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?

Your aim is obviously not 30 or you'd be planning by now. You get to only care about being happy because you come from privilege. Nothing wrong with that, lucky you, but you are not a victim of the housing market and it is not a choice most can make.
Did your older brothers have that luxury? Will they inherit a chunk of the 5 houses?

Youngest sons friend still lives at home. At 23 bought his first house and let it. Still lives at home and is saving up to buy his second house . He may let that. His parents are fine with it.

I'd not bank on promotion soon as you appear to have spent most of today on here when surely you should be working.

Clearly, you're not ambitious or you'd have got a different career, paying more, been willing to move from a deprived area and been more of a go-getter.

Re inheritance you're talking decades away usually.

I think it would be an odd thing to be envious of to be honest. Perhaps for some people it perhaps allows them to feel superior and punch down at people they might perceive as doing less well than them. I think for most commenters though the concern about the drawbacks is genuine. Some of us have been living at home as adults long term or have people close to us that have and while they might not always apply to every case there are real drawbacks to staying at home long term into adulthood, especially if there is no plan to leave and not financial planning to do so.

So four plus years of saving? I wouldn’t leave to rent but would save very hard to buy.

So? Hardly the same scenario at all.

I suspect this is at the heart of the matter for some on here when it comes to this question of living at home - is it more/less culturally acceptable. My Grandparents on one side were high church C of E so although they wouldn't have referred to my parents as living in sin, they did push them into marriage at 21, that's probably why they divorced. However, I'm 40s and there were none of these ideas when I moved in with a boyfriend,the first time, my parents are pretty liberal anyway and were very much children of the 60s so they didn't care for conservative ideas like, 'living in sin'.

Anyone else got Pulp's Common People going around their head now?

@WeCouldBeNice I can see why you don't need to bother to save and can just enjoy life because you've got a massive safety net behind you in your parents and their five properties.

But to imply that all 26 year olds could enjoy this care free life if only they adopted your attitude is disingenuous.

Travel isn't fun in the same way if you have to worry about the future. It's not some kind of revolutionary lifestyle to do so on the bank of mum and dad.

Just be grateful you are so lucky but don't imply this is an option open to most people.

That's different. He’s planning his future (even if it is by being a landlord).

My only advice to OP is make a plan to increase her income. Apart from that I'm very happy she's having a great time living with mum and dad. My DS lives with us and I've encouraged him to go on holiday when he can.

Exactly this op. Life is short, enjoy your extra time at home. I was in such a rush to move out when I was younger. I now have a family of my own, and look back and wish I could go back even for a day. I would give anything to hear my parent who died knock on my bedroom door and ask if I wanted breakfast. Breath it all in and enjoy these happy times!

As I've already told you, there's less than a decade between us. You're only just into Gen Z. Things haven't changed that much and I know plenty of people your age who are living like adults.

Advice and opinions on this thread are basically pointless - OP’s approach is predicated on her parents being loaded and always willing and able to help her out.

When she’s 32 and wants to buy a house with a partner, she won’t be wracked with regrets over spending all her money on holidays because her parents will almost certainly give her £30k and she’ll be absolutely fine.

I told my dc in their early teens that I’m happy for them to stay with us rather than renting while saving to buy a house. Renting is extortionate, dead money and they should only do it if they move away to another area for uni/work. I also encourage travel but stress the need to be saving something towards their future. They are all under 23 living at home which is fine for now but we do expect them all to move out, hopefully before they’re 28-30.

If you have a good relationship with your parents, pay your way & pull your weight then it’s all good op. As long as your parents are happy with the arrangement, its none of your siblings business. One of my siblings moved back
home after divorce & was there a good few years. It was none of my business, I had moved out & bought a house with my now DH.

You are fortunate that your parents have allowed you to stay at home

Make the most of your youth

Make the most of your freedom

However, do you still want to be working at 67; 68 state pension age ?

Pay into a work pension

Save some, spend some

Take no notice of some of these posts OP.
ps I wrote another post earlier so I won’t add anything here.

What a weird thread - it’s a bit like the WFH threads, some people are very triggered by the idea of multigenerational homes.

I was desperate to move out in my 20s for the freedom to do what I wanted without parental oversight but looking back I’d have been far better off in many ways by not moving out.

OP - I second the saving advice though - you and your younger sibling should start putting a little bit away every month. Then if you do end up needing to rent together you’ll have the deposit and first month’s rent ready to go.

Youre not earning that much OP. Could you retrain and have travelling as part of your job? Flight attendant, cruise line work or teaching English abroad?

By ‘certain generations’ do you mean your 5 property owning parents 😂

As a parent I actively encourage such a choice for my two DS. 1 is still in education other works full time and has a gf who lives with us 4 days a week. They can live with me for as long as they want so they can save travel take what ever opportunity they want and move up the career ladder at a pace that suits them before they become responsible adults tied down by mortgage/rent, join the rat race start a family etc.
My only ‘rule’ is in return is they save something every month for their future. My older ds and gf hold down full time jobs and spend their time off traveling, or exploring. Young ds 16 has a part time job alongside studying, and saves the majority of money.
Maybe I’d have a different outlook if they were out drinking every weekend, weren’t working and failing to mature though.
But I do agree why encourage young people to join the rat race when there isn’t the immediate rush of everyone is happy and content with current living arrangements.

But some people don’t have a plan of “where they see themselves in 5 years+”. Why does it make them a child?

I know I want a house, a comfortable retirement. Beyond that? Nothing massive comes to mind but I am no less an adult for that.

I think OP is short-sighted in assuming she can never retire / afford a house. But short-sighted does not equate to childlike.

How will you finance this in 4 years if you don’t start saving now?

There is a beauty “influencer” I follow on instagram who is similar. I don’t know about saving but she lives at home in her mid 30s and says despite the criticism she is happier than she has been previously and gets on well with her parents.

A good friend of mine is mid 30s and lives at home with his mom, dad and elderly grandmother. His brother used to live there too but has a child and girlfriend so lives there now. My friend has two investment properties so there is nothing keeping him at home except enjoying living with close family.

I definitely think you should save but there is nothing wrong with living your parents.

Two of My aunts lived with their father till he passed away!

By the age of 26, I had a degree, and had gone back to do a masters. I had worked as a bar supervisor, waitress, restaurant manager, youth worker, pension administrator, in a repair centre for luxury goods, worked in schools all over London. I had spent a year living in a developing country, inter railed around Europe, lived in three different cities. I got my first salaried job at 27. I don't regret a second of any of that (was unsurprisingly diagnosed with ADHD in late 30s).

The only impact this had was when I bought somewhere to live I had less deposit and so I went for shared ownership, which I bought aged 35. I would recommend getting on the housing ladder by your mid 30s latest- that's around the average age of buying a house in the UK now. It gives you lee way financially the earlier you do it.

The only one thing I would change is I should have started my pension immediately at 27, or even paid into one before that. And I'd make sure I invested in low cost index funds much earlier.