Save an extra £7,130 for your house deposit
If you are saving up to buy your first home you might be finding it difficult to stay on track, most people find it a challenge to save for a long period of time as this could mean your lifestyle has had to be altered. You may have to change your mindset first so you can stay focused on your goals and the reason you are saving, whatever that may be for you.
Saving for your deposit will depend on the cost of the house you are looking at as mostly you will have a 10% deposit meaning you need to save 10% of the overall house price.
Mojo Mortgages have provided 12 hacks which you can use to save an extra £7,130 towards your house deposit on top of anything you already have.
12 money saving hacks
Work from home 2 days a week to save an average of £1,006 a year.
Those who work in the office every day spend on average £95.48 a week on their commute as well as buying food for lunches. Those who have a hybrid role spend less, at £76.12 a week. This means those who have a hybrid role and are only in the office 2-3 days a week can save £1006 a year.
Talk to your boss to see how flexible they can be and try to go into the office less if possible in your role.
Set up a lifetime ISA
This could get you an extra £1000 a year.
This is a tax free savings account allowing those 18-39 years old save up to £4000 a year towards buying their first home or for retirement. The government will provide 25% of the amount saved every year with a maximum of £1000 a year.
If you want to know more about ISA’s and savings accounts then you can find that here.
Switch Bank Accounts
Switching bank accounts has it’s perks and doesn’t have to cause unnecessary hassle. Some banks offer cash bonuses of £100-200 to tempt new customers to sign up.
Save on food
Data from Nimblefins report the average UK household spends £1220 on eating out each year, including restaurants and takeaways.
Just cutting this amount in half will save you £610 a year. You can do this by shopping more effectively, using meal planning, supermarket loyalty cards to find discounts as well as cutting down on impulse buys and going off the list.
Cut out extra services
Dog walkers on average cost £11.25 per walk which totals £585 by the end of the year for one walk per week.
To cut out this cost, or if you use these services more often, to cut down on this you could consider talking to a friend or neighbour with more flexible working hours. You could start rotating dogs walks with another owner to share the load.
Swap out the branded items to save £538 a year
The average person spends £1793 on food shopping a year. Cutting this down would be vey beneficial to boosting your savings, especially when it’s simple to do so.
Just by swapping branded items out for non-branded, this could save you up to 30% of your food bill.
Sell unwanted items
PayPal data shows that an estimated £341 worth of unwanted items is laying around most adults homes.
Using a second hand platform such as Vinted, Depop or eBay could be a simple way to declutter whilst making a bit of extra money.
Switch Phone deals
Switching to a SIM only deal from a mobile and sim deal at the end of your contract could save you £321 a year. Switching deals avoids the higher monthly costs of paying off a new device.
Take Lunch with you
The average working person spends £10.77 a week on meal deals. Whilst it seems like a great deal at the time this cost quickly adds up. Making food from home of the same variation of what you find in a meal deal can cost you £4.60. This is a saving of £320.84 a year.
If you are going to café’s or restaurants for lunch you are likely spending £32.40 a week. An easy habit which can save you money by taking lunch with you.
Use Cashback websites
If you are making necessary purchases then why not try to earn cashback. By going through sites like Quidco and TopCashback you can earn money.
The average TopCashback user makes over £300 a year on their regular online purchases.
Remember it is only saving you money if you were already going to buy the item and it’s something you need, not an impulse buy.
Pay your car insurance annually
Although It is a large chunk of money all in one go, and you should only do this if you can afford it in one. However, paying annually can save you an average of £59 a year by avoiding the interest charges of paying monthly.
There are other ways to bring down the cost of your car insurance and make sure you are getting the best deal.
Have a smart meter installed
Having a smart meter means you can track your energy usage allowing you to know which areas to cut down. A smart meter is free to have installed, call up your provider to request this.
The average household of 3-4 rooms spends £1,690 on electricity and gas a year. Using a smart meter could save around £50 a year.
