Australians aspire to own their own home. How do you do it?

Oh, I dunno. Let’s ask a financial expert. The man in charge of Australia’s finances, Treasurer Joe Hockey.

“If you’ve got a good job and it pays good money …”

Um, Joe, had to punish you for that one again. You walked into it, buddy.

The “how” you do it is dependent on only one thing: How bad you want it. If it’s your number one financial priority, if you want it so bad you’d sell your mum for it …

Don’t sell your mum. Human trafficking is illegal.

But if you want it really bad, you will find a way.

There are two aspects to this question.

The first is getting your deposit together. That’s about saving, about “delayed gratification”.

It’s about not spending, about conscious decisions to eat in, to not buying those new shoes/jacket, to buying cheaper cars, to having cheaper holidays, to taking the overtime when offered (rather than going to the pub, making it a double win).

And, sure, if you’d consider working harder to get that promotion, or switching to a new, more lucrative career, then that’s probably what Joe Hockey was really talking about it. He just said it like a klutz.

The second is wiping out that huge mortgage, so that the house is yours and not the bank’s.

That, again, is about sacrifice. Paying extra off the mortgage every month, which again means cheaper cars/holidays/shoes. About putting part of every future payrise into higher mortgage repayments.

Tell me I’m wrong! If you want it bad enough, you’ll make the sacrifices you need to.

Bruce Brammall is the principal adviser with Bruce Brammall Financial (www.brucebrammall.com.au) and author of Mortgages Made Easy.