Money is a funny thing. People claim it doesn’t buy happiness, but admit that it makes the world go round. Money might not be the most important thing in the world, but it sure makes things much easier.
In today’s world, lots of people live paycheck to paycheck. Lots of people get into debt, gamble and dream of not having to worry about cash.
For others, the idea of becoming a homeowner is but a dream. Paying bills and rent can be difficult enough, never mind getting 10% together for a deposit, pay stamp duty, fees and buy furniture.
When I moved in with my boyfriend 18 months ago, we talked about buying a new house together in two years. I can’t believe how fast time has gone and now we are getting close to entering a pretty bing contract together.
Since we moved in together, I’ve managed to save £11,000 to go towards the new mortgage. It’s not been easy and it’s not been without sacrifice. Here are some of the things I’ve had to swap in exchange for money for a new house.
My free time.
One of the biggest sacrifices I’ve probably made is time. I’ve worked really hard on my blog over the last 6 or so years and over the past two, I’ve started to see a pretty decent income stream.
It sounds fantastic. I mean, it is fantastic, but it doesn’t come without hard work. There are times when I get home from work, cook tea and then rather than be able to sit on the sofa and watch TV for a couple of hours before bed, I’m writing a blog post at 9 am for a brand that they live urgently.
My days off work at spent at the computer. I spend my lunch hour trying to blog or sort out my social media. I’ve not been on my Xbox One for months! I can’t even remember where Imm up to in the Elder Scrolls Online story. I just don’t have time!
But it’s been worth it when I’ve been able to put around 70% of what I earn from my blog into my savings!
A new car.
Sure, I’ve love to lease the latest BMW. I have had cars on finance and it’s a great option for those wanting a new car without having to buy one in one go. When I was younger, I loved having a new car and it’s something I am glad I did! That new car feel is something special. But for me, it quickly wore of and other priorities took over. 5 years ago I decided to take out a loan with the bank and pay off my car rather than get a new one and remain on finance. I’ve only got 3 payments left to pay and it’s all paid off!
Spending carelessly.
This might sound silly, but it’s so easy to bury your head in the sand and not actually manage your money. You can keep spending and live in denial about what your bank balance is and only have a guess if you’re in your overdraft or not.
I used to be like this. But then I decided to get a grip. I took a bit of money out of my savings to get me out of my overdraft and I went through what I was spending and gave myself budgets and targets to meet.
New clothes.
I used to always be making ASOS orders. Some of you early readers might remember that I was forever posting photos of new dresses and shoes. I was probably buying 6 new dresses every week or so. Insane. Most of these dresses were not suitable for everyday wear so I didn’t get much use out of them!
Now I rarely buy new clothes. Once every few months I might treat myself to a dress or two, but mostly I only buy things when I need them.
Eating out.
We love eating out. As much as my boyfriend and I enjoy walking into York, having a meal and a few dreams, it was taking a big chunk of our money. We were probably doing this twice a month and it’s something we’ve really toned down lately.
The last time we went out we decided to go for some drinks and grab fish and chips on the way back. A yummy cheaper option!
So as you can see, sometimes you do have to make a few sacrifces for a bigger goals! I’m quite lucky that I’ve still been able to keep a few luxuries (like PT sessions) but I have cut down on most!
I 100% get this post! I’m saving for a deposit for my first flat and I never realised how much I used to spend until I curbed it!
xoxo
Jess
The Crown Wings | UK Travel & Lifestyle Blog
Saving for a mortgage was SO hard, but now we own our own home it’s SO worth it – We actually pay less for our mortgage than we ever did renting. It’s brilliant! I love reading housey posts, so can’t wait for you to find somewhere amazing and document it on here 🙂
Claire.X
http://www.clairemac.co.uk
My now husband ( we got married 3 weeks ago) saved for a mortgage when were living in London ( we bought in the Cotswold 2 years ago as we could not offer to buy a house in London and being both freelancers it just made more sense ,also we could get a bigger place in the countryside) anyway ..the sacrifice was to stop to go out really. we barely had any social life and we spent most of our weekend doing free stuff in London and barely spend any money we would even take our lunch from home with us if we were about in London during weekends ( most people would buy their food when out) . I mean don’t take me wrong it was hard and sometimes I had enough of not being able to enjoy a meal out or else but it was wort it because now that we have a 3 bedrooms house on our name. Still having say that my partner was on a lot of money so it was easy to save a lot for him but for an average salary like me it was very very hard after I paid share of the overly expensive rent, travel, council tax, etc. I think on my own I would still be trying to save for a mortgage . I think we are a generation that its very hard to get on a property ladder . Back in my parents days they did not even had to have a deposit as long as they got a job to pay back. anyway . I like your post.
I paid off my car over a year ago and it feels SO good! Such a good idea if you are saving up for a house, the extra money is SO handy! I need to cut back on eating out – that is my downfall!
Erin || MakeErinOver
Gah it’s so hard saving for a deposit but I KNOW it’ll be worth it! I think I’m pretty good at saving but I could make further improvements. We always said we didn’t want to feel like we were having to sacrifice anything to save but it’s unavoidable unless we never want the day we hold our own keys in our hands to come!
You’ve done amazing to save such much!!
Sarah 🙂
This is just good solid advice. There is no other way to get something going other than making a few sacrifices. When I started saving for a mortgage coffee outside was something I gave up but that has now become a normal thing – I only make coffee at home and enjoy it more. Eating out so often that its not special anymore is just sad so I definitely need to stop that! And at the end of it its so worth it!