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First home buyer and down payment savings planner spreadsheet for Excel and Google Sheets on laptop, tablet and phone — cash to close $58,000, monthly save target, and the 28/36 payment check in one file. Instant download.

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Before and after: endless home listings, rent receipts and a sticky note asking how much you actually need, versus a planner dashboard naming $58,000 cash to close, 39.7% saved and $1,667 a month to your date.

House keys, coffee and a for-sale flyer on a desk beside a laptop showing the first-home planner dashboard — after the open house you already know your cash to close, monthly number and comfortable price.

Four numbers between you and the keys: cash to close $58,000, monthly save target $1,667, the PITI payment check versus 28 percent, and a buy-readiness score of 5 of 8 — eleven connected tabs, one dashboard.

Cash to close spreadsheet naming the number pre-approval skips: down payment $40,000 plus closing costs $12,000 plus reserves $6,000 equals $58,000 — the real wall between renting and owning, to the dollar.

Savings countdown that backs your target date into a monthly number: $1,667 a month, $833 per paycheck, to reach $58,000 in 24 months — 39.7 percent saved and tracked month by month in Excel and Google Sheets.

Honest affordability check: true PITI payment of $2,859 versus the 28 percent ceiling of $2,520 flags this price as a stretch, and points you to a comfortable price of about $350,000. Honesty builds trust.

The one number that gets you the keys: $58,000 cash to close, built from down payment $40,000, closing costs $12,000 and reserves $6,000 — not the price and not the payment, the cash you actually need up front.

In the download: an 11-tab first-home planner engine — down payment, closing, cash to close, savings countdown, affordability PITI, rent vs buy, max price, readiness and dashboard — in Excel and Google Sheets.

First-home planner vs a typical home-buying checklist: names your real cash to close, backs into a monthly save target, true PITI with the 28/36 check, your comfortable price — 352 formulas, 52/52 math checks.

One download, one set of keys — first-home buyer and down-payment savings planner, 11 connected tabs, Excel and Google Sheets, true PITI and the 28/36 check, free lifetime updates, $16.97.

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Spreadsheet System

First-Home Buyer & Down-Payment Savings Planner

The price isn't the wall. The cash to close is.

$16.97

One-time purchase · Instant download · Secure checkout by Stripe · Use code NICHE22 for 22% off

Instant download No subscription Secure Stripe checkout

The price of a first home isn't the wall. The cash to close is. Buyers fixate on the sticker price and the monthly payment — and quietly miss the one number that actually stands between renting and owning: the pile of cash you hand over on closing day. This planner puts it first, backs it into a real date and a monthly savings amount, and then honestly checks whether the payment fits your income before you fall for a listing.

Your real cash-to-close, named — down payment + closing costs + reserves ($58,000 in the sample)
3.5% / 5% / 10% / 20% down side by side, each with the loan it leaves
Your target date becomes one monthly number — and a per-paycheck number
True PITI payment with the honest 28% / 36% reality check
Your Comfortable Price — the price that actually fits, eyes open

Buy now — $16.97 Watch the demo ▶

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Overview

The price isn't the wall. The cash to close is.

Most home-buying downloads are a checklist; this one calculates.

What's Included

11 connected tabs including:

Dashboard — cash-to-close target, saved-so-far %, monthly save number, months to go, estimated payment, readiness score

Down-Payment Planner — 3.5% / 5% / 10% / 20% side by side, each showing the down payment and the loan it leaves

Closing-Cost Estimator — itemized lender, title, appraisal, inspection and prepaids, plus reserves and moving

Cash-to-Close — down payment + closing costs + reserves = the real number, and what's still left to save

Savings Tracker & Countdown — target and date become one monthly number; log months, watch the bar

Mortgage-Readiness / Affordability — true PITI (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, PMI) vs the 28% / 36% guideline

Rent vs Buy — this payment vs your current rent, side by side

Your Comfortable Price — the price that keeps you inside the guideline

Buy-Readiness Checklist — credit, pre-approval, reserves, DTI, docs → a readiness %

You will receive

First-Home-Buyer-Planner-NicheToolkits.xlsx — the 11-tab engine (Excel + Google Sheets)
README.txt with Google Sheets import steps + LICENSE.txt
Delivered as one ZIP — instant download

Key Benefits

Why this one

The real number, first

Down payment + closing + reserves = cash to close. Nobody prints it on the listing; this names yours.

A date becomes a number

Your target and date back into a monthly save target — and a per-paycheck one ($1,667 / $833 in the sample).

An honest yes — or not yet

True PITI vs the 28/36 guideline flags a stretch before you're emotionally committed.

Your comfortable price

The price that keeps the payment inside the guideline — even when it's lower than the one you love.

Rent vs buy, side by side

The payment against your current rent, so the comparison is real.

Honest engineering

352 formulas · recalculated clean · 52/52 independent math checks. Every image is the real file.

Who It's For

Built for

First-time buyers who keep hearing “get pre-approved” but not what it costs to close
Renters saving toward a down payment on a real date
Couples deciding between the budget and the listing they love
Anyone who wants the honest math before the mortgage broker's

How It Works

Up and running in minutes

Open the spreadsheet in Excel

Or import it into Google Sheets — README steps included

Start Here: target price and date

Pick your down-payment % — the planner shows all four side by side

Estimate closing and reserves

The Cash-to-Close tab names your real number

Log your saving months

The countdown tracks progress toward your date, month by month

Check the payment honestly

True PITI vs 28/36, rent vs buy, and your comfortable price — before you fall for a listing

Why It's Different

Not another template

Most home-buying downloads are a checklist. This one calculates: it names your real cash-to-close, backs it into a monthly save target for your date, runs a true mortgage payment with the affordability rules, and tells you the price that actually fits — even when that's lower than the one you love. Honesty is the point.

Delivery & Compatibility

Instant, and works with what you use

As soon as your order is complete you get instant access to download your files. Prefer Google Sheets for real-time updates and dropdowns? It's fully optimized. More comfortable in Excel? It works just as well.

Built and tested in the latest Excel (Office 365). On Mac we recommend the Google Sheets version — the template is not compatible with Apple Numbers. Available in English. The template ships with sample data so every screen works on open; clear it whenever you're ready. The images and video show that sample data to demonstrate how it looks in use.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Does it work in Google Sheets?

Yes — Excel and Google Sheets both. Upload the .xlsx to Drive, open with Google Sheets, and everything works; the README has the exact steps.

What exactly is “cash to close”?

Down payment + closing costs + reserves — the money you actually hand over on closing day. It's the real wall between renting and owning, and the planner names yours to the dollar.

Will it tell me what I can afford?

Yes, honestly: a true PITI payment (with taxes, insurance and PMI) checked against the 28/36 guideline, plus a Comfortable Price that keeps you inside it.

I don't have a target home yet — still useful?

Yes — start with a price range and the four down-payment scenarios; the savings math and affordability check work before you've picked a listing.

Is anything pre-loaded?

A sample couple (Jordan & Alex, $400k target, 24 months) ships inside so every screen works on open — clear it when you're ready.

Can I get a refund on a digital download?

Because delivery is instant, all sales are final — but message us with any issue and we'll make it right.

First-Home Buyer & Down-Payment Savings Planner

Overview

The price isn't the wall. The cash to close is.

What's Included

11 connected tabs including:

Key Benefits

Why this one

Who It's For

Built for

How It Works

Up and running in minutes

Why It's Different

Not another template

Delivery & Compatibility

Instant, and works with what you use

FAQ

Questions, answered

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