How I got on the property ladder

Health visitor Vicki Shannon and husband Pete got smarter with their spending so they could buy their first home. Vicki, 29, from London, explains: “It is difficult for younger people to get the keys to their first home as prices just keep rising, way beyond earnings. “It did feel like a bit of a task. It took us around three years of cutting back and getting into serious savings mode to achieve it. But, it was worth it as we now have a three-bedroom flat in South London. We found it easier to set small goals, rather than thinking we needed to save up a scary deposit. “So we just started saving regularly. When you see it building up it gives you a buzz and helps you to keep going. We didn’t have to totally scrimp – we just lived a bit more frugally for a couple of years. “We rented a small one-bedroom flat to help keep our outgoings as low as we could. Instead of going out every night we made more of an occasion of the odd night out. And simple things like taking packed lunches saved us a small fortune. In London you can easily get through £50 a week each on those. “We were both good during university, managed to stick to our student loans and not take on any extra debt such as credit cards. But that meant when we checked our credit reports we didn’t have good scores as there was no history of us being able to manage money and borrowing. “We both had to get a credit card so we could start building up our credit scores. We used them sensibly for an odd item or two each month and paid them off in full each month to show we could be responsible. “We also had to look outside of central London as properties there were way beyond our budget. We researched areas further out and finally found our current home in Thornton Health. “It’s a fab flat with a garden and worth every little sacrifice.”