I will never be able to move out

[roldog]

I'm 25 and desperate to get my own house. But right now feel that I will never be able to afford to.

I still live with my parents, I work full time and have a boyfriend who also works full time. I have a decent wage but just feel like I will never be able to afford to get my own place.

I am saving, but it's going to take so long. At the end of every month I barely have any money left which makes me think how the hell will I ever be able to actually afford to run a house.

I'm at the stage to be wanting to start a family etc now, but obviously want my own place first. It's really getting me down.

Sorry if this sounds like a pity party, I just wanted to rant I suppose. How are young people these days supposed to get on the property ladder with the rising prices of everything?

I know it’s harder for your generation, I’m not doubting that at all but to put it into perspective for you, I was working full time, manual labour job too, it’s was shit and shit pay!
Driving back home one evening and saw a few kids in school uniform going into a fish and chip shop to buy chips, I cried my eyes out the rest of the way home! School kids could afford a bag of chips and I couldn’t (because I saved every single penny! Getting out of my abusive childhood home was paramount), I was so distraught at the time, but now 15 years on, all the sacrifices were worth it- tenfold. I moved out at 18.
At least you live in wales, I’m in south east london, it’s hard here, even back in “my day”.

What about a shared ownership or shared equity property @roldog ?

I bought my first flat for a 40% share. It was a lovely new build by the local council and was £175k at the time (around 2011). I'm now living in a 4 bedroom detached with my DH and DC but I never regret buying my own flat and having my own space. It's now worth the same as my 4 bed house (!) The property we live in is in East Anglia, and compared to my Bucks flat, it is much more affordable. But it just shows how much of a difference it can make to get on the property ladder. I totally recommend a shared ownership property as an option if you are able to. The deposit is much less too.

Honestly this thread is a little annoying OP. Even saving £400 a month you are in a very charmed position from my perspective, but knowing that you could save a grand more than that and are spending as much as you are on luxuries most would love to be able to afford, without it even registering to you that you are doing it, is hard to read.

I'm in my late twenties and I rented for years before we bought. I can't afford my mortgage this month - in fact you've probably spent my mortgage on luxuries!

I know a lot of people my age do live with their parents to save for a deposit, but it frustrates me that many like yourself don't even seem to consider renting as an option. Buying a house is not the only way of living independently and starting a family, it's very privileged to not even have considered renting.

I completely agree with this. 25 is very young to be making a huge financial commitment to another person.

I know it’s harder for your generation, I’m not doubting that at all but to put it into perspective for you, I was working full time, manual labour job too, it’s was shit and shit pay!

Is it though? I'm always hearing this from people who live at home rent free well into their lates 20's and even later. Houses might cost more but seems to me that it was harder to pay rent and work two jobs as I did than live at home and be able to save all of your (higher) wages if you choose to.

I'm 24 and in the same position, OP. I'm training in a career that will have a high wage in a few years but right now, I'm on a low wage as I'm not yet qualified. I don't own a house yet but should have the deposit in 2 years time and I promise it's doable, even if it takes time.

I do understand how difficult it can be to save money, I earn around £1500 after tax and after paying rent to my parents, car insurance, petrol, tax, putting money away each month for things like my car maintenance/MOT, phone bill, essential cosmetics such as deodorant/showergel/toothpaste, cheap/reduced food to make my packed lunches and dinners with etc I can only save about half my monthly income. This is taking into account the fact that I don't go out for dinners, don't have takeaways, don't have holidays, don't have days out that aren't free/incredibly cheap. I don't get my hair, nails or lashes done, I don't subscribe to Spotify or Netflix, I don't have a gym membership etc. It doesn't mean my life is boring by any means, but my friends/boyfriend and I spend most of our time doing things like going for countryside walks, having a small bonfire in the garden during the evening, exploring new places etc which all cost nothing, especially if you bring food from home with you.

Everything I buy is literally essential, I can't find anything I can cut that will allow me to reduce my spending further, my car is my biggest expense but it's a 2009 Corsa so I can't find one much cheaper to own and I can't do without it as I live on a remote farm in the middle of nowhere with no public transport links and a workplace that I'm unable to walk/cycle to.

Like you, I also have a boyfriend and we are saving as much as we can. We have sat down and worked out our expenses that are non-negotiable (bills, direct debits etc), then the other things we need to budget for (petrol, food, MOT/repairs, dentist fees, prescription costs etc) and set aside a monthly amount for each of them. From what was left, we decided an amount that we would put into our savings at the start of each month leaving us with a small amount each month as a "buffer" for unexpected costs. By using this "envelope budget" style of planning costs it means that we always have money for the essentials, we can always afford things like our car repairs etc but we also have a very small amount to spend on things we like while saving enough each month to be able to have a deposit in two years time. You earn more than me, I'm sure there is a way you can reduce the amount you spend and save significantly more than you are now. It's not nice having to reduce the quality of life you currently have in order to be able to save more but it's what I had to do.

As a teen I spent my whole wage each month on clothes, nails, eyelashes, takeaways etc but I sacrificed all of that to be able to save more. It obviously sucks not having the fancy things I did before but I now realise I was living way beyond my means. It means more to me now to be able to see the deposit increasing each month and knowing that I am not wasting my money on things that I don't actually need because I'm building for a future instead. I hope it works out for you OP.

I'd cut your necessary outgoings down as much as possible eg is there any way you can reduce your car payment, is it something you can over pay for a while to get rid of? Me and my husband have a Revolut account (prepayment card) where where we are paid I transfer 5% each of our total earnings. We use this to pay for fun things we don't need like pubs, takeaways, cafes etc. We never actually spend it all but I read somewhere that 10% was the suggested fun money total! It helps monitor that kind of money though.

Obviously you need the car, petrol etc.
But need to look at all other costs, even the phone (unless you in a contract). Should be saving around £1500 a month. £500 should cover the car, petrol, dog food, your food and mobile.

I know it depends where you live as to what’s affordable, but do you mean a house or a property? To buy a house as a first time buyer might be over reaching. Don’t most people start in a studio / flat / maisonette / whatever, and work up the property
ladder?

Does the property ladder exist anymore? I think people buy and extend and plan to stay forever now. Well I did and do anyway.

But we were already married with 2 kids when we bought. Rented for years and saved, plus some help.

It seems like a lot of young people expect to skip the renting stage out, too, and jump straight from living with their parents to buying their three bed semi "forever home".

I'm 2 years old than you and I moved out at 25. Similar situation that I was with parents, no rent, well paying job.

I earned slightly more than you but I'm a much pricier area for houses. What I simply did was worked out the monthly cost of running a house I would buy all-in (mortgage, utilities, contingency for repairs) and put all that in a savings account every month. Strictly didn't touch it.

That meant I could save a decent amount very quickly and when I moved out there was no change in my disposable income as I'd already been living like I had the house

It makes sense financially if you can to be fair.

It makes sense financially if you can to be fair.

Yes I know, it's the outrage or total ignorance about the idea of not doing that that gets me.

I would save £1000 a month and just plan ahead a bit with birthdays, events etc.

So just jot down all the social events for the next few months, and work out much you'll need each month. If you're spending, say, £300 per month on social life, you can go, "OK, saving £100 from that for Sarah's hen for three months, there's Eleri's birthday on the tenth, so I'll save £100 for that and just do cheap pub nights for the rest'.

No need to live like a monk or a hermit, you just need to prioritise a bit and not let the money dribble away.

Oh, and I'd sit down with your parents and ask th about house running costs. Sounds like you need to know what a household budget is too.

If you and your boyfriend live together then surely your incoming would be far higher than £2000. You talk about wanting to start a family soon, surely that means you’re in a committed relationship and his wages need to be taken into account?

It's really hard OP, with the cost of everything at the moment it feels like you do a few things socially and before you know it you've spent hundreds!

If I were you, I would try putting away £1000 when you get paid and living on the rest. That should be plenty of money to live on really, and if it isn't and you find you run out, you really won't enjoy taking the money back out of your savings!

Good luck, it does take a while to get used to the change in spending money but it will really sped up your saving. If you and your partner can save £1000 a month each, it'll only be 18 months before you have a healthy deposit for a home 🙂

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You don't have to go from home straight into a three bed. Look at other houses.