Be happier or prioritise getting on the ladder?

If you’re currently only saving £400 a month then surely it’s obvious you can’t afford it. Stay put and save for your future.

Stay in the flat. Look at what you’re spending on and try to save more every month towards the deposit. You won’t regret it !!

Deposit. Sorry. I know how it feels to see a place that is perfect for you.
It'll never be YOURS, though.

It's so hard to save to move.

I stayed in a social housing small cottage for 8 years whilst saving to buy. I wanted to buy so badly.

And I did! You can get there quicker than you think if you stay in the flat.

Also team mum.

All the PPs have raised excellent points around childcare fees, landlords raising rents, higher costs in a bigger rental etc. How would you manage all of that, realistically?

I would do exactly the opposite to what your sisters are suggesting and really knuckle down for the next few years and save as much as possible.

If you can consider the more expensive flat and increased costs you aren't maximising what you could be saving right now. Check if youre eligible for any government top ups on your savings through LISAs etc.

100pc stay and save more than you currently are

It’s a very personal decision op, one only you and your dp can make.

I lived in an unheated bedsit with a shared bathroom 😫 for two years so I could save a deposit. It was grim but got me where I wanted to be sooner. For me it was worth it.

You have to decide your priorities between you.

Stay where you are and save the extra £500 a month. You don’t need more space yet and you’ll be in a good position if you can buy in a couple of years.

Also your rent will increase , potentially each year . As will your council tax. Your utilities will be a lot more expensive.

your mum is right, your future self will thank you. Do what your siblings suggest and you will looo back and regret it.

Also life gets way more expensive when kids come along op. So you’d basically be in rented for ever.

stay, save as much as you can, you can clearly afford more than 400, then buy and have kids.

@FedUp135 I would listen to your mum, ‘older and wiser’ and will always want what’s best for you long term.

So in another couple of years you'll have that if you keep the money you would have spent on the extra rent as savings (12k over 2 years)

Are you saving 400 a month each, or between you? If between you, how will you manage the extra rent in any case?

Whats your income in total and outgoings like travel/bills?

Stay in the flat, the rental market is littered with people who rented more than they can afford to buy, never saved didn’t want to downgrade and never got on the ladder.

if you can afford 50o a month more on rent, then the increase in council tax and utilities you can save more than 400 a month

Play the long game.

OP, your future selves are going to be so thrilled when you start looking for a little house of your own. Stay put, stay focused, the time will pass anyway and one day you will either get there or know that you could have got there.
Good Luck x

@FedUp135 the rent increase is £495. Just save this per month for 2 years. With the £6k you have already, you’ll have £17880 in just 24 months.

Then you move into a bigger property which is yours to enjoy for however long you want.

Don’t rent long term if you don’t have to, you’re just paying someone else’s mortgage when you could be paying your own in just 2 years time.

If the difference between a lovely house and a tiny flat is £500, there must be somewhere better for £100-200 that won't quash your ability to save surely?

3 years to buy sounds doable. Maybe less if you save like mad. You'll settle as renters if you choose the house, you may never buy. Would you be ok with that? What about old age?

I strongly recommend staying in the small flat & saving to buy a property

I also recommend paying into a work place pension

Bricks and mortar is the best investment. Stay and save.

I’d stay in the flat 100%. If you’re not managing to save much now then it would be even harder to save up a deposit to buy while paying even higher rent, and add a baby to the mix and it suddenly starts to feel impossible.

Stay where you are, save every spare penny you can even for the next say 1-2 years and then look to buy.

Save £500 a month & you can do that in only two years or less!

I’d play the long game and keep saving

Surely you literally cannot afford it if the increase in rent is more than you are currently saving. Or info is missing here. Clearly put more effort into saving and you'll buy within 3 years just based on saving £6k pa on not increasing your rent!!

You won't save at all if your rent goes up to £1595, if you're currently paying £1100 & saving £400.

Don't forget your bills and council tax will rise in a bigger place.

If you rent the bigger place you’re not going to save, realistically whereas if you save the additional rent you’ll be close to your deposit in a year or two. If you’re serious about buying I’d cut absolutely every discretionary spend for the next year, and save like bad - I bet you’ve got things you could stop spending on.

In terms of happier, you may be happier in a bigger property now but you’ll be in rented accommodation for much, much longer especially when children come along with all the cost that entails. Short term pain for long term gain wins for me.