nice sum of money built up!

Reduce Extra Expenses

Are you leasing a brand new, 2016 car? Or are you taking multiple out-of-state vacations a year? A great way to save up extra income is to reduce the amount of big-ticket items you are currently paying for. Maybe downsize your current vehicle or vow to take stay-cations this year so you can pocket the money you would normally be spending and use it towards a down payment.

Trim the Excess

Are you a gourmet coffee lover that likes to visit a coffee shop every morning? Or do you go out to lunch every day with your coworkers? As nice as all of these things are, by trimming back on how much you’re spending on the little things like food and drinks, you may find that you can quickly grow your savings account.

Make Additional Income

Whether it’s a hobby like baking and selling pies or coaching a high school sports team, there are ways to make a few, extra bucks outside your normal work hours that can help add to your down payment pool of money.

Start a Money Jar

It’s the old trick your parents used to use when they were trying to teach you about saving up money – piggy banks. Whether it’s a piggy bank, a jar or a drawer, you can stash extra money from your wallets and purses in one place and every week or so take it into the bank to add to the pool of savings. The benefit of this is that you can physically see your progress and how much you’re saving as time goes on, giving you more incentive along the way.