Man, those poor (literally) millennials

[theking]

67% of millennials who want to own a home have $0 saved for a down payment — and 18% have less than $10K. Here are the 2 big obstacles and how to overcome them

If that’s surprising, a survey by Apartment List shows that a growing number of renters have given up on homeownership, 74% of them saying that they can’t afford to buy a home.

Not having a downpayment and bad credit are major stumbling blocks for millennials. 67% of the population say they have no savings for a down payment, while 42% cite bad credit as one of their biggest holdbacks.

If you worry about your credit score or that you don’t have enough saved, here are some strategies to help you make homeownership a reality

Create a budget and savings plan
A study by the National Association of Realtors shows that millennials are willing to stretch their budgets in order to buy a home. Of course, you need to have a budget in the first place before you can push it.

The latest survey from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling shows that only 30% of households have a detailed plan of what to do with each paycheck. Additionally, only 27% have a strategy to pay down their debt.

Laying out your monthly income and expenses lets you create clear savings objectives. You’re better able to analyze your spending habits and manage your finances. It’s an easy way to figure out how much you want to save each month to afford a home, and adjust your spending to make that a reality,

Improve your credit score
Credit scores measure how good you are at managing debt. It’s a score between 300-850, and the higher your score, the better you are at handling the money you owe. You’ll also often get a better mortgage rate from lenders if your score is higher.