I’m 26, and I’m not saving for a house or planning to move out

[WeCouldBeNice]

And apparently that’s a very unpopular decision amongst certain family members.

I have grown up always listening to my mum and grandmother saying that they regretted not travelling more in their youth. So I’m doing it, before I can have any regrets.

i work a job that pays just under £25k. Moving out would be miserable. I’d exist to pay my bills and nothing more. I am unable to borrow enough to even purchase a flat in my local area. So I’m spending all my money on travelling instead. Short trips. Weekends away and longer European trips next year.

my older brothers are horrified by this (despite both doing it themselves). They think I should be moved out and renting by now.

my dad turned round to them yesterday and asked if they wanted to ever see their daughters struggling and unhappy. They obviously said no, so he asked why they expected that of me. They couldn’t really answer.

theoretically I could take the money I’m putting into my travel savings each month and use it to save for a house. But I’d never get a big enough deposit to allow me to buy anything even anywhere near decent to live in. And I’d then be bound to a mortgage and never be able to do anything other than sit at home.

is it really that bad to do this?

He's not paying all his outgoings, he's living rent free.
Not sure how much simpler to put this!

It’s simply not true past generations had it easy - we scrimped and saved to buy our first home and didn’t have holidays for years. Plus we had the massive interest rates in the 1980/90s too.
It’s a complete fallacy that it was easier back then, we just made different choices. Our parents didn’t own their own homes so for us (H and me) it was really important to buy.
We’ve since travelled the world including with our kids as we started to earn more. It would have been nice to travel in our 20s but we couldn’t do both.

I am 20 years older than you so life, affordability of property etc was all very different when I was young. Plus I grew up in Wales and my career was and is in London so I had no option to live at home. I can entirely see your logic but I agree with those who are suggesting that you probably ought to be putting a bit aside rather than spending the lot on holidays. UK and European breaks are very easy to do throughout your life, with or without kids. It's not that you'll never get the chance to do them if you don't do them now. If you were off to South America or Africa it might be different, but I don't really get why you feel this is your chance to have holidays in Europe just because your mother and grandmother, in entirely different situations from you, wished they had travelled when they were younger.

Did you have a very young Nan as if you are 26, people who were born in the 1930s/40s didn't really go travelling. My parents had their youth in the sixties and did go abroad to live for a year but they were the only people in their friendship group to do so.

It sounds fun but how do relationships work don't you need your own space with a relationship when you are getting into your late 20s?

"The greatest burden a child must bear is the unlived life of the parents”

So white people then

It is that simple though. Of course housing is expensive, but spending everything is only going to make things harder in the long run. And it's not only housing that young people should save for - weddings, cars, children, periods of unemployment or sickness... Very stupid to save nothing when you live cheaply at home.

you are young and that is the time to travel and do stuff. Obvs not forever but to do so for a year say I think is fine.
Good that you have a job. A lot of older people who weren't adventurous in their youth are only too eager to stifle others, I think.

Do you intend to live at home when you are 30?

Do you want to have a partner and children?

These are more important life goals than holidays.

If you think only white people live in those places, then your answer is yes.

Note everyone in those countries is white.If you want to split hairs, then yes, culture can include colour. And?

It's not about stifling anyone, it's about OP taking some sort of responsibility for her future, even a vague plan that doesn't rely on her parent's generosity.

I was a similar age to you when I bought my house - I so wish I had taken my money and gone travelling instead. Do what you can when you're young!

The only people who think we had it easy then are those who didn’t live through it. When I bought my first property (a tiny one bedroom flat with no hallway, just each room coming off the living room) I had many sleepless nights worrying about the cost of it all. I nearly had a heart attack when I got my first service charge bill and burst into tears, I was so unprepared for it all. But roll on the years and I no longer have any mortgage to pay and live in a detached house (although now want to downsize). If I was paying rent now (early 60s) I’d never feel free.

My dd is the same age as you and in the same boat. On her wages getting her own place is pretty much impossible, so at present she is working on her career, pursuing hobbies, and going on lots of holidays. She is saving too, but more for a rainy day than a future home. She is happy living at home, we all get on well, no problems.

Different generations had/have different challenges.
The problem is that some people believe they're entitled to go from the relative comfort of their parent's homes to the relative comfort of their own homes, without realising that many parents have had much less comfortable times and have had to scrimp and save to become comfortable now.

Your parents sound great. They’ve realised life is for living.

Agree with the poster that says make hay while the sun shines. We don’t know what’s around the corner but it’s definitely not mass affordable housing being built!

The thing to remember is....ultimately as you get older/I'll health you dont want to be in rented when you can't earn....its truly miserable then...that's the point of buying..anything.. so you dont spend later years form filling and seriously struggling. Your pension wont be much if youre off travelling not working. Pension needs to cover maintaing your home, replacing car, white goods etc as well as utility bills etc.When your young healthy and earning it seems too far away to consider. If youve really got that covered ,then, go for it ...save a little, enjoy the now.

I would recommend trying to at least max out the LISA bonus ideally in a stocks isa that tracks the market you would need to put away £333.33 a month to get the full gov bonus. In 4 years you will have put in 16k and have 20k plus interest likely around £25k and that should be achievable on your wage living at home while still going on holidays.

Are you wanting to be a mother at any point?

Assuming you live in a house that your mother and father own/rent, it is completely up to them if it's OK for you to continue living there. Your brothers have no say. It sounds like your dad already stood up for you (and himself and your mum) to them; good for him. Whether or not what you're doing is the best thing in the long term for YOUR well-being is another question, but that's really your business too.

Ignore all the naysayers. I'm so, so grateful to my parents who supported me in all my crazy plans when I was younger. In fairness I had moved out but I kept doing random shit like a year here and there in places, I always ended up back at theirs and they were fine with it. I think I finally stopped fannying about at around 28.

I am now 52, married with children of 16 and 14 and a very stable, good job. We have said as long as our offspring are well mannered and contribute to the household, they can stay as long as they want.

I agree with travelling while young and that home ownership isn’t for everyone but it’s the ‘no plans to move out’ part I don’t agree with.

I was 26 when I moved out of home and shared a rental house with my sister and I felt like that was leaving it a bit late. There was still money left over to do some travelling, maybe not months at a time but a 3-4 week trip overseas most years from Australia. There’s no reason why you can’t get an affordable house / flat share and still travel. Travel from the UK is much more affordable than travelling long distance from Australia and getting shafted in the exchange rate,

Moving out and spreading your wings is an important part of growing up.

It's not being a naysayer to suggest some forward thinking. HTH

New homes are being mass bought by Blackrock £1b i think that will gradually put rents up as there will be shareholders to keep happy. Rents never go down and therefore future deposits and fees will go up. So if in rented the savings for any future move needs to be saved for anyway.