![Family who upsized](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Sean and Danielle Coffin with their children, Brooklyn and Lara, upsized their home about a year ago. Picture: Josie Hayden.
Parents Danielle and Sean Coffin adopted several smart money-saving strategies before upsizing to a house with their two children.
The couple also spent years planning and educating themselves about property and finance, reading books such as The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape.
About a year ago, they bought a four-bedroom residence in Melbourne’s south east where their son Brooklyn, aged 5, and daughter Lara, 4, love the backyard trampoline and vegetable garden.
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Prior to their relationship, Ms Coffin owned an apartment – which she has since sold – while her husband bought a house in his twenties.
They rented a unit for a few years while renovating Mr Coffin’s home in order to sell it, all while searching for their dream house.
Ms Coffin said although their new home’s larger mortgage repayments were “a bit scary”, they had adopted practical methods to budget.
Her husband joked that one particularly “nerdy” approach was keeping track of which local supermarkets had their regular groceries on special, or cheapest a kilogram or litre, to then buy in bulk.
“We don’t go without, we just make sure that if we’re buying, we’re going to buy sensibly,” Mr Coffin said.
Sean and Danielle Coffin have already started teaching their children Brooklyn and Lara about saving money. Picture: Josie Hayden.
He also spent an afternoon going their subscriptions and bills, using artificial intelligence to compare gas and electric costs.
Afterwards, they saved 20-30 per cent by switching providers.
As well, Ms Coffin said that she learned from her mother to call their home and car insurer to ask for a cheaper deal, every 12 months or so, which saved about $300 last year.
“Once you actually look at it on a screen, you’re more inclined to make changes that will definitely help in the long run,” she said.
Melbourne’s median house value hit $971,000 in July 2026. Picture: Jake Nowakowski.
The family have sought advice from Seaford-based Mortgage Choice franchise owner and mortgage broker Brad Kirby across their property buying journey.
Mr Kirby said for homeowners worried about falling behind on their mortgage, it was important to seek assistance early by speaking to a mortgage broker about ways to potentially restructure a loan or accounts to save on interest rates.
He said that when it came to saving money, mortgage holders should consider making use of an off-set account to its full extent rather than high interest savings accounts, because the off-set account would not be taxed.
Although saving a few dollars here and there on groceries might not seem like a lot, it adds up across a year – and the leftover money can go towards the mortgage. Picture: NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw.
Mr Kirby added that people wanting to stay on top of their home loan should also have a look at their spending, especially subscriptions they might not make much use of.
“Have a deep dive into what you’re spending because we all spend probably over what we need to,” he said.
“Once you actually look at it on a screen, you’re more inclined to make changes that will definitely help in the long run.”
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When Mr and Ms Coffin were looking to buy a home, they searched realestate.com.au for houses which had passed in at auction on the weekends in an effort to find a property which might be a bit more affordable.
He also advised first-home buyers to make use of the Australian government’s First Home Super Saver scheme which lets eligible first-time buyers use their superannuation fund to save a home deposit.
The scheme allows workers to make voluntary contributions of up to $15,000 each financial year, with a total lifetime maximum of $50,000 a person, into their superannuation with the aim of using the money to help buy a home.
Buyers must apply to the government to have the voluntary contributions and associated earnings released from their super fund, before using it in their purchase of a residence.
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