A savvy homeowner has revealed how she managed to save an impressive £25,000 in a year to buy her first home at 25.
Mother-of-one Rebecca, who regularly posts videos about her home renovations on her YouTube channel Rebecca’s Home, shared a series of money-saving tips she and her partner used to save up their deposit.
She explained that the tips don’t just apply if you’re looking to get onto the housing ladder; they can also come in handy if you’re looking to save up for a holiday.
From renting a room instead of an entire flat or moving in with a family member, to setting up a direct debit so that a portion of your wages goes straight into a savings account on payday, here Rebecca shares her simple hacks for making your money go further.
Mother-of-one Rebecca, from the UK, has revealed how she managed to save an impressive £25,000 in a year to buy her first home at 25
RENT A ROOM, NOT A FLAT
Rebecca says if you can move in with a family member of stop renting, that is a good way to save a big wedge of cash.
‘I was living with my family, and my partner James was renting a two-bedroom place with his friend so paying half the rent,’ she said.
‘Even though they were renting they had all the bills, so nearly all the money he was getting paid was going into that.
‘If you can, move in with a family friend or family member.’
If you don’t have anyone you can move in with, Rebecca recommends renting a room rather than entire flat, because that way you’ll save on bills such as council tax.
With the money you’re saving, Rebecca urges people to tuck it away as savings; if you’re used to paying it anyway, you won’t really notice it’s gone.
SET UP A DIRECT DEBIT
To make saving a chunk of cash easier every month, Rebecca set up a direct debit to coincide with her payday.
That meant every time her wages arrived in her account, a percentage of it went straight into another separate savings account, so that she couldn’t spend it.
‘Once it goes out, I really don’t see that as my money anymore, I see it as just going into the savings account, and it all adds up over time,’ she said.
SELL YOUR CAR
While you might rely on your car to get to and from work, if you have a motor that you’re not really using, Rebecca recommends selling it.
‘I had a Mini that I didn’t really need, it cost a lot for the petrol and to run, it had so many problems, so I sold it for £2,000,’ she explained.
‘It gave me a chunk of money, a good starter to build from.’
If you don’t have a car, have a look around your house and garden for other things you could sell, like a bike, an old phone or a TV. Rebecca suggested putting them on eBday or Depop, or a Buy and Sell site on Facebook.
GET ANOTHER JOB ON THE SIDE
If you’re happy in your job and don’t want to move elsewhere purely because the money is better, as was the case for Rebecca, she recommends setting up a side hustle.
‘I did some babysitting in the evenings – it’s not much money, but if you’re doing that every few days in the week, that again will add up. Babysitting is one of the easiest jobs there are!’ she said.
It’s also worth speaking to your boss about the possibility of a small pay rise – while they might say no, you could be surprised!
Rebecca, who usually shares videos about her home renovations (pictured), shared a series of tips to help first time buyers save up their deposit
BUY PRE-LOVED CLOTHES
If you are planning on buying clothes, I would suggest buying second-hand – there’s nothing wrong with that!
Go onto eBay; if you used to spend a lot of money on clothes like I did, I would sell a piece of clothing and then buy one that I liked so that I didn’t feel like I was wasting my money.
If you have friends or sisters like me, I would borrow their clothes if I was going out.
You don’t want to stop doing everything you enjoy, but you just have to think, it’s a year out of your life, and once that’s done you’ll have all that money and can enjoy it.
DRAW CASH TO LIVE ON
At the beginning of the week, I would withdraw £50 cash and say that’s my spending money for the week. This way you can watch what you’re spending.
If you go to the shop and you just have £10 left, you know what you can afford to buy, whereas when you’re buying stuff on your card, you can’t see you’re spending it.
If you have money left over from that £50, put it in a pot. Doing this with change, my partner and I managed to save about £700, and we then used that money for something we would enjoy. We work so hard, so we used that £700 to go on holiday.
At the beginning of the week, Rebecca told how she would withdraw £50 and that would be her spending money for the week
WRITE A SHOPPING LIST
We used to spend about £80 a week on our shopping, which is ridiculous, because we’d go when we were hungry and put a load of snacks in the trolley.
Write a shopping list of exactly what you need for your dinners, and try to go for cheap meals if you can. When I did this I only spent about £40.
Make your lunches for work – obviously if you’re just going for a cheap £3 meal deal it won’t make much difference, but if you were like me and spending up to £10 a day on lunch, that really adds up.
For more information about Rebecca visit her Instagram page.