Saving for my own home has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember. I first started 'officially' saving at the age of 20/21, and since then I've been making sure to put away money every month (however big or small!) to work towards my dream goal. Now 28 and with eight years of savings behind me, I technically have enough to purchase my own home, but, wanting to own a three-bedroom house(!) in London(!), I know I'll have to save even more to make my dream a reality.
For those starting out with saving money, I know just how overwhelming it can be, especially when you aren't sure where/how to start, and when you do, it feels that you aren't making much progress. But I can tell you from experience, starting small and being consistent will ultimately help you reach your goal! I know Laura from Thrifty Londoner shares similar views to me, so we've teamed up to share our top money saving tips with you.
Read on for five money saving tips that have worked for me over years, and head over to Laura's Thrifty Londoner Instagram and website for five more!
1. Don’t sacrifice your present happiness for your future happiness
Saving for your first home is such a great achievement, but it’s important to make sure you invest in your day-to-day happiness too. If buying a bunch of fresh flowers every week brings you joy, don’t take that away! Either look to purchase cheaper blooms, or cut back in other areas (e.g, order less takeaways) to save those extra pounds. It’s important to treat yourself, you deserve it!
2. Create a ‘future home’ vision board
Grab a piece of card, magazines, scissors and a glue stick to create your own inspiration moodboard. Include visuals and words that will inspire and motivate you to work towards your goal: What do you want your first home to look like? How do you want to feel when you reach your savings goal? How much do you need to save for your deposit? Stick it up where you can see it every day. If you see it, you can believe it AND achieve it!
3. Save small and often
If you’re new to saving and the thought of transferring over a large lump sum into your savings account makes you feel overwhelmed, then saving little and often may the best tactic for you! Set up a direct debit or manually transfer £10 a week into your savings account; it’s a small amount which will feel like it has less of an impact on your current account, but after a year you’ll have saved £520! Feeling confident? Up the amount to £20, £50… £100 a week!
4. Delete takeaway apps off your phone
Uber Eats and Deliveroo… just delete them! Make it harder to spend on takeaways by removing opportunities to be tempted. Instead, try to start batch cooking; have a list of easy go-to meals, and try new recipes. After all, when you get your first home, you are going to want to cook up a storm in the kitchen you saved so hard for!
4. Sleep on it
Resist the urge to buy things in the moment; instead sleep on it or revisit a few days later. By then you may have lost the temptation, which just shows you probably didn’t need it in the first place…
I hope those tips inspire you. Good luck with your savings!
Follow us on Instagram - @jazzabellediary & @thriftylondoner
Love Jazz x
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