How to save for deposit on 69,500

[Thatsajokeright]

inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/how-i-live-69500-salary-saving-buy-a-flat/

This is satire, right?

Poor darling. Grimly holding on despite only going abroad every other weekend and spending my monthly food budget twice every week on food and going out. Must be grim down south.

When we lived in London DH and I earned less than that joint and managed to save as much as her per month. Her food budget is double what our joint food budget was, and we ate very healthily. She must be buying gold plated tofu to spend that much money. She's completely out of touch with reality.

£500 a month to spend on treats 😂

Look no further, it’s satire

What a stupid article.

How do people save for deposits in the real world. Even a modest deposit of £10-15k is impossible to save when you're paying everyday expenses.

@NewYearNewMe18 I broke and read the article. It said she makes her lunch at home now but goes out and spends £100 a week on entertainment.

@KanielOutis by earning a lot more than the average London wage.

I wish I could put that much in a pension

Ok, clearly she earns more money than a lot of people (including me), but there's a really nasty tone to this thread. Just because she earns a good wage it doesn't mean she's not living in the real world and doesn't mean she doesn't need to think and plan for the future or that her experiences can't help other people. What is the magic financial threshold after which you're supposed to shut up and hang your head in embarrassment at your abundance of riches? Leave the woman alone! Or start a financial management advice column as clearly so many people on this thread are so brilliant at it. Rant over!

The small 2 bed flat we were renting for 1800 a month in london, was worth around 650,000 to buy. And it needed doing up. So yeah, 65,000 would have been a 10% deposit, plus solicitor fees etc. And then another 15-20,000 to do up.

Welcome to London!

ImogenTubbs

It's not because people are jealous as you imply. Her "tips" - cut down in taxis and 'only' spend £500+ a month on 'extras' to rent/bills - is patronising and makes her look like an idiot. She doesn't come out of that article well at all

I agree with Imogen. I think the takeaway from the article is that she earns a large salary in the first place so there’s bound to be loads of discretionary spending to make cuts to. Good luck to her.

I think I'm reading a different article to you all she says on that salary she can save £1500 a month and buy a flat she likes this year. She's not moaning about not having any money.

Cookbook - I wasn't exactly implying envy, more the idea that there seems to be some indeterminate amount of money after which people aren't allowed to have financial worries or make mistakes and if they do they are stupid and living in fairy land.

And actually having lived in London I know exactly what it's like to be facing an hour plus journey home after drinks with friends at 11pm on three different modes of public transport and one creepy walk and thinking that a £25 taxi won't make that much difference....

She saves 37.5% of her monthly salary, so for someone on £25k a year that's around £9,300 in savings leaving you around £1,300 a month to spend on living costs.

I don't think that's entirely unrealistic if you pro rata it.

Anyone who does well for them selves and earns a decent salary is always derided on MN.

It's perfectly reasonable to value time over money and splurge on a taxi, but in an article worded to convey "I'm scrimping for a deposit" is a bit rich (pun intended).

I commute 2.5hrs to London 5 days a week from Kent and I'd happily pay £25 to get home in half that time if I could! But I'd also not brag about cutting down when simultaneously spending fairly extravagantly. Like a PP says, it implies to people that those who can't afford to save are not trying hard enough, which is bull

£80 a week on food. £100 a week on eating and drinking out. £4500 a year on holidays.

"a Netflix documentary called “Minimalism”. ...really changed my thinking when it comes to buying things that I don’t need."

LOL.

ImogenTubbs

She can do what she likes with her money. But since she's written an article to tell people how to cut down on their spending so they can save for a deposit, I think it's perfectly fair to comment on it. And my comment is: she could easily be saving twice as much as she currently manages.

Living in London is expensive. I don't know how anyone on an average wage does it. We moved away 30 years ago. This woman earns an above average income and seems to be finding a balance between saving for her flat and living as she still is doing holidays, spends loads on food and has money for treats and comfortably paying bills but manages to save around 45% of her salary on house deposit and pension contributions. She obviously could save more by cutting down on other stuff but that is her business as to how fast she saves the deposit.

bridget That's it exactly. Many people can't afford to save as they're already having to choose between food and heat. Or the amount they can save is so small as to be negligible as it would come to £50/year or something.

The whole premise of the article is difficult for me. Someone who earns a lot looking at how they can cut down on fripperies to purchase a property when many people can never dream to own in London and others are really struggling to make ends meet.

If you have a large amount of discretionary spending then it is easy to make savings. There are many people who don't have that option. I think it shows a lack of awareness of the reality of many people's lives.

Imogen
I do think that there is a point beyond which you should just manage your finances quietly. I am a high earner and I bloody wince when I see people on threads complaining how expensive school fees are and how they are scrimping to meet them etc. I pay more in school fees than the average wage in this country (2 DC) and I am hugely fortunate to be in a position to do so. No matter how well I manage my money to be able to do that I am not scrimping or struggling and shouldn't put myself in the same boat as those who really are finding things hard.

Are most people missing the point of the article? She's not saying she's struggling to save at all. She's saving £1,500 per month and most of the article is about how she managed to up that from £800 by making some small changes.

Curb the indignation FFS!

Curb the indignation FFS!
Ditto