‘How can I get on the property ladder?’
Nikki Molloy, 25, lives in a houseshare in south London but wants to buy with her boyfriend
“I’m from Manchester, but I now live in south London with my boyfriend Mat and our pal Elisabeth. The three of us get on really well, but Mat and I would like to have our own place in London. Mat earns £25,000 as a client services coordinator, while I earn £26,000 as a consultant – but a big chunk of my wages pays off student loans. This quarter, my bonus will be around £1,700, but my loan repayment will increase from £80 to £200. I’ve managed to save £2,300 and I recently opened a Help To Buy ISA, which has £2,000 in it. However I owe my mum £2,000 and I’m not putting any money into my pension. I typically overspend on eating and drinking out, and I love going on holiday. But I always look for discounts and I used cashback site www.topcashback.co.uk to save £400 for spending money for a trip to Croatia. I always thought I’d own my own place by 25, but it’s not looking likely.” SARAH’S 3-POINT PLAN 1) USE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES With Help To Buy London (Helptobuy london.co.uk), if you have a 5% deposit, you can get a five-year interest-free equity loan worth up to 40% of the cost of a qualifying new-build home, as opposed to the maximum 20% outside London. You’ll also need a mortgage of up to 55% to cover the rest. 2) CUT COSTS When it comes to holidays, Nikki should consider booking last-minute for the best deals. Skyscanner (Skyscanner.net) and Expedia (Expedia.co.uk) compare the best offers for flights and hotels. For dining out, Nikki should consider investing in a Tastecard. You get 2-for-1 or 50% off loads of restaurants. It costs £79.99, but it’s often reduced to £29.99. 3)HAVE A PENSION PLAN Although everyone should start saving for their pension as soon as they can, it isn’t too late for Nikki to start doing so now. And there’s an easy way to figure out how much you should be putting aside: it’s half your age when you start saving. So if you start at 30, it would be 15%; start at 40 and it’s 20% etc. Next year, the government is rolling out workplace pensions, so 4% of your wage will be saved in a pension – your employer will contribute 3%, and the government will add 1%. Nikki will be auto-enrolled, so she may just want to hold out for now.