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?

I’ve not RTFT but you need to consider your ageing parents and the position of carer that you could find yourself in. Where you want to leave but can’t because they become dependent on you.

No but Oslo, Copenhagen, Monaco, Milan, and Geneva all are and they’re on my list for next year! Exploring the UK is also important to me though because we have stunning landscapes and nature on our doorsteps and we should appreciate that.

you’ve clearly made your mind up based on your multiple comments that don’t really apply to the situation I’m in.

Just don’t bother with Cornwall it’s shite and stupidly expensive.

What do you want from your life though, do you want to meet someone get married and ha e kids or just live at home forever and be childless living in your parents house? Where do you see yourself in 10 20 years?

We can agree to disagree.

You'd have to know OP a lot better to know if you were right about some of this. And what on earth have dinner parties got to do with anything?

Her dad sounds awesome and understanding of the impossible situation in which so many young people find themselves. Perhaps she will meet a lovely gentleman who is a high earner on one of her fabulous trips to Europe. In general, heterosexual men do not put the same value women do on the net worth/career/salary of potential partners. Perhaps she doesn't want children? OP I feel a lot of posters are projecting as they had to scrimp, save and suffer.

To be happy. And right now I am.

This totally.
However please could I just advise, don't rely on your NHS pension, it will be good but not enough to live on.
If you stay living at home you will end up with caring responsibilities for your parents.
Your brother's might be concerned about inheritance if you are still living at home.
Some frank conversations now might help.
You have to live your life doing what makes you happy and if your parents are happy with the situation, I don't see the issue because it is totally nobody else's business.

It does seem a pretty immature decision to make, and one that will likely have a huge impact on your future. Savings might not feel like much now, but it may be the difference between being able to afford to have children when older or raising your children in poverty and renting forever. In the same way some women find living at home with parents immature in your thirties a massive red flag, many men will too. And unless you're planning to convince your parents to disinherit your siblings, your siblings do not sound like they will have much patience for your situation once your parents are gone or in need of the money. I think you need a backup fund, having a DC living at home mid twenties feels different to having a DC living at home in their 30s for most.

Never ever have I told anyone a story about my children’s first steps and they are the same age as the OP. What is there to tell? They stood up and put one foot in front of the other and walked.

Dinner parties are boring, travelling is much more fun and when you are on your deathbed do you want memories and the satisfaction of a life well travelled with priceless memories or a nice house that you can’t take with you?

As you can tell OP I’m very much in favour of travelling. There’s a whole world out there to explore and I encourage younger people to get out there and see it. I had my kids very young but I’m early forties now and have more freedom and I travel as much as possible.

How are you fitting in travelling with your job? When you say travelling do you mean open ended adventures or a booked holiday?

You talk about not wanting to follow your mother’s and grandmother’s situation which was extreme in one direction but the opposite of imbalance is imbalance and you seem to have gone for the opposite extreme. It’s great to travel and a good time for you to do it, but you can still be saving up some money as you go along. You seem determined to have no savings except for your holiday fund and that is a bit hard to fathom.

I don't see why not. Moving away and living alone is a relatively recent phenomenon. When I was a child (a long time ago) the extended family was the norm. Families stayed together for a lifetime. Over time it came to be seen as the thing to do to move away and "live your own life". Op is living her own life.

Op, I think if you and your parents are happy there is no reason for you to change your lifestyle. Others will be jealous of you being able to travel etc, but be strong and confident in your choice. Enjoy your life and ignore the naysayers.

If you don’t want the whole marriage and babies thing then enjoy and stay as long as you are comfortable. I suspect my kids will be similar.

Houseshares are a great way to meet people, I met my husband through one and it widens your social group. I also moved to somewhere with more young professionals. A friend who stayed home was terminally single and it seemed to hold her back. She was also a big traveller. She was very unhappy and this is why I’d hope my kids move out for a while and gain more independence.

Your salary is super low however, I earned similar nearly 20 years ago as a low level public sector worker. How can you be expected live on that realistically. Do explore other careers if not tied to the NHS. I retrained after kids and increased my salary fairly quickly in the private sector.

Annual leave and making use of bank holidays for long weekends

I think you sound immature. You can do both. The problem here is your salary. I would take some travel money and spend it on furthering your skills or education.
it’s all fun and games until you’re 35 and then you still with your parents regretting not making better choices. You should be saving quite a bit now while you can.

You dont understand what a LISA is. Its just a tax wrapper so you can also invest in stocks and shares which long term should outperform inflation. I suggest listening to meaningful money podcast. Im not saying you shouldnt carry on doing what you are doing for now. But its definitely worth getting more informed about investing. I had no idea in my 20s and like you just paid into my db pension scheme. Im now throwing money at a dc pot so i can hopefully retire earlier than 67. And do some travelling again!

There will come a time when OP won’t be able to live at home, unless her parents intend on leaving the property to just her, and that won’t go down well with her siblings. And do parents really want their forty year old living with them and would a forty year old want to live with their parents? OP isn’t going to be in her 20s for that much longer. Also let’s be honest, telling people you still live at home at 35 isn’t that appealing to others, if OP was a man I’m pretty sure it would be a turn off. I honestly don’t believe people will be ‘jealous’ of her being able to travel. It’s not that out of reach to have cheap breaks abroad for anyone with a full time job and feelings of envy.

25K is just under 1800 take home

Op could easily save 1K monthly and still have 800 fun money

100pw expenses and 400 for travel

Never mind Op will be back in a few years moaning about not being on the property ladder blah blah
It's soooo unfair
Poor me

Tiny 🎻

Well in that case you're holidaying rather than travelling, and using all you leave for that in you 20s is hardly unusual. The difference for me being that my house and day to day life was funded from my salary and my trips were funded via overtime (and a lot of it). If your particular job doesn't have significant overtime (by which i mean entire additional shifts) as an option then you need to think about a second job to supplement your lifestyle. Then you can have savings, for a flat, plus travel.

There's a balance to had here. You do need savings and being at home with no real outgoings is the going to be the best time in your life to do this. You'll never have this much financial freedom again.
You need to think long term as well as short term.
You also need to learn to manage your money because when you do eventually move out that will be the biggest skill you will need.
People still travel and own a home.
Also as you say property prices are continually rising therefore the quicker you can get on the ladder the better - you don't have to buy right now but you do need to plan for it.

What happens when you meet the love of your life?
Is this your 'plan' - to find someone to help you buy somewhere?

Do you intend to live with your parents forever?

Travel but look for a better job so you’re planning for the long term as well.