Where were/are you financially at 28?

[SunshineOverStress]

So I’m 28, still live at home, have no savings but I do own a nice car which is worth around 14k.

I want to save up for a deposit but living in Greater London it seems an impossible task to be able to buy a place by myself!

I’ve been on a lot of nice holidays, went travelling for 4 months last year, and waste a lot of money on going out drinking and eating! I always end up choosing to spend money on travel rather than for my future and want to at least try to find a balance!

Has anyone got any tips or suggestions? Preferably without the suggesting of selling my car as it brings me joy everyday! Am I failing at being an adult by having never have moved out at my age? 🙈

Owned a nice big house with dh. But had not travelled or even been on any hugely expensive holidays. Cars were second hand. Had finally bought our first sofa and stopped using packing boxes as furniture.

Owning a house was very important to us so we prioritised that. Doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally wistfully think of what else we “could have done”. Once you have kids travelling gets a gazillion tomes more complicated.

At 28 I had been moved out of my parent’s home for 3 about years and lived in rented a flat near where I worked.

I was quite comfortably off, depending on what people consider to be “comfortable”.

I had a take home pay of about £1600 and my rent/bills came to about £500 a month.

My car insurance was about £110 a month and then apart from general shopping and petrol, I had no other regular expenditures.

I don’t drink, so no expensive nights out, I didn’t have expensive hobbies and I didn’t take overly expensive holidays, all of which enable me to put about £400-£500 away a month into savings.

I was pregnant with my first child. Living in my second (purchased) flat in London. High earner in the City earning more than I've earned since (I peaked in 2000 I think and am just nearly now earning that amount again).

I'd taken a year out, travelled extensively, ate out in amazing places, and bought my first flat at 24.

But I was 28 21 years ago! It was easier to buy a property then - my deposit was £12k for a £100k flat. And much has happened in my life since - divorce, career change and growing older.

28 was a busy year for me! Bought my first house with DH, fell pregnant and got married. Live nowhere near London though so all of these events were reasonably priced!

I was doing a crap temping job. I lived in a housing association flat. I couldn't drive as I couldn't afford lessons. I lived hand to mouth really. I had only ever been on three holidays abroad as an adult, only one in the UK. I had two credit cards and an overdraft all up to the limit.

I bought a house at age 33 with my boyfriend(who I met at 30). We lived in the same house for 20 years until last year!

Just finalised my second divorce at 28 (costing me quite a lot in go-away money) and bought my first house (technically London, but zone thousand).

At 28 I was married to someone who earned well and I earned ok.
We lived in a nice house and had nice cars and holidays

He was an abusive arse though and I left when I was 29

Sold the house and came out with about £50k equity for my half as he’d taken out loans in joint names without me knowing.

2 years later I had a much better job and bought a house with my boyfriend (now husband)

Left home as a teenager bought my first home at 21, by 28 I was living in a nice home with no mortgage.
I regret not travelling and if I could have my time over again I would go backpacking and settle in NZ

So you spend all your money on luxuries, you want to keep all the luxuries and now you’d like to buy a house ?
Start buying lottery tickets ?

Living with a partner. The house is in his name. Studying for a masters and working PT. Got a little bit of savings, maybe a grand or so, and a little bit in an a ISA. Own a little car outright (not fancy).

I'm 28
I'm married. 2 kids, private renting & trying failing to save for a mortgage deposit. We live in the south west. Both work, my car is 10 years old, DH's is brand new

I’d really think about offloading the car at 14k rather than holding on until it’s worth, say, 0k. It’s a depreciating asset, joy or no joy.

You need to decide what your priorities are, what you really want to achieve or enjoy in life. If it’s the car, holidays, nights out etc then there nothing wrong with that and you are currently doing well for yourself if you are managing those things without building up debt.
But if you really want a home to call your own then every penny you spend on these things you are effectively stealing from your future self. If you save half of this or a bit of that, you may find the housing market in London outstrips the speed you are able to save a deposit it.
£14k is a 10% deposit on a 3 bed semi in a decent area in my part of the country, but obviously wouldn’t buy you a front doorstep in London.

I did get pregnant at 18 though and moved out at 19, never been abroad, only had holidays here in the UK.

You’ve just chosen different priorities to the ones I did.

I moved out of my parents’ house after uni (having lived away at uni anyway since I was 18). At 28 I had been married for 5 years, had a baby, our own house, good career etc.

We prioritised owning our own home, having a family, savings & security over holidays and flash cars. I’ve never had a car worth 14k, for example, and I’m 35 now!

That’s been our choice - you’ve just made a different one. Neither is better or worse. Had I not met my dh when I did my life might have looked more like yours at 28.

At 28 I had been working in my profession for 2 years, earning approx £14 k a year . I moved back home at 27 to save money to build a house and get married . Previously I had lived in a house share for £500 /3 a month so not terribly expensive anyway .
I was driving a £2k second hand car and went on two holidays between 26 and 31 with my now husband. I paid off my overdraft, my student loans and saved for my house .
If you want a house you will have to make sacrifices.

By 28 I'd ideally like to have £20-25k in my LISA. Until I have a salaried job I won't be buying a house but at least I'll have a half decent deposit. However I do live at home with my parents and have basically no social life and haven't travelled quite as much as I would like (would love to do a couple of months going round Europe). My monthly outgoings are also very low, only got my used car 6 months ago and I only use it to go to and from work/gym (max 10 mins each way) so that doesn't cost me much either.

I’m 28, I rent with a friend on the border of Essex/London, have 4K in savings which I add a minimum of 500 to each month and I buy clothes and go out for drinks/dinner often and have a nice car

I was living at home.

I had about £32,000 of debt (including car and student loans).

Where I am now is unbelievable in light of that it but came at the cost of having to work full time when both my babies were small.

28. Car bought outright as a one year old, paid off 1/4 of my mortgage.

Comparison is the thief of joy, OP.

No point comparing your situation to that of people who were 28 20 years ago (like me). We had it miles easier. Miles. Genuinely. It was much easier to buy a house in the 1990s because they cost so much less in relation to average earnings and we didn’t have massive student debts.

At 28 I’d bought my first house, on my own, with a £40k mortgage and £30k of savings. I was dead lucky with the latter. I didn’t need a student loan because I lived on my grant in a cheap city, so left university in credit from bar and holiday jobs. Got a good graduate job straight away: easier then, fewer graduates. Got moved around by employer so didn’t have opportunity to spend loads. Didn’t do expensive holidays, nor did my mates. Year out travelling was something posh people did, not people like me!

Didn’t have a car: I worked in cities and couldn’t see the point. Got the train to work and to visit friends/family instead. Lived in shared houses: cheaper than renting my own flat. Had the sense to save. Got lucky with a few building society flotations by accident: free money. Liked clothes but didn’t spend a mint on them (wish I was still like that). Ended up with a decent sum for a deposit when I decided I was sick of shared houses and wanted my own place.

Generation X really had it easy. I read that the mid to late 1990s was the time when it was easiest for most people to buy their own house, and that accords with my experience. Sheer luck. I wish you equal luck with your future OP.

I moved out after uni, rented for about 5-6 years, bought a 2 bed shared ownership flat in London with my DH at 26. We’d also travelled loads in that time. He was doing a PhD so I guess we were on about £70-80k combined - but his stipend wasn’t allowed to count towards our mortgage. Four years later and we earn 3-4x that and were about to move before the crisis hit.

I think saving and living at home makes loads of sense if it’s an option, but only if you save and ringfence what you would have spent on rent every month - otherwise you’ll be there forever and look back when you’re older and wonder what you did with all that money. I do understand the lure of travel though and also that it feels like buying somewhere is impossible. Have you looked into shared ownership, help to buy etc? I have had no issues with shared ownership and would recommend it - especially if you get a flatmate who can cover most of your mortgage and bills letting you save up for your next place or to buy the rest of the share.

Please tell me you’re not a typical 20 something ?
This post is ridiculous tbh and insulting to those of who made sacrifices to own a house .

At 28 I had just moved into my second house, having bought the first at 24.

I had a basic car, a few thousand in savings and a good job. My money went on the mortgage plus a few hundred a month overpayment, and Fabulous holidays😊.

Looking back, I got the balance right. Still drive pretty basic car, have paid off most of my mortgage and am pretty financially secure.

I lived in greater London, bought my flat at 25 working full time, plus a second job to be able to save on top. I moved back to my parents from 22-25 after uni and worked my arse off to save while I had the chance (I payed keep but nowhere near market rent). I was earning arrive £24k when I bought my flat. That was in 2009

When I was 28 I'd just got married and overnight owned half of a £200k house (and it's mortgage) I was earning £35k a year, still had student loan debt (still do) and some debts although also some savings so probably £3k up. Previous to that we blew money on said wedding, nice but not fancy holidays (happily stayed in a hostel now and again). Never owned a car worth more than £4k although letting the neighborhood down as it's usually his 'n hers personalised number plated Audi's round here!

It's almost impossible to buy a place without either some inherited wealth/handout somewhere or alternatively a punishing lifestyle.

If I hadn't met my husband would have probably rented all my life or at a snails pace saved a small deposit for somewhere modest.