Having a realistic budget is one of the critical first steps when you’re planning to build a new home in New Jersey. Without an accurate budget, it’s almost impossible to choose a floor plan and move forward.

There are all kinds of free mortgage calculators you can use to determine what your monthly payments will be (based on the home’s price and on the interest rate of your loan). Here’s one from mortgagecalculator.com that you can use for doing that.  But setting a realistic budget is about more than figuring out what your monthly payment will be.

One thing that makes a budget realistic is that it allows for some flexibility—a little “wiggle room” if you will. Building a new home is a long-term project that’s filled with details. It can be hard to anticipate and plan for everything from the beginning. There are times when you’ll want to add something to your original plan to make your new home more personal and comfortable.

For example, let’s say you’re considering a home in Hillsborough and after looking at some floor plans you decide that the Fairfax floor plan is a good fit for your family’s needs and lifestyle. It’s got a spacious family room that’s open to the kitchen and breakfast area. It also has a separate dining room and living room for when you want to more formal entertaining. There’s even a study tucked away in a quiet corner of the main level that you can use as a home office. There is plenty of sleeping space on the second floor with a large master bedroom (and separate sitting room) and two bedrooms for the kids.

Maybe that sounds great, so you budget for that floor plan. But what if you wanted to make a few changes to better suit your needs? What if you wanted to add a morning room off the kitchen for casual family meals? Or what if you wanted “Jack and Jill” bedrooms for the kids where they can share a bathroom between their rooms? Or maybe you’d really like to have a 3-car garage instead of the standard 2-car garage.

All of those things are options in this great plan. But if you’ve budgeted too tightly, it doesn’t allow you the flexibility to add these choices.

Of course, only you know what your budget will actually accommodate, and it’s important that you stay within your means. But allowing a little extra when calculating your budget can give you the freedom to make a few additions to the initial plan that will result in you’re being able to build the home you really want. And by the way, including these options when you’re building your home is much more cost-effective than adding them later.

Creating a realistic budget is important. Just make sure you check out all your options before your budget is set in stone.