When it comes to life's biggest milestones, buying your first property is often near the top of the list. Owning a home that you can truly call your own is a big achievement and one that requires years of hard work, careful planning and financial discipline (it really isn’t easy saving a deposit). While homeownership remains a goal for many people, rising property prices and the cost of living mean it's not always easy to achieve.
But, if you work hard and put your mind to it, you can save enough to buy - anybody can! You just need to be disciplined and smart with how you save your money. To help you with this, below we have together a brief guide on tips for saving for a mortgage. Keep on reading to learn more and soon you’ll be booking to see a mortgage broker and putting an offer in for your first property.
Set a savings goal
The first step is understanding exactly how much you'll need. Research property prices in your desired area and work out what size deposit you'll likely need. In most cases, the amount you are going to need is going to be 10% but it can be useful to save more than that, in case you see a property which is slightly more than the mortgage they are willing to give you. In some cases, a lender will lend you 5% but more often than not, the interest rates aren’t that great. Make sure you put a spreadsheet together to document all the costs as this is a useful visual method.
Review your spending habits
We are all guilty of having too many subscriptions that we don’t use anymore. This is wasted money and by simply cancelling them and then using that money to add to your savings, can make a big difference. As well as this, we find many people are surprised by how much they spend on non-essential items each month. Take time to review your bank statements and identify areas where you could cut back - do you need that many takeaways each month or can you change your supermarket from Waitrose to Tescos.
Find ways to bring extra money in
Finally, if you want to save more money, try to bring in more money. While reducing spending is helpful, increasing your income can often have an even greater impact on your savings rate. Consider taking on freelance work, selling unwanted items, picking up extra shifts, or starting a side hustle. When you look into ways at making money, you’ll be amazed at all the different things you can do - if you live in a popular area, you could rent out your driveway for some extra cash or start an online business.
