Don’t give up on that house deposit just yet
THINK big, start small.
That’s exactly how aspiring first-home buyers should tackle saving for a deposit.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll be aware house prices are falling — particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, lending conditions are tightening and interest rates are at record lows.
Overall now is a good time to buy, if you can get loan, that is.
But it pains me to hear younger Aussies are tossing in the towel and declaring they’ll never be able to save enough to buy a home.
I can speak from experience here and tell you saving a deposit takes years.
It’s not something that happens in the space of a few weeks or months.
I started tucking away a portion of my salary from the minute I started my first casual job in my late teens.
If it was $20, $50 or $100 a week I always aimed to save some money regardless of how little it might seem.
When I scored my first fulltime job at the ripe old age of 23 it was game on. I slowly watched my savings grow bit by bit.
And the best strategy I had was siphoning off my money into an online savings account dubbed “house deposit”.
This was back when these accounts were attracting interest returns around 6 per cent.
It was a far-fetched dream to buy a home but I knew one day it would happen.
And it wasn’t until nearly a decade later I decided to bite the bullet and get my foot on the property ladder.
After years of saving — while also renting, which can be hard to juggle both — I got there in the end.
I had more than a 10 per cent deposit saved up to buy my first place, which ended up being a two-bedroom apartment in Brisbane’s innernorth.
At the time my other half couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t save a penny despite earning far more than me.
I’d managed to squirrel away enough money that made his eyes water and he had nada.
But I must confess it took a lot of sacrifices to get there.
Cutting back on eating out, buying new clothes and limiting my holidays. I wanted my own four walls and nothing was going to stop me.
So I say to all you Millennials out there or those who are hoping one day to buy property, don’t give up.
You have to start small, very small. Be realistic with yourself and be disciplined.
Wherever you stash that cash do your utmost to keep your hands off it because it will all be worth it in the end.
Saving is far harder than spending. If you start sooner rather than later, before you know it you will have a nice little amount of money stashed away.
Ultimately owning your own home always pays off ahead of renting.
You don’t want to end up in retirement still answering to a landlord. Good luck! @sophieelsworth