What I did was looked at all the outgoings and cut what I could, if you eat out more than once a month can you cut it back? If you are staying with inlaws then you must have a good amount of money per month? We rented from the council while we saved, I tried to save at least £300 a month which is easier said than done. Definitely look through your last few months of spending and see where the money is going.
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I guess it depends how much you want a home and how soon you want it? £50 isn’t a lot at all..
to put it into perspective for you, at the time of saving I was earning roughly £20k and was putting around £700 a month into savings- my partner was matching that, and more if he could! we lived with parents so paid about £200 rent and bought our own food on top of that. We cut back a lot, but we still paid for the gym. We’d go to the gym every evening as it kept us occupied and we got into a lot of Netflix series to pass the time.
As someone said above, games nights can be cheap and feels less like you’re being a hermit as it’s cheap socialising
however other things:-
Holidays - we literally didn’t go on any. However we pre-planned our post house holiday so felt like we had something to look forward to
Going out - can really add up! Nominate yourself as designated driver and ask your friends to buy your soft drinks in return (or cash for your fuel!)
Eating out - again can really add up. We’d aim for somewhere cheap or somewhere that did deals e.g two meals for £10
take away - again there are cheaper options. Chinese can be expensive compared to chippy for example!
like I said it comes down to how hard you want to save and how soon you want to move out
good luck!
to put it into perspective for you, at the time of saving I was earning roughly £20k and was putting around £700 a month into savings- my partner was matching that, and more if he could! we lived with parents so paid about £200 rent and bought our own food on top of that. We cut back a lot, but we still paid for the gym. We’d go to the gym every evening as it kept us occupied and we got into a lot of Netflix series to pass the time.
As someone said above, games nights can be cheap and feels less like you’re being a hermit as it’s cheap socialising
however other things:-
Holidays - we literally didn’t go on any. However we pre-planned our post house holiday so felt like we had something to look forward to
Going out - can really add up! Nominate yourself as designated driver and ask your friends to buy your soft drinks in return (or cash for your fuel!)
Eating out - again can really add up. We’d aim for somewhere cheap or somewhere that did deals e.g two meals for £10
take away - again there are cheaper options. Chinese can be expensive compared to chippy for example!
like I said it comes down to how hard you want to save and how soon you want to move out
good luck!
I've just started saving, I'm 27 and single and earn around £35k. Because I live at home I can afford to save around £800 per month, but that is after I pay my car Finance off early, I'm trying to shrink/get rid of any debts so I can save more without having to stop my social life. I've been paying an extra £200 for my car Finance, and cut down my phone contract. Ive also made sure I have a monthly spend budget and try to not go over that. Not sure if this helps but it's just a start
Currently renting AND saving atm its hard but we now have a baby on the way and we want some solid ground to begin family life, hopefully back end of next year we have a nice deposit together, luckily in my area in north east 3/4 bed semi detached with garage goes from anywhere 120k/160k some say thats alot for our 1st home but i dont intend on moving again when i get on property ladder
Sometimes you have to make hard choices to get what you want.
We had crap cars, no holidays or really cheapy ones, no gym etc to start off with and I still had a grand old time with my friends getting pissed on Lambrini!
But now I’m in my 30’s and we are mortgage free, debt free and have several holidays a year.
I know we all are different and that youngsters these days need to have the IG life. One of my advantages was also that I didn’t care what people thought (had loads of comments about the tit car I used to drive, from friends!)
Unfortunately only you can decide what you are willing to give up to get on the property ladder.
We had crap cars, no holidays or really cheapy ones, no gym etc to start off with and I still had a grand old time with my friends getting pissed on Lambrini!
But now I’m in my 30’s and we are mortgage free, debt free and have several holidays a year.
I know we all are different and that youngsters these days need to have the IG life. One of my advantages was also that I didn’t care what people thought (had loads of comments about the tit car I used to drive, from friends!)
Unfortunately only you can decide what you are willing to give up to get on the property ladder.
Some advice if you do need to save, as I realise my last post probably wasn't helpful:
- Switch brands when possible - i.e go for cheaper options, or maybe do some (or all, if possible) of your shopping at Lidl/Aldi if you don't already. If not, then get a Tesco club card and save that way. It can be good for phone contracts too as you can use the points you rack up to lower your bill for some months.
- Phone contracts - don't free the need to upgrade your phone when your contract is up. Also, depending on how much data/minutes/text you use per month, you could get a contract that offers some flexibility. I think some will allow you to change your tariff now and then if you're not using all of the data/minutes/text, so it could save a few quid each month.
- Gym - I think its worth keeping if you use it regularly. Maybe see if there are any cheaper gyms in your area? If not, maybe join a running group (might be cheaper or free?) or there are lots of websites that have at home programmes for free (and all you really need are dumbbells and a mat for most) - FitnessBlender is really good, and they do have some programmes you can buy which are only around £10 each (and once you buy it, its not a subscription so its just a one-off payment). I think the BodyPump/Combat classes are also available online for a subscription each month (but at a much cheaper cost than the gym), and you get unlimited use.
- Might not be an option, but if you have any old childhood toys/memorabilia hanging about, then it might be worth checking that out and selling some on Ebay. I had a lot of old Gameboy games, Pokemon cards etc that I was surprised were worth a bit a few years ago.
- Buy secondhand - Mostly for things like clothing. You don't necessarily have to go to charity shops, but Depop and Ebay are good. Also I think having a 'one in one out' approach is good, so if you do want a new piece, you can sell something else and use the money you make to go towards it.
As for holidays/nights out, etc, I wouldn't completely give them up! I think its important to have a life, but maybe set yourself a budget of how much you'd be willing to spend (could be per month each?). I'd also say try to find bargains, like maybe do cinemas on the day its the cheapest (or see if you can get 2 for 1). Or for gigs - pick the cheapest tickets, or lesser-known artists/smaller venues (or a local festival, so you can see a lot of artists but get your moneys worth, and that could kind of count as a holiday too). For holidays - I'd say try to go at the cheapest times of the year (so not during the summer), and maybe use a site like STAtravel where they're more targeted at backpackers/budget holidays?
- Switch brands when possible - i.e go for cheaper options, or maybe do some (or all, if possible) of your shopping at Lidl/Aldi if you don't already. If not, then get a Tesco club card and save that way. It can be good for phone contracts too as you can use the points you rack up to lower your bill for some months.
- Phone contracts - don't free the need to upgrade your phone when your contract is up. Also, depending on how much data/minutes/text you use per month, you could get a contract that offers some flexibility. I think some will allow you to change your tariff now and then if you're not using all of the data/minutes/text, so it could save a few quid each month.
- Gym - I think its worth keeping if you use it regularly. Maybe see if there are any cheaper gyms in your area? If not, maybe join a running group (might be cheaper or free?) or there are lots of websites that have at home programmes for free (and all you really need are dumbbells and a mat for most) - FitnessBlender is really good, and they do have some programmes you can buy which are only around £10 each (and once you buy it, its not a subscription so its just a one-off payment). I think the BodyPump/Combat classes are also available online for a subscription each month (but at a much cheaper cost than the gym), and you get unlimited use.
- Might not be an option, but if you have any old childhood toys/memorabilia hanging about, then it might be worth checking that out and selling some on Ebay. I had a lot of old Gameboy games, Pokemon cards etc that I was surprised were worth a bit a few years ago.
- Buy secondhand - Mostly for things like clothing. You don't necessarily have to go to charity shops, but Depop and Ebay are good. Also I think having a 'one in one out' approach is good, so if you do want a new piece, you can sell something else and use the money you make to go towards it.
As for holidays/nights out, etc, I wouldn't completely give them up! I think its important to have a life, but maybe set yourself a budget of how much you'd be willing to spend (could be per month each?). I'd also say try to find bargains, like maybe do cinemas on the day its the cheapest (or see if you can get 2 for 1). Or for gigs - pick the cheapest tickets, or lesser-known artists/smaller venues (or a local festival, so you can see a lot of artists but get your moneys worth, and that could kind of count as a holiday too). For holidays - I'd say try to go at the cheapest times of the year (so not during the summer), and maybe use a site like STAtravel where they're more targeted at backpackers/budget holidays?
if you bank with Barclays, they have a section in their app called ‘Spending’ it breaks down where you spend your money.
So instead of thinking aboutquitting your gym, you might discovered you spend £150 a month eating dinners out, £100 a month buying your lunch out at work and another £50 on coffees. So it would make sense to work on that then just cancelling a gym membership that you actually enjoy!
I don't think you've really understood what I said.
You were 35, I'm talking about people in their early 20s that are so often told to live on next to nothing just to sign up to huge debt.
Just because it worked for you then, doesn't mean it can be repeated again today. The economy is on life support right now, many have benefited from near zero interest rates. But no one knows how long they will last for and they could go above the long term average of 6-7%.
People have very short memories, but it's cyclical and plenty have regretted buying. Just not in recent years as there's been huge stimulus and props to keep the housing bubble inflated. No tools left come the next recession though.
No I'm not a "bitter renter" some people are able to look outside of their own life at injustices.
Also trying to save whilst renting, I find it a struggle also to find a balance, plus some of the deposits needed for where I live are borderline criminal 
I have to say though, moving out and renting with my partner has given me some good life skills, it's hardwork moving out and living with someone else I also have quite a nice landlord!
I find some people my age now who are jumping into mortgages with their partners after living at home and have never lived together are struggling with the pressure of a mortgage and getting in to a life routine, working, cooking, cleaning, laundry etc. So in that respect I'm glad to have rented, but the end goal is to get on to that property ladder!
I also use Plum which I find really helpful and it puts little chunks of money away without me realising on top of my own regular savings.
I also have quite a nice landlord!I find some people my age now who are jumping into mortgages with their partners after living at home and have never lived together are struggling with the pressure of a mortgage and getting in to a life routine, working, cooking, cleaning, laundry etc. So in that respect I'm glad to have rented, but the end goal is to get on to that property ladder!
I also use Plum which I find really helpful and it puts little chunks of money away without me realising on top of my own regular savings.
I completely agree with @Yel. I’m sick of family members pressuring me and my partner to buy a house. Both our families bought decent size houses for 50k 20 years ago and we don’t have such opportunities anymore. Every day I see people on forums online suggesting people go through shared ownership to buy their house and ‘get on the property ladder’ and I just want to scream ‘NOOOO DONT DO THAT’. I enjoy being in my 20’s going out with friends, taking lots of nice holidays and just generally enjoying life. I have no desire to buy a house yet. the house we rent is through a lovely landlord and if anything goes wrong we don’t have to worry about coughing up the money to fix it. Society tells us that getting on the property ladder as soon as possible is one of the most important things in life, I personally think being happy and enjoying yourself is the most important. Yeah, we’ll own a house at some point, most likely when we get some inheritance money to put down on a house.
Thank you for all your responses, really helpful! I know there isn't a rush but I do feel like time is ticking sometimes!! Most of my friends and even my younger sister have all moved out but because they have had babies they were given council houses... so I guess that's why I feel a bit behind.
Inheritance would help so much right now but longevity runs in my family!!
so I guess that's why I feel a bit behind.Inheritance would help so much right now but longevity runs in my family!!
Sorry just jumping back in here! I actually sat and worked out my outgoings yesterday (can't believe I have never done that before!! So embarrassed!) and I have around £700 left after all bills. I get this may not seem a lot to some people but it is for me and I have no idea where I'm spending that money scarily!! How much would you guys try and save from that £700 ? I still have to do food shopping with that money but it's different every week so I'm not sure how much to minus.
That's what I thought as well! Thank you x
When it comes to doing a food shop as well I have definitely realised that if I go without a list my food shop basically doubles in price
Great video from the Economist about why the housing obsession is ruining the country, anyone that thought my scepticism comes from being a "bitter renter" should watch it
I don't think you really get anything, I posted a simple video that a respected economic publication goes though the flaws in the argument. And you've commented without even watching