Do you know the difference between how much you ‘can’ borrow, and how much you ‘should’ borrow?

There might be a very big difference between how much a lender is willing to give you, and how much you can comfortably afford to repay.

So how do you work out your real ‘should’ borrowing capacity? Don’t you want to be sure that you can afford to make the repayments on your loan?

Lenders will take into account your ability to repay the loan, based on what you earn, how many dependants you have, what your credit rating is, and your declared living expenses.

However, lenders only know what you tell them, and there are a few things you need to take into account that might not be considered by a lender when deciding on your borrowing capacity:

Job Security

How secure do you think your job is? If you’ve worked for the same company for several years and earn a decent wage, your lender will view this very favourably.

But have you been hearing murmurs about a possible restructure? Do you work in a department that could potentially be outsourced offshore?

You’re in a much better position to assess your job security than a lender is, and you need to be realistic. If you commit to the maximum loan amount and then your role is made redundant, you might struggle to keep up your end of the bargain.

Job Satisfaction

Your excellent employment history was a definite tick for your lender, but how do you feel deep down about your job?

Have you just been hanging on until you can get finance approved? If this is the case, think carefully about how much you should borrow.

You might need to take a pay cut early on, if you decide to move into a different line of work.

Family Planning

You answered ‘zero’ when asked about your dependants, which contributed to the assessment your lender made when offering you a bumper loan.

But what if you were suddenly expecting a child, or if you decide to expand your family a few years down the track?

Your Lifestyle

You might be able to ‘afford’ the repayments on a big loan, but what happens when mother’s day, your brother’s birthday and your car registration all come around at once and you need some extra cash?

Or maybe you would like to take a holiday at some stage next year. Don’t leave yourself short, or it’s going to be a very long 25 to 30 years.

Your other goals

Would you really love to continue your studies in a few years? Do you dream of taking off for a few months to take the kids around Australia?

Don’t forget about your other dreams and goals when you work out how much to borrow.

You still need to have a life, and some things are more important than having a spare room for your shoe collection.