Help me get motivated to save for a house

[DieAntword]

Husband and I were talking tonight. He reckons if we realllllly tried and scrimped and saved and all his bonuses went straight to savings instead of on impulse purchases of shiny things we could pull a deposit together in 2 years. This is a lot quicker than I imagined and it seems more motivating than imagining it happening slower.

But so far we’ve been dreadful at actually making the necessary sacrifices to save.

Can people tell me all the great things about owning your own home, because two years isn’t long to give things up if it’s worth it, sell the sacrifices to me, tell me why it’s worth it!

Ideally we’ll buy somewhere really close to his work and save a lot on transport although his work is not centrally located so we’d still have to pay transport costs to actually get into town, but there’s a small high street near it.

We’d have to sacrifice probably to live close to his work in terms of the size and niceness of the house but I think it’s worth it in that time frame. Once we have a house we can learn to drive and once we can drive we can think about if we like the idea of moving again (not for at least 5 years because I don’t think it’s worth it if you don’t stay put at least that long) maybe to somewhere bigger but further out.

So things I like the idea of: getting to decorate, not worrying about being evicted if the landlord wants to sell, getting to choose my own cooker, knowing my “rent” is paying toward me owning something not just disappearing into someone else’s pocket, getting to choose my own boiler, putting a smart thermostat on each individual radiator and fine tuning the temperature of each room at different times of day, getting a dog.

It's yours, no landlord inspections, no one telling you what you can and can't do, not renting as a pensioner and being skint in your retirement.

Oh yeah definitely don’t still want to rent as a pensioner. Just so easy to say next month is when we start being thrifty. It’s been next month for years. We’d have raised a deposit and paid a quarter of the mortgage off practically if we’d started saving when we said we would ;_;

Need to suck it up and just do it!

How old are you both?

I’m 32 and he’s 31.

What are you living in at the moment? If you're overhoused you could downsize or live with parents or flat share that would enable you to save even more money

Yup, it's time, or it will be too late. And you will be renting as a pensioner. Prices will get away from you. And whilst all your mates are living rent and mortgage free and enjoying their retirement, you'll be both sitting in your rental skint and terrified your landlord sells up.

Because by then rent will have increased so much you probably can't even afford someplace decent in a decent area,

Parents all live far away. We have 2 kids. We have thought about moving to a smaller place but the thought of getting rid of so much stuff so we could fit is very daunting as well as just doing it. Also I actually really like our current home. We don’t get to keep it but it’s really nice, playground at the bottom of the cul de sac it’s on, big open plan space with massive windows and loads of light.

Realistically we could save without moving if we just impulse bought less stuff (guitars, computers, phones, smart watches, random single purpose appliances like bread makers and stuff, new furniture etc), there’s always something that seems like it will make our lives easier but obviously we did without it before and then once we have it it seems like a necessity and how could anyone live without it.

We might actually sell some stuff soon if we can get round to it. We have around 8 guitars, husband is willing to downgrade to 4 (1 acoustic, 1 classical which technically is mine and 2 electric). I’ll sell my sewing machine because I accept now I am never really going to get round to learning to sew and making all my own clothes. None of that will bring in a massive amount but it’s something.

Oh and you'll have someplace to leave your kids in your will.

I would turn the question round and ask yourselves what's so good about renting - And most likely paying someone else's mortgage?

Although if mentally your not in the mind frame to start saving between you as you cant see the benefits then maybe it isn't the right time for you.

I have done stints in tented between buying / selling (with two under two) and you cannot compared the feeling of living in your own home against being in rented. But that's my personal opinion/ experience.

I would sit down and seriously consider a 5-10-15 year plan and go from there.

Ah I can see the benefits now, it’s when I want to buy something I need a way to remind myself lol. Kind of like when I have a full stomach I’m happy to commit to eating less but when I’m a bit peckish I feel like it can be put off till tomorrow.

I really want to commit though. I would love my own home. A two year sprint sounds bearable to me because I can envision it being over. I want to stick to it this time.

I’ve found it really easy to save about 70% of my income for our house deposit although we don’t have children.. I just have my ISA and my current account on the same app on mobile banking, so it takes a second to transfer money into my savings account. Whenever I get some money in (I’m a freelancer so get paid in lots of bits through the month) I move it straightaway to my savings account as soon as it comes in. I only really leave myself money for rent and food. I find myself sometimes really worrying about not having the money to go out for a meal so don’t end up going. You never really feel like you have the money if you put it straight into savings so you just don’t spend it. Only really been doing it this intensely for 7 months but in that time I’ve saved an extra £10000 towards our house deposit. Wish I’d started earlier!! But we’re hopefully going to buy now and it’ll all be worth it!! Good luck!

Regarding saving - decide how much will be saved each month and set up a standing order to a savings account, so that it goes out like a bill at the start of the month and leaves you with less in your current account(s) to spend on impulse purchases.

Owning brings a sense of relief you never knew you wanted/needed - the house is yours and no one can make you leave/ It is yours until you want to leave.

Mortgage repayments are often much lower than the rent you are currently paying - think of all the extra cash you'll have once you've bought.

You are building equity instead of throwing money into someone else's equity.

You can do pretty much whatever you want to the house and garden and won't have people coming to judge your home (it doesn't matter how nice you keep your home it's not nice having to have an estate agent/ landlord look around every X months).

You'll also have something to leave your DC or to sell and downsize to get extra funds to really enjoy retirement. Plus no hell of trying to afford rent alongside pension!

Honestly I think you like your house too much. It is giving you a comfortable life, so it is not pressurising you into saving as much as you can. I would be tempted to downsize somewhere now/pay a bit less rent hopefully. Hopefully this will really motivate you to get that deposit together!

You will never come home from work on a Friday and find a letter telling you the landlord is selling the house and so has served you notice to get out.

We were good tenants and our weekend was cancelled as we started house hunting at a time that was really not convenient to us.

Honestly I think you like your house too much

This.

I've rented out two properties and you'd be surprised at the amount of people who rent more than they can afford to buy then don't want to downgrade, and like living there too much.

The ideal is to rent someplace you can't wait to move from, just a bit too small for your needs. That mentally you know is temporary. Then you've the incentive to save and get out and get your own place.

If you go for the instant gratification, then it has a longer term cost.

I loved the 2 bed flat we rented when I moved in with Dh. It was in a lovely town, 10mins walk to the train station for my 25min train journey to work. The pub was a 5 mins walk away where I used to meet dh for a drink every Friday after work. The flat was in an old stately home with a gym and pool with loads of gardens to enjoy. It was perfect. We were saving for a deposit to buy a house but we weren't as motivated. We were comfortable.

One day Dh was cleaning one of the two bathrooms (see why I loved this place) and muttered under his breath that he couldn't wait to clean his own toilet bowl. Such a simple statement but it had such an effect on me. I remember cancelling the holiday I was about to book, made myself a packed lunch after years of buying my lunch at work and also took my tea in a flask instead of the latte I bought at the station every morning. It was instant. I was more determined to see dh clean his own toilet bowl.

After about 1 year into our rental, the landlord asked us whether we were interested in buying the flat. We weren't interested as we were planning on buying in another town closer to family and the fact we knew our LL was paying £3k/year management fees to the estate. This gave us even more motivation to save faster as we knew once someone offered and it was accepted, it would be only a matter of time before we received the S21. We didn’t want the hustle of moving again; we rented unfurnished so would have to move with all our furniture. We swore that our next house would be one we would move out of at our accord, not some LL asking us to move on.

The day I came back from work and put the keys through the front door at the house we bought, the overwhelming feeling that ‘this is now my door’, was immense. I feel settled.

I am 34, DHTB is 33 and we are just getting on the property ladder.

We have been together for 14 years and getting married next year.

The kick up the arse for us was when we set a wedding date. It took us 8 months to save a deposit with a bit spare for "house stuff".

Honestly, just do it. We have often spoke about how we could have been living together 5 years ago and how much we regret not doing it sooner.

Save save save and just do it! It's worth it in the end! :)

This thread has been great. Going to set up standing orders once we convert help to buy isas to lifetime because 400 a month is not going to cut it (I did mine today, husband wants to wait till we make a new budget first). Friday is budget making day. After that we’re making standing orders to the new isas. Going to come back here to remind myself why if I start to resent having to make cutbacks.

I saved almost 50% of my post tax income in order to buy a house. Best bit after buying? Guilt-free spending and ingrained savings habits. I was saving £700 a month, so cutting that to £400 made me feel rich, and yet I’m still saving a good amount.

In two years you'll be in your own place and it can stop. You'll start building equity, you can decorate as you please, and start to dream, kitchens, bathrooms, garden landscaping, your choice. You can move a few years later if you chose.

I lived in rented for five years as we moved to mainland Europe, and as much as the house was beautiful, it wasn't ours, from someone coming to inspect it, to worrying about damage, you know it's not yours. All the time you know it, When you're in your own home, you know that too, no one is coming to check, you can do with it as you please. It's yours.

And the long term view, your kids inheritance, a retirement without paying a large percentage of your pension on rent every month, sitting watching your mates holidaying and going out whilst you sit skint, or maybe living in a shit hole, because rents increased.

Having done both I can honestly say, make the sacrifice now. Your future self will thank you. And if you have to buy less as a first home, than you're renting, accept it, we rented a beautiful house we couldn't afford to buy when we moved to England from Scotland , for six months, and our first English home we owned was a come down from that, I felt embarrassed with the movers, like they were thinking what the fuck, a few weeks later it was like rhe rented place never existed....because it was our home.

We then rented out that home when we moved to Europe and a couple moved in and loved it, but they couldn't afford to buy it either when we told them the price, and we both recognised that position. As we'd done the same.

Get out of rented, I speak as someone who has been both a landlord for two properties and rented twice, and buy your own home.

Good luck op LOL. I'm in london and prices are crazey , luckily I'm not saving for a deposit but some good advice here

Every year you delay now, is another year you won’t be able to retire because you won’t havw paid off the mortgage. How’s that for motivation?

The other thing that helped us was to have a budget that was reviewed every month at around payday. I know it sounds simple but it was the first time we really looked at our outgoings and stuck to the budget. We moved money to savings on the day we got paid. We knew we would never have been the kind to save whatever is left at the end of the month. I spend whatever amount is left in my current account.

After a few painful months of sticking to the PLAN, we actually started t enjoy the frugal process, we became competitive as to how much more we could save in a month compared to the previous.

At the time of saving hard, we used only cash in shops and we saved every £2 coin given to us as change. It quickly mounted up. In 15 months we had £650 in that pot and that was used to pay our conveyance solicitor.

Basically, we found and invented more and more ways of savings from payday to the little extras savings from everyday spending.

Good luck.

Serbska, that's brutal but likely the truth.

OP our first house was a struggle budget wise and then gradually became more comfortable money wise, then we had children and needed more room so we've recently upsized and are on a tight budget again. It is worth it though to be building an asset.

We reminisce about our disposable income every time we drive past Lakeside or Bluewater

This is a wonderful post. I separated from my hubby this yr. We owned a property and honestly I'm more bereft about the property than my marriage falling apart.

My big motivation right now is to get myself to the position I can buy another property in a few years time instead of renting. Love my current rental but nothing beats home ownership. I'm in London so got a very tough mountain to climb. To start with I've got a savings spreadsheet going and only on month 2 of my log but can see my deposit has grown small shoots.

Good luck