Seven months ago — a week after my 24th birthday — my partner called me and said that an offer we’d put down on a house had been accepted. We were officially home owners.
Hall-e-fucking-lujah!
We’d been looking for a few months, and after losing a bunch of bidding wars and silent auctions, we’d finally found the one. And yes, 24-years-old is on the younger side of the scale when it comes to purchasing a home, but my partner and I had saved our asses off, and thought: “Instead of paying off someone else’s mortgage, we could pay our own, right?” So find and pay our own we did.
I’m not a loaded up nepo baby, and my partner and I didn’t have help (other than each other). I know just how hard it is to live — and save — on a shitty part-time minimum wage job that feels like it’s getting you absolutely nowhere (not my current role, promise!). And hey, it’s not like I’m some top shot lawyer now on a six-figure salary now either.
But I was pretty smart with my money, if I do say so myself. And I think I’ve earned the grounds to.
I lived by five big money rules that paved the way for me to save enough for a house deposit before I was 24-years-old, and none of those involved me holing up indoors like a hermit while the dollars accumulated in my bank account.
Today, my friend, I’m going to share my rules with you. So, if you’re shitty at saving and want to start, whether it be for a house deposit or a Euro summer, my bible might come in handy.
PSA: this isn’t financial advice and I’m not a financial advisor (I’m actually PEDESTRIAN.TV’s E-Commerce Editor, hehe). And I know I’m lucky enough to be doing this with a partner, and that my city (Melbourne) isn’t as unaffordable as Sydney. I’m also fortunate enough to have been able to live at home with my parents, which I know not everyone can do.
This piece isn’t intended to shame anyone for not being able to afford property in this wildly unaffordable country, but about sharing the intense rules I followed to save for the deposit. If that’s not for you, that’s okay!
The 5 Rules I Used To Save Up For A House Deposit Before I Turned 24
1. Pretend Your Savings Don’t Exist: Final Boss
This may have been influenced by my mother lecturing me across the dinner table telling me I ‘spend too much’ and I’m ‘never going to save enough to buy a house’ as a teenager, but I have a real knack for acting like my savings account doesn’t exist. I adopted a hardcore ‘broke girl mentality’. Once I got paid and I transferred the money I didn’t think I’d need into my savings, it was officially out of sight, out of mind.
I worked multiple jobs — I have since I was 18, and I still do. Whether it was retail, hospitality or content creation, I would divide my paychecks into two categories: I could spend money from my main job (but still needed to save a set portion), but my side hustle? That was straight into savings. That money would not see the light of day until it was extracted for a house deposit.
2. Your Savings Isn’t ‘Treat Yourself’ Money
This rule follows on from the last one. My savings were slowly but steadily climbing, but I wouldn’t see that and think: “I’ve been working so hard, I deserve to treat myself.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be a ‘treat thyself’ girlie until the day I die. I love me some positive reinforcement or a reward for reaching a milestone or getting through a particularly hard week. But I would never dig into my savings to do so.
Wanted some new jeans but didn’t have enough in my spending account to get them? Then I wouldn’t get the reward until I’d received my next paycheck.
Upgrading my phone that was on the brink of collapsing? Stick it out ‘til the next paycheck, baby. I’d be saving less the following month, but I wouldn’t be touching my already-existing savings.
As a teen, if I was desperate to treat myself but didn’t want to dip into my savings, I’d spend my spare time doing surveys from research companies like Pureprofile, Student Edge and Opinion World, which I could then redeem for gift cards. These surveys paid literal pennies, but it all contributed to a broke and determined gal’s mission to get some AirPods (which I did!).
3. Keep Eating Out To A Minimum
You know Tim Gurner, the millionaire who told millennials they couldn’t afford properties because they kept buying avocado toast? I hate to say it, but the man kiiind of has a point.
I’m not saying a meal is detrimental to your savings. Have a social life! Enjoy brunch or dinner out with your friends! I reckon I still ate at restaurants or cafes twice a week on average. But to be harsh, you don’t need to eat out every single day. Whether it’s lunch, Uber Eats, or even a daily coffee, it all adds up.
Work in the office three days a week and enjoy getting a morning matcha and lunch from a cafe? That’s anywhere between $70 to $90 a week, depending on where you go.
Make sacrifices where you can. If you can bring lunch from home, do it. You don’t need to do extravagant meal prep. Live in a two-person household? Cook a dinner that feeds four, and take the leftovers for lunch. The only occasion I’d bend this rule is when I’d forgotten lunch or had no food in the fridge by the end of the week — only then would I go and buy lunch out.
Nights out are tricky ones, because they can rack up pretty darn quickly. I don’t go to bars every single week, but when I do go, I’ll only ever get one cocktail before switching to the cheapest wine I can find on the menu. I know they’re more fun, but they’re bloody expensive.
4. If You’re Able To Live With Your Parents, Do It (For As Long As Possible)
Renting is the killer when it comes to slowing down (or stopping) savings. If you’re able to live with your parents, do it — it’ll save you a hell of a lot in the long run, even if you have to contribute to groceries or pay board.
I was fortunate enough to live with my mum until I was 22-years-old, before my partner and I moved in together. But when I was at home, I pretended I was paying rent, and transferred a set minimum amount of money into my savings each week which I deemed ‘rent costs’. Once it was in my savings account, I didn’t touch it, as per rule number one.
5. Sit On It Before Buying It
Not literally (unless it’s a chair). I’m victim to the addictive dopamine rush that accompanies an impulse purchase just as much as the next shopping enthusiast — it’s literally my job to write about shopping. I did my fair share of impulse shopping during Covid, and realised if I wanted my savings to grow faster, I needed to cut that shit out.
You know that rule where if you see something you wanna buy, you’re supposed to wait 24 hours before checking out? I wait a month. That way I can gauge how badly I really want it. If I still want it after one month, and it’s in my size, then it’s a sign from the universe I’m meant to have it. If not? I’ll cry about it and move on (or find it on Depop).
I live pretty frugally. I do sometimes treat myself — I deserve to enjoy life — but I don’t let myself crash out and splurge at every minor inconvenience in order to make myself feel better.
Saving for a house isn’t a quick or easy achievement, and I definitely couldn’t have done it solo. But if you get into the right mindset and have your goal at the front of your mind before you go to tap that card on an impulsive purchase you definitely don’t need, it’s not impossible.
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Image credit: Supplied / The Simpsons
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