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Saving money for your first home takes some time and dedication. To get started, establish your new house fund as soon as possible and spend less than you earn to help your first dream house become a reality. Here are a few money techniques for saving for your first home.

Set up a savings account
Establish a house savings account in a high-interest savings account or in a CD to yield even more interest. Then, set up a savings schedule. Create automatic transfers that coordinate with your paydays at work, automatically deducting a fixed amount before you get to spend it.

Save raises and windfalls
As soon as you are awarded a wage increase or earn bonuses at work, dump it into your home savings account to give it a boost. Since this extra money is above and beyond your regular income, it shouldn’t be missed.

Ensure loan affordability
Once you have worked so hard to save for your loan, it feels great once you have finally reached your goal of a down payment. But, your expenses are likely to increase once you have bought a house. Utility bills, taxes and maintenance can all tip your budget, so make sure you don’t extend yourself too much with your loan.

Cut expenses and set a budget
Tally your expenses and figure out what you are able to save monthly. Set a realistic budget for yourself that includes food, gas even entertainment. You may have to cut back on happy hours, movie nights or weekend getaways, but leave some room for fun. If your budget is so strict, it may be incredibly difficult to stick to it. Elect to set a weekly or daily budget for yourself while you cook more at home, carpool and/or cancel your landline to save even more cash.

Pay off debt
Your borrowing power is determined by how much debt you currently bear. So, if you have credit card debt, a personal loan or a steep car loan, you will not be able to borrow as much as if you were debt-free. So, the more you can borrow for your house, the less you need to stretch for that huge down payment.

This was a guest post by GoBankingRates.com, a site that provides daily updates on the latest CD rates, finance information and more.