Hold up! Don't do this if you want to get a home loan.

You've seen a credit card with a humungous amount of Qantas Frequent Flyer points on offer if you sign up. And boy are you tempted to dive in. You can taste the Pina Coladas and feel the sand beneath your toes already.

Or you've been toying with the idea of replacing your old car (admittedly it is starting to make a strange noise) with a brand, spanking new car which you've heard you can lease. Who knew you can do this is as part of your wage.

Or those Uber Eats you've been finding yourself ordering even 2nd or 3rd night (ok so you could cook but who would want to when deliciousness is at your finger tips). Yum, right?

Stop!

If you choose any of the above paths, unlike those old 'choose your own adventure' books (ok I'm showing my age here) where you could determine how your story ended up, any of these 3 paths could lead you down a path of no return. Or at least down a path where you don't want to be.

Imagine the nasty surprise when you go to apply for a home loan (through a broker of course) and you find out that don't qualify for the loan size you need to buy the home you've been dreaming about.

Truth be told any of these 3 things (no matter how innocent) could directly impact upon how much you can borrow.

Banks want to minimise risk when they work out how much they are going to lend to you.

So naturally if you have a 'new' credit card that you have recently taken out it is going to reduce how much you can borrow. This is because even though you may never need it, that $15k limit the bank has offered on your credit card is seen by the banks as 'a debt' you could potentially have to pay at any time.

So your borrowings are less.

That car lease also would need to be taken into consideration. Those monthly repayments (whether before or after tax) would be seen as an ongoing commitment that you must meet each month. This means you have less available money to contribute to home loan repayments.

So your borrowings are less.

And those Uber Eats which show up on your bank statement even 2nd day, or 3 times a week are often seen by the bank on your statements (or at the very least must be disclosed as an expense as part of your living expenses). It could be $100 per week that you are paying. Maybe more.

The more you spend the less you can borrow.

We live in a world where everything is literally at our finger tips. Whatever you want can be found by a quick google search. Temptation is everywhere.

However, if you are thinking about taking out a loan, you must become aware of how what you are doing right now, could directly affect you when you apply for a home loan.

Maybe it won't matter. Maybe you will be lucky and your income well and truly covers how much you need to borrow from the bank irrespective of your credit card/car lease/Uber Eats.

But just maybe, it doesn't. And these small actions can impact you.

Speak to your broker before you hit 'buy'.

Ask them (yes that's Moi...!) to crunch the numbers to work out if what you are doing right now, or have been doing or thinking of doing, will hurt you when you want the bank to lend you money.

It's often too late after the fact.