A woman has shared her money saving tips that enabled her to pay the house deposit on her first home when she was just 22.
Lauren Simpson, from York, bought her first flat with her fiancée, Elizabeth, after using saving techniques to get together their deposit, after just 18 months.
She said: “I feel so lucky that I was able to do so at such a young age, and almost seven years on, we’ve even been able to purchase our own house.
“It seems like right now, it’s more difficult than ever to get on the property ladder, but I used a number of saving tips to put down a deposit. Hopefully my tips might help those looking to save for a first home.”
Lauren has partnered with CashLady.com to share her top money saving tips to help those saving up to a buy a home.
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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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