Saving for a house deposit?
Discussion
How the f
k do you do it???
We've been renting for the last year. The missus is studying and working part time so we're not currently earning two full time wages. We can afford to save a bit but it's really difficult.
We decided to start saving for this about 2 months ago and so far it's not going that great and have had a couple of unexpected car bills. Do you guys have any tips or know of any good budgeting software/excel spreadsheets I can use to try make this a bit more simple?
k do you do it???We've been renting for the last year. The missus is studying and working part time so we're not currently earning two full time wages. We can afford to save a bit but it's really difficult.
We decided to start saving for this about 2 months ago and so far it's not going that great and have had a couple of unexpected car bills. Do you guys have any tips or know of any good budgeting software/excel spreadsheets I can use to try make this a bit more simple?
NordicCrankShaft said:
How the fk do you do it???
We've been renting for the last year. The missus is studying and working part time so we're not currently earning two full time wages. We can afford to save a bit but it's really difficult.
We decided to start saving for this about 2 months ago and so far it's not going that great and have had a couple of unexpected car bills. Do you guys have any tips or know of any good budgeting software/excel spreadsheets I can use to try make this a bit more simple?
, k do you do it???We've been renting for the last year. The missus is studying and working part time so we're not currently earning two full time wages. We can afford to save a bit but it's really difficult.
We decided to start saving for this about 2 months ago and so far it's not going that great and have had a couple of unexpected car bills. Do you guys have any tips or know of any good budgeting software/excel spreadsheets I can use to try make this a bit more simple?
The only way that made it easier was earning more personally. its really hard mentally to put away small amounts and keep the faith.
I used to (and still do actually) work out what my fixed outgoings were each month give or take, then add whatever I wanted to spend above that on other s
t, then save the rest. Each payday I used to move all that cash away and just forget about it. Sometimes I'd have to dip back in, but most of the time I wouldn't, and having it in another place meant I was keen not to be arsed moving anything back, rather toughing it out until the next pay day.As I said personally we only really made dents in it when bonuses came in, as the regular saving was such an amount that it would have taken a fairly long time to get anywhere. Is there a reason you don't just wait until she has a job?
It's extremely hard to save up any significant money on one wage, unless you are a premiership footballer etc, bad enough with two (average) wages coming in.
The only thing you can do at the moment is keep your expenses to the bare minimum, no Cinema, Fast food, fancy holidays etc, but it makes for rather a dull life.
You have to look at the bigger picture.
Also buying a place in somewhere like Mablethorpe is a bit cheaper than Beaconsfield, but I expect you knew that....
Good luck.
The only thing you can do at the moment is keep your expenses to the bare minimum, no Cinema, Fast food, fancy holidays etc, but it makes for rather a dull life.
You have to look at the bigger picture.
Also buying a place in somewhere like Mablethorpe is a bit cheaper than Beaconsfield, but I expect you knew that....
Good luck.
NordicCrankShaft said:
How the fk do you do it???
We've been renting for the last year. The missus is studying and working part time so we're not currently earning two full time wages. We can afford to save a bit but it's really difficult.
We decided to start saving for this about 2 months ago and so far it's not going that great and have had a couple of unexpected car bills. Do you guys have any tips or know of any good budgeting software/excel spreadsheets I can use to try make this a bit more simple?
I think the key is to set up a direct debit (or similar) to actually put aside £x per month on a regular basis, rather to look at what is left at the end of each month.k do you do it???We've been renting for the last year. The missus is studying and working part time so we're not currently earning two full time wages. We can afford to save a bit but it's really difficult.
We decided to start saving for this about 2 months ago and so far it's not going that great and have had a couple of unexpected car bills. Do you guys have any tips or know of any good budgeting software/excel spreadsheets I can use to try make this a bit more simple?
Similarly, once you've got used to saving that amount (and hence living on salary minus £xm), then if you get a pay rise or bonus, increase the amount of saving!
It's not easy, but getting into the habit of savings, and starting sooner rather than later, means that you are likely to be in a much better position in the future.
227bhp said:
Impossible to advise when you haven't provided us with any facts and figures.
I can't see that you need to know facts and figures.Principles I think well outlined there above. Whether you are saving £200 or £2000 or £5000 each month doesn't make much odds, the process is the same.
okgo said:
I can't see that you need to know facts and figures.
Principles I think well outlined there above. Whether you are saving £200 or £2000 or £5000 each month doesn't make much odds, the process is the same.
That said, OP would do well to make a comprehensive list of ingoings and outgoings per month to work out if there's anything he can reduce or remove to save a bit.Principles I think well outlined there above. Whether you are saving £200 or £2000 or £5000 each month doesn't make much odds, the process is the same.
davepoth said:
That said, OP would do well to make a comprehensive list of ingoings and outgoings per month to work out if there's anything he can reduce or remove to save a bit.
Indeed - the more sacrifices you are prepared to make in the short term, the more you will benefit in the long term.Work out your absolute necessities each month and then what ever's left over you can then decide how much you want to spend or save.
Maybe you should try to continue to save but wait out for the benefits of 2 full incomes. When your partner earns full time money put it all away like nothings changed.
Maybe you should try to continue to save but wait out for the benefits of 2 full incomes. When your partner earns full time money put it all away like nothings changed.
okgo said:
227bhp said:
Impossible to advise when you haven't provided us with any facts and figures.
I can't see that you need to know facts and figures.Principles I think well outlined there above. Whether you are saving £200 or £2000 or £5000 each month doesn't make much odds, the process is the same.
He's asking because he doesn't know how to do it, but you need some F&F to work from.
I agree it's difficult, I was living in London earning quite a low wage when I started saving. Actually most of the current house deposit is my fiancee's, but I've now got over £12k which is covering all our fees and costs and will also be covering the costs of paint, furniture, refurbishing bits etc.
What worked for me was the follow;
- Online banking. I love this as I can see the numbers creep up each time I move money in to my savings.
- When you get paid, save 10% of your take home pay in to the savings. If you know that you've got some big bills coming up then obviously this may need to take a dip, but 10% is a good figure to start with.
- Once a week log in to online banking and check your current account. Round it down to the nearest £10 or £5, and move the extra money in to your savings (i.e. if you have £204.56 in your account, move £4.56 to the savings and leave £200 in your current account).
- Give yourself a minimum that you want left in your account for absolute dire emergencies. I always keep £100 in my current account as it's basically "family member is rush to hospital and this is the cost of a taxi" money. I check my account the day before pay day and anything left over that £100 is moved to the savings. Sometimes it's only £2, sometimes it's £50, depends on how careful I've been during the month.
- Set up a spreadsheet where you can track how much you're saving each month with 10% and loose change sweeps. Once you've seen how much you can save in 3 months or so, then you can work out how long it will take to get to your first £5k. THEN, try to beat it!
- Penny jars! I have jars where I save copper pennies, 5 pence pieces, and 20 pence pieces. Oddly enough though never 10 pence pieces as I find I spend them more often than most. At the end of the week go through pockets and wallet (and get your partner to do the same) and chuck it in the respective jars. Once they're full (or 3/4 full if you're impatient) count them up, bag them, and take them to the bank and deposit them in your savings.
I only managed to start seriously saving when I A) got a better job and B) moved back in with my parents so no longer paid London rent. But I did all the stuff I listed above and that gave me a real boot up the backside so that when my circumstances changed I wasn't starting at 0.
I also have a regular savings account (all the stuff above was going in an ISA) where I keep aside my savings for insurance and the like (when I was in London I didn't have a car, so it was mostly dentist visits/short holidays to stay with friends etc), but this should be part of your normal budget planning.
Good luck! Once you get past the first £5k it becomes A) easier and B) pretty addictive.
What worked for me was the follow;
- Online banking. I love this as I can see the numbers creep up each time I move money in to my savings.
- When you get paid, save 10% of your take home pay in to the savings. If you know that you've got some big bills coming up then obviously this may need to take a dip, but 10% is a good figure to start with.
- Once a week log in to online banking and check your current account. Round it down to the nearest £10 or £5, and move the extra money in to your savings (i.e. if you have £204.56 in your account, move £4.56 to the savings and leave £200 in your current account).
- Give yourself a minimum that you want left in your account for absolute dire emergencies. I always keep £100 in my current account as it's basically "family member is rush to hospital and this is the cost of a taxi" money. I check my account the day before pay day and anything left over that £100 is moved to the savings. Sometimes it's only £2, sometimes it's £50, depends on how careful I've been during the month.
- Set up a spreadsheet where you can track how much you're saving each month with 10% and loose change sweeps. Once you've seen how much you can save in 3 months or so, then you can work out how long it will take to get to your first £5k. THEN, try to beat it!
- Penny jars! I have jars where I save copper pennies, 5 pence pieces, and 20 pence pieces. Oddly enough though never 10 pence pieces as I find I spend them more often than most. At the end of the week go through pockets and wallet (and get your partner to do the same) and chuck it in the respective jars. Once they're full (or 3/4 full if you're impatient) count them up, bag them, and take them to the bank and deposit them in your savings.
I only managed to start seriously saving when I A) got a better job and B) moved back in with my parents so no longer paid London rent. But I did all the stuff I listed above and that gave me a real boot up the backside so that when my circumstances changed I wasn't starting at 0.
I also have a regular savings account (all the stuff above was going in an ISA) where I keep aside my savings for insurance and the like (when I was in London I didn't have a car, so it was mostly dentist visits/short holidays to stay with friends etc), but this should be part of your normal budget planning.
Good luck! Once you get past the first £5k it becomes A) easier and B) pretty addictive.
Trouble is, prices are going up faster than you can save a deposit so you just fall further and further behind. When I bought my first place in 2000 we looked at the place on the Friday and had the mortgage sorted out the next day with a 5% deposit. I didn't actually have the 5% so I just borrowed it on my credit card and when I told the mortgage adviser this he told me he didn't care where it came from. I had also a few months previously bought a brand new Subaru Impreza Turbo on finance and they still gave us the mortgage. It was literally a case of driving past the property and the estate agent was showing someone around so we asked if we could have a look and put in an offer there and then.
Fast forward 16 years and I am divorced and essentially a first time buyer again. I have a 6 figure deposit and I am saving 65% of my take home pay every month and have absolutely zero debt or commitments, not even a mobile phone contract. Even though I have a 50% deposit it is harder for me to get a mortgage now than when I bought my first property in 2000 with no deposit and loads of debt.
Unless they are throwing money at first time buyers with minimal deposits I have no idea how people do it unless everyone just happens to have hundreds of thousands of pounds lying around in cash.
Fast forward 16 years and I am divorced and essentially a first time buyer again. I have a 6 figure deposit and I am saving 65% of my take home pay every month and have absolutely zero debt or commitments, not even a mobile phone contract. Even though I have a 50% deposit it is harder for me to get a mortgage now than when I bought my first property in 2000 with no deposit and loads of debt.
Unless they are throwing money at first time buyers with minimal deposits I have no idea how people do it unless everyone just happens to have hundreds of thousands of pounds lying around in cash.
OP, yes it's tough but from your post it sounds as though you're keep your and your girlfrind heads above water and saving on one paycheque whilst your girlfriend studies.
OK hold water until she qualifies and gets a job, possibly look at how to reduce variable costs (ie shop at Aldi not waitrose)
When she does start earning don't change a thing and you'll save her salary every month.
OK hold water until she qualifies and gets a job, possibly look at how to reduce variable costs (ie shop at Aldi not waitrose)
When she does start earning don't change a thing and you'll save her salary every month.
You have to do it early on and usually only get one chance at it. Blowing all your money on rent, holidays and cars when you are young will screw you up in the long term. Perhaps you are now paying for these mistakes?
House prices are so ludicrous I do wonder how most of the new generation will make it work.
House prices are so ludicrous I do wonder how most of the new generation will make it work.
Audemars said:
You have to do it early on and usually only get one chance at it. Blowing all your money on rent, holidays and cars when you are young will screw you up in the long term. Perhaps you are now paying for these mistakes?
House prices are so ludicrous I do wonder how most of the new generation will make it work.
Totally agree, yet even if you live with your parents and never go out you still cannot save a deposit quickly enough to get ahead. I suspect the only youngsters who can afford to buy property anymore are those who get a six figure deposit from mummy and daddy.House prices are so ludicrous I do wonder how most of the new generation will make it work.
If you managed to buy a property 10 years ago or more ago you are pretty much sorted due to getting in before prices went really crazy and low interest rates.
The government created an asset bubble by lowering interest rates to 0.5% and there is zero chance of things changing in the near future. It has got to the point that people are annoyed if their property isn't going up in value by more than they earn every year.
I just worked out that the property I purchased in 2000 has gone up in value by £1800 every single month over the last 16 years. So even if you managed to save that amount every month you are still falling further and further behind.
The boomers have all the wealth and don't care that youngsters cannot afford the sort of houses they managed to buy on one wage. My parents live in a road full of massive bungalows with only one or two occupants. They were looking at buying an ex local authority flat as a rental property a few years ago and the agent was telling us how a couple with children wanted to buy it but couldn't get a mortgage.
Families are living in rental accommodation or tiny flats while the boomers own all the houses and have been encouraged to buy additional buy to let properties.
I think it's been pretty much the same for every generation........ ok the numbers may be bigger but the issue of "how the hell do I get on the property ladder" has been there for as long as I can remember.
I remember my 1st house, I had to beg/borrow/steal the deposit, bought a tiny place (studio) interest rates up at 16% mortgage took about 80% of our take home pay.
I remember my 1st house, I had to beg/borrow/steal the deposit, bought a tiny place (studio) interest rates up at 16% mortgage took about 80% of our take home pay.
Have you thought of the help to buy ISA?
For every £200 you put in you get a £50 bonus when you complete on the house purchase. You have to be a first time buyer.
You can open the account with £1000, and can only put a max of £200 in per month.
I echo what others have said and found it best to put money into savings at the start of the month that way its easier.
For every £200 you put in you get a £50 bonus when you complete on the house purchase. You have to be a first time buyer.
You can open the account with £1000, and can only put a max of £200 in per month.
I echo what others have said and found it best to put money into savings at the start of the month that way its easier.
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