What would you do with this money?

[themoneyman]

I am 21 and currently a full time university student, just about to complete my first year, and also work part time. I live at home with my mum who doesn't charge me anything for living here as i chose to study in my home town. I have managed to save £5,000 pounds this year from my student loan and part time earnings (I am a saver!). I run a small car that i own outright, but this is my only large expense. I am beginning to think about my future. These are my options currently.

1. Think of the long term and continue saving and living at home, i would potentially have £15,000 plus at the end of my course. I would use this money towards a house/flat deposit, assuming i find employment quickly. (Sensible option!)

1. Move into privately rented accomadation now and money would be used for furniture etc. ( I am desperate for my own space!). I am not keen on house sharing, so this isn't an option. Me and my mum get along but she has a tendency to still treat me like a child and imposes rules, curfews etc

1. Fuck it and just go travelling and buy a new car and a whole host of other indulgent things!

Put some of it into a help to buy ISA, government will top up savings if it is used to buy a house.

Maybe use some for a trip?

1. Pay DM for your keep, she may stop treating you like a child.

I would go with option 1. It seems the most boring one now but you will be SO thankful to be on the property ladder with your own home by the time you graduate. Having an asset like that would be very beneficial for the future too (pension etc).
You could always put a grand towards a cheaper holiday abroad maybe? Doing something like youth hosteling in Europe doesn’t have to be expensive. Somewhere like Thailand can be very cheap too once the flight is paid for (you can get ultra cheap accommodation on the beach and the food costs next to nothing)

Definitely option 1. Good on you for being so savvy with your cash. Get sorted with a house. Other things can follow after that.

Erm, namechange fail there, OP!
People may advise as they wish- you courted opinion!

Can you overpay the loan or keep to pay it off. Starting your career without loan debt would be nice.

I did not make a nasty comment. I was merely saying that if you complain about your DM treating you as a child you could demonstrate that you are an adult.
No offence meant.

Dont waste your time, money and energy renting, if you can live at home reasonably happily. Renting can be pretty stressful with a bad landlord or just the responsibility of managing a house. Perhaps you need to have a conversation with your mum and set new boundaries.

So £15000 to spend or invest. I wouldnt bother with a bigger or newer car. The help to buy ISA is a great idea, max figure you can put in £12000 and govt gives you £3000 (when you buy). You get your money back if you decide not to buy.

Spend £3000 on travel or other experiences that will last you a lifetime (personally I wish Id gone on volunteering 'holidays' counting dolphins or something).

Definitely option 1. It would be a lot harder to save for a deposit if you used it to start renting somewhere. Paying rent and bills makes saving thousands difficult. This is a great opportunity for you to get your own place.

The other option I would consider is not getting a student loan again and living off your part time wages with your 5K as a buffer. Seems pointless to get into debt when you don't need to.

You know that you will be paying interest on your student loan?

Maybe have a trip, and pop the rest in to an ISA?

In hindsight I wish I'd have used mine towards a depositors buy, I'd suggest option 1 ☺️

Deposit to buy*

Option 1 allll the way

I'm torn between just being young and living for the moment and setting myself up for the future. I know that in 10 years time i would thank myself for being sensible though.

Sunnyshores gives excellent advice. Stay living with mum, save your 15k, put 12k into the help to buy isa, you’ll get 3k when you come to buy. And use the extra 3k you’ve saved to do something fun. A car is a waste of money but travelling is a great life experience. You’re very young and obviously really sensible so I think it would be really good to do something just for you! It will be much harder to do a big trip when you’re working. So do it after graduation and have an excellent time

What about a a combination of 3 and 1? Once you've moved out and have bills to pay it becomes a lot harder to do serious travelling (as opposed to a fortnight on a beach somewhere). But don't spend it all - hang on to a chunk of it to start you off on a deposit.

I'm 31 and the two things I want the most now are being able to spend some proper time abroad, and a house of my own. I'm slowly getting to the second but the travel is getting further out of reach.

I still think the ISA is best, but definitely dont deny yourself the opportunity to be young and live for the moment - that doesnt come around again!

BUT there is a middle ground between spending it all on nail varnish and prosecco and being boringly sensible. What is it that the frivilous you would be spending it on? Perhaps just saying it, will help you to decide if it will make you happy

Put it in an ISA or something so that you can pay the student loan back ?

Babyroobs : I agree with you.
There is nothing that beats being debt free. It's like walking on air and trust me I have been up to my eye balls in debt.
Now that I am debt free, there is no way I want to be in that position again.
I would say maybe leave 1,000. to go on a nice holiday when you graduate and use the rest to get rid of that student loan which will feel like a monkey on your back.

But you haven’t saved it all right? Just nit spent your student loan and rates on that not so great anymore?

option 1 all the way. really the money isn't yours as it's student loans not used. personally i'd pay that off asap. best to go forward in life without that monkey on your back.

If I were you I'd go travelling. Do it while you're young and still can! Travelling isn't a waste of money, it can really enrich your life, make you more independent and help you to grow as a person. You've got the whole of the rest of your life to be old and boring! (I'm in my 40s, never went travelling, bought my house young, and have been saddled with debt ever since.)

Molly is right, unless you are thinking of never earning a good salary all you have done is borrow your house deposit? Maybe I am missing the point but why would you take the loan if you didn't need it, it's not free money unless you intend to stay on a lower income.

1 or 2 depending on how much I disliked living at home and how rich I was forecasting myself to be. I'm not interested in travelling or cars.

Renting is not "money down the drain" it buys freedom and a different lifestyle. Whether it is worth it or not depends on how much money £15k is to you. If you are going to be a high earner, it is not a lot of money.

I lived away from my parents for uni and I wouldn't swap that for £15k now.