Preparing financially
Build your financial snapshot before you start
The seven things to gather about your income, expenses, debts and savings before using any other guide in this hub — the foundation every later calculation relies on.
Key points
- Use net (take-home) income, not gross — every later calculation depends on this being right.
- Credit card and BNPL limits count in a lender's assessment, not just your current balance.
- An honest three-month average of discretionary spending is more useful than a guess.
- A recent credit report and a clear view of genuinely available savings complete the picture.
Seven things to gather
Every guide in this hub assumes you know your own numbers. Before working through the safe-budget or deposit guides, gather: 1. net (take-home) income for every applicant, including regular overtime or bonuses if genuinely reliable. 2. essential expenses — housing, utilities, groceries, insurance, transport, childcare, minimum debt repayments. 3. discretionary spending — an honest three-month average, not a guess. 4. existing debts, including limits on credit cards and buy-now-pay-later accounts, not just current balances. 5. savings and other assets, and how much of that is genuinely available for a deposit versus earmarked elsewhere. 6. dependants and any planned changes to household size or income in the next two to three years. 7. a recent copy of your credit report (see the credit reports guide).
Why this comes before everything else
The safe-budget guide's three-ceiling framework, the deposit guide's LVR calculation, and a lender's serviceability assessment all start from these same seven inputs. Gathering them once, honestly, means every guide and calculation that follows is grounded in your real numbers rather than a rough guess adjusted later.
Common mistake: using gross (pre-tax) income when budgeting, or underestimating discretionary spending because it doesn't feel like a "real" expense — both make a budget look safer than it actually is.
Practical checklist
Your financial snapshot checklist
- Net income for every applicant, including genuinely reliable overtime or bonuses
- Essential expenses, based on real bills and statements, not estimates
- A three-month average of discretionary spending
- Every debt's limit (not just balance) — credit cards, BNPL, personal and car loans
- Savings and assets, split into what's actually available for a deposit
- Any planned change to income or household size in the next two to three years
- A recent copy of your credit report
Relevant Delora tool
Want this as a checklist for your own purchase? Start free in the Delora app
Questions for a professional
- Based on my actual income and expenses, not an estimate, what would my serviceability assessment look like?
Official resources
Important limitations: This is a preparation checklist, not a calculator — it doesn't compute a figure for you.
Evidence record
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