Girl saves home deposit in simply 18 months
A girl has shared her cash saving suggestions that enabled her to pay the home deposit on her first residence when she was simply 22.
Lauren Simpson, from York, purchased her first flat together with her fiancée, Elizabeth, after utilizing saving methods to get collectively their deposit, after simply 18 months.
She stated: “I really feel so fortunate that I used to be in a position to take action at such a younger age, and nearly seven years on, we’ve even been in a position to buy our personal home.
“It looks as if proper now, it is harder than ever to get on the property ladder, however I used numerous saving tricks to put down a deposit. Hopefully my suggestions may assist these trying to save for a primary residence.”
Lauren has partnered with CashLady.com to share her top money saving tips to help those saving up to a buy a home.
READ MORE: Savings warning as inflation slashes value of cash – how to beat the trend
Be smart with budgeting
Lauren said it’s worthwhile creating a budget detailing expenses such as rent, food, phone bills and subscriptions.
She said: “Be honest with yourself about whether the money you are spending is actually worthwhile to you.
“The number one thing that really allowed us to successfully save was having a weekly budget that we could go and spend on whatever we fancied. It is hard to believe now but that splurge of cash was £30 per week.”
Cash stuffing
This technique involves taking cash out and putting the funds in envelopes, such as the money needed for the food budget.
Lauren explained: “This technique works really well, as the money that you have is visible in front of you and not just a number on a statement.”
Learn about banking and banking apps
Lauren and Elizabeth set up a joint bank account to bring together their savings when they were saving up for the deposit.
Their bank offered a rewards scheme for a small fee each month which meant if they paid bills via direct debit from the account, they would get money back.
She said: “Even though we had very few bills at this time, we set it up so that our phone and subscription bills came out of this account.
“Very quickly, and without realising, we would have £50 in the rewards scheme. This is something that we still use, even after buying our property.”
They also took advantage of switching offers, where banks give a person an amount of money for switching to them.
Divide savings into allocated pots
While the couple were saving for their deposit, they created a physical pot to put their ideas for activities in.
They would pick out one a month and save up their spare cash to be able to pay for the fun activity.
Lauren said: “Sometimes, this was just a takeaway, but it was definitely something to look forward to.
“We would also save any vouchers that we got from the supermarkets, and always signed up for their rewards schemes to save on our shopping.”
She also now has a Monzo account, which she says has helped her with saving and budgeting.
Monzo has a feature that allows a customer to round up their transactions, even by just a few pence, to add to their savings.
The service also allows a person to create savings pots for savings goals, with the option to lock them so a person cannot dip into them.
Buying homeware second-hand
Lauren said buying second-hand goods is a “great way” to start out in getting essentials for a person’s first home.
She said: “If you are saving up and family members or friends are getting rid of furniture, upcycling could be a great project to save money, put your own stamp on things and bring your character to the property. With any luck, you’ll be able to sell these later on and make a profit.”
Lauren works full time and also runs a side hustle with Elizabeth, Sea & Bee, a small business making and selling natural bath bombs.
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