Saving towards a house deposit - AIBU to ask for savings advice?

[TheTimeToChange]

Posting for traffic.

If you’re saving for a deposit on a house/flat (or when you were saving for a deposit), how did you save/how are you currently saving money?

Do you have any tips on how to save or where to invest money already saved?

Thanks! :)

Consider saving a non-negotiable expenditure that goes out immediately.

My pattern is, for example:

28th - wages go in
30th - savings, credit card and all major bills go out (a large lump sum to a shared bills account with my fiance, which also has a small buffer on it to cover 'small' emergencies)
1st-15th - smaller bills go out of account in stages

I prioritise the first few, and can consider/adjust the latter as necessary. I'm no financial whizz - far from it. But starting from the point of committing to savings as a priority, not looking at what you have left, is very effective for me.

(My fiance used to think I was a right bugger for putting away £500 at the beginning of the month then declining later offers based on lack of money!)

Don't buy stuff.

I know that sounds really simplistic but it is really really effective.

Don't go to the shops, don't buy stuff online because you "need it", accept wearing older clothes, accept making do and not replacing stuff if it breaks, go to playground instead of soft play; don't buy coffee or ice cream or lunch; don't have "date nights" unless they're free and at home.

Obviously you need to buy food/bills etc but cancel or pause any non-essential bills which you can (sky etc) and set a low weekly food budget, stick to it, and dont do top up shops.

When we're trying to save we do a couple of months like this, then a relaxed month, then a couple of months like this etc etc.

Try it for a couple of months - it is absolutely amazing how much you can save!!

Hi there good luck OP with saving! YANBU to ask for advice, always good to get savvy and you may find some useful tips you didn't think of before!

We managed to save for our house by only allowing us £50 each per month for personal "pocket" money and following our budget.

We worked out the cost of all our bills (cancelled anything like Netflix and Gym memberships) and then budgeted for food and fuel.

Our food budget was made to stretch by meal planning 2 weeks at a time.

So we worked out what to save by adding up our net incomes and subtracting the bills, food, fuel and "pocket money" then we usually subtracted an extra £50 too for contingency and whatever we were left over we put into savings.

Oh also, we moved all our direct debits etc to come out in the first week of the month just so we could keep easier tabs on costs!

By being really strict we are now about to complete on our first house within 2 years of saving for our deposit and fees!

(and that's the thing you need to remember too btw, the fees can come to quite a significant amount too - ours in total are £1900)

well it was a long time ago...

but my mantra was "pay yourself first".

so my pay went in -> a set amount was transferred to savings immediately.

That's obviously after you've done a calculation based on essentials and non-essentials!

I was frugal but on the occasion I was tempted I would use this, it's fun

www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/demotivator/

Set up a monthly standing order to a savings account and consider this part of your budget. Depending on how much you have saved, anything where you lock your money away for a 2 years + tends to give better rates. However, the best returns definitely come from investment funds which tend to carry some risk- your money could go down as well as up. Investing in shares can be a really successful way to grow money BUT I do think that Brexit will cause more uncertainty than usual, and share prices can always go down as well as up.

Have you looked into options like working abroad for a year or two? I know a few people who have gone to the middle east for a year, on higher salaries and tax free, saved like mad, and come back with enough money for a house deposit. Could either of you take on a part time second job or freelance a bit to up your income?

How much are you looking to save, and how much can you realistically save each month?

@thecatsthecats

"(My fiance used to think I was a right bugger for putting away £500 at the beginning of the month then declining later offers based on lack of money!)"

are you me?

Set up a separate account for household bills and all other regular payments and at the start of the month transfer a lump sum to that (we also do +10% and use that to pay for Christmas) then you can see exactly what your disposable income is, then move the amount you want to save into a savings account (you need to make sure it's a realistic amount) then the remainder is what you have available to spend for the month. Keep checking your account every couple of days and cut your cloth accordingly. Anything left over at the end of the month gets swept into the savings account. We paid for our wedding by doing this and have carried on doing it so we build up savings again.

Meal planning and doing a supermarket shop once a week rather than buying things to eat on the way home from work made the biggest difference for us by far.

Good luck

Learn and abide by the difference between a want and a need. You need food. You want to dine in a restaurant. Plan your meals, buy healthy ingredients at a good price, and cook at home and you'll save a lot of money. Apply this to every aspect of life and you'll be amazed at how much you can save.

YNAB (you need a budget) is very good for saving and managing your budget. Also the moneysavingexpert forum is very helpful and supportive.

I believe a savings - fun balance is really important as I need to enjoy life in order to stop myself from feeling down and going on a splurge This is how I set my accounts up -

• Help to Buy ISA £200 per month. Money from the government yes please
• An account for ALL bills, including phone contract, travel expenses and food shopping
• A regular high interest savings account - I put whatever I estimated I could reasonably afford, obviously different for everyone
• Date fund - £20 a month from both me and DP, let it build up and spend on whatever takes our fancy. Last time it was a weekend away, the time before a new chest of drawers.
• Main account - Money left here is the "fun" money, I spent this on anything I wanted; holiday saving, shoes, shopping sprees, nights out, etc.

I started buying designer clothing all the time.... from charity shops. Seriously love them! Go to a posh town and you can go on a massive designer splurge for very little money. I also made more effort to invite friends round to share a bottle of wine or two instead of going out.

Draw up a monthly budget. Work out what your income is and what your necessary expenditure is. If the place you are renting is bigger than you need, can you move to a smaller place or rent a room in a shared house or with family for a while? (Obviously this one is totally dependent on your personal circumstances.)

Do an audit of your monthly regular payments. Cancel any direct debits for things you don’t need. When your phone contract is up for renewal, negotiate something cheaper or switch to sim only.

Once you’ve worked out what your unavoidable expenditure is, deduct it from your monthly income and see what you have left. Decide on an achievable amount to save each month and transfer it directly to your savings account on pay day.

Whatever is left in your account is your budget for the month, but don’t feel like you have to spend it all. Eat and drink out less, and do more free stuff. When friends suggest meeting up, suggest walks or museum trips instead of lunch, or cooking at home instead of dinner. Tell people you’re on a budget because you’re saving for a deposit.

Good luck.

I am about to move home at 33 with my 7 year old so I can save a deposit. We will be in my Mums back bedroom sharing. I am going to try and save £1200 a month I am quite fortunate as houses are cheap around by me I can buy for 90-100k but I need a hefty deposit as I am a single parent with a part time job. My plan is to stay here 2 years then buy.

Definitely set up help to buy ISAs if you haven't already, if you have a partner they can open one too which can be used for the same property (as long as you're both FTB)

I second the help to buy ISA. We used it towards the tail end of saving for our house and got a combined bonus of £1000ish after only 6 months of paying the maximum in.
Worth noting that both you and your partner (if you have one and intend to buy together) can have an ISA so you will both benefit from the bonus available

Pretty much agree with what previous posters said. When I get paid I have a standing order transferring what's needed to cover half of our rent & household bills into our joint account, plus a bit extra (£30 ish) for a buffer.
I top up my Oyster card ready for the month ahead.
I put my personal spending money for the month (including money for groceries) onto a Monzo card so that I can keep track of what I'm spending and try to stick to a budget.
I then make sure I've got enough left in my personal account for my personal bills (not much, just phone & Netflix) and the rest goes straight into savings.

My Monzo card has been really helpful. It's made me think about a budget for my spending. It shows you your balance in real time so helps me keep track of how much I've spent and what I've got left.
When I really started tracking my spending like this I could see where I was overspending (mainly buying clothes I didn't need and spending too much at he pub and on eating out!) It just made me more conscious of my choices. I still buy clothes, go the the pub and eat out but in moderation.

Oh and 100% get the ISA! It's free money. The sooner you start the better. £200 a month soon mounts up.

I have a lifetime isa through money box. It rounds up what I spend and adds the change to the isa, usually £3-£5 pm. It’s also a stocks and shares one so it increases with that too.

It may depend on internal psychology as to whether you can save or not. Some people are spenders and others aren't. I quite enjoy not spending money, see the last pair of knickers has holes in it, that I drive my late father's old car etc. Other people have a very different view and they get a huge amount of pleasure from spending money.

I have however always found it easier to take on extra work such as marking exam papers, extra public speaking, writing, editing than just saving money. People having trouble saving might want to consider weekend work ora t least airbnb, Ebay, rent a room scheme and that kind of thing.

As I don't over spend (though had to send £80 today to university student child who needed it for clothes.......) I just wait until I've a round sum spare that month and transfer it into savings, although the first money I put aside is for my tax and VAT into a separate account. I don't need to put it aside so as not to spend it.

I don't bother with ISAs as the interest is tiny and the money gets used anyway on things like student fees and children's properties so I would rather just have it there in the bank even if it's losing a bit due to inflation.

Xenia "I don't bother with ISAs as the interest is tiny and the money gets used anyway"

um, isn't that why you would use them? Some interest is better than nothing, it takes - 20 mins max to set up?