Saving for a house? I wrote my steps on how I can enjoy the process and not feel daun

Saving for a house is either going to be fun or exhausting, there's no in between and even the fun turns exhausting but it's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel knowing you've saved for a house of your own.

I've been saving for almost 2 years now and although not anywhere near where I want to be, I've learned some lessons along the way, in what I can do to make the process less daunting and not think of it as a something I HAVE to do rather than it's something I want to do. This might not suit other people so you don't have to take my word for it. Also I'm more than happy to recieve any tips and tricks that could help.

1) Set up a savers account!

Whether it's a Mortage Deposit account that's provided by your bank which is easy to find online. Whether it's setting up your own savings account in your bank account that you can have the option to take money out if you want too (although not ideal if you are the type to dip into your savings if you have easy access to it) It can be a Credit Union. It can be the Post Office. Once your savings are being transfered and you can show where your savings are going. Mine is my own personal savings account that's connected to my bank and I can watch my savings build up. You can have the option of doing a direct debit where it comes out of your wages or you can do it manually yourself.

2) Pick an amount you want to save each month! (depending on how you get paid, still goes hand in hand) and put that away)

Save a set amount each month so eventually you won't even notice the amounting leaving your account. It becomes routine to put this amount away that it will come to the point that you won't even notice it gone because you never had it. Plus I've refered it as my "mortage money" so I have myself in that mindset. Silly I know but it helps.

3) (This is optional as not everyone can do this)

I've set up another savers account that I put extra into (it's not loads by any means whatsoever) that I've started to use as my interior things, sofra, kitchen bits, flooring if needed, renovations if needed etc. Personally I find this useful as I know when I do purchase a house, there will be things that could happen along the way and I'm sure everyone is aware that when you move into a new house, the things you don't expect to go wrong, can go wrong. I'm not saying to do this but personally watching that build up next to my house deposit, its nice to see that I can decide along the way if I want to purchased small bits or go big and wild when the time comes. Also it's a nice back up in my opinion but again, others might beg to differ.

4) Budget your money!

Honestly I love budgeting. I'm not obsessive or psycho when I budget but it's nice to keep track on where my money goes so I don't feel like I'm just saving all the time and not doing anything else with my money. Once I get paid, I put away my set amounts into my house deposit and set amount in my second savers account and from there I will look at what I have left. I shop in the same place all the time (for everything!) and I spend the same amounts roughly so if I ever do go over budget, it's because I've walked down the middle ísle of a certain shop and I forgot to put my blinkers on that day! But 90% of the time I've reached my budget

5) Batch cook!

Not only is it fun but trust me when you've come home from work (or just in general) and you've no energy to even think about what to eat, let alone make food, it's great to open the freezer and pull out the dinner you've made and reheat it. Be fun with the batch cooking. Make something different each week so you feel like you're not actually eating the same things over and over. I love experimenting and seeing what I can make with the slow cooker, especially now that the winter nights are setting in. It goes in line with my budget shopping. I make a plan of what I would like to eat for my lunch and dinner the following week so I buy what I need and pick a day that you can cook it all and before you know it, your lunch and dinner (breakfast also) is pre made and you've the rest of the week to do whatever you want to do. I've been doing this for years and it's saved me a lot of time and money!

6) Remember to treat yourself!

Myself and boyfriend make a plan (or used to pre covid) to have a "date night" once a week. We would go to the cinema or go to a restaurant (which is usually TGI Fridays or Eddie Rockets, nothing fancy). You need something to look forward too and not just save. If we went to the cinema we would take turns, one pays for the tickets and one pays for the sweets so no one feels they are landed with everything. If no plans have been made then use that money you could of spent on the date night and treat yourself to that make up you've been looking at or that jacket you've been eyeing up. That all goes hand in hand with budgeting. You've already done your savings part and budgeted your shopping. Enjoy yourself. Now I will admit, obviously with what's going on, I haven't drank a drop since the whole craziness has gone on so I've saved myself a fortune by not going on nights out but this isn't to say you can't treat yourself to a drink or two at home. Always give yourself a small thing to look forward too. I also like to meet up with friends every couple of weeks (again pre covid, now it's mainly WhatsApp video calls or a walk in the park) so I like to treat myself then too if we are heading out to town for a look around.

7) (Now this might not apply to everyone so you don't have to read this one. I found it helped me)

Pay off your loans. The reasons I say this is because saving and paying off loans genuinely seem to me, like wasted money. The money I was putting towards my loan could of been that bit extra to save for a deposit which could make the savings speed up that small bit or it could show you can save extra. However you want to look at it. I had a personal loan of the sum of €5,000. It's not a lot but when I was in college and I was just careless with money, I took 2 loans out for holidays and I had it set up to pay €50 a week from my wages and I dragged that out for as long as I could. I topped the loan up once again. I sat down one day to budget, rent, food, bills etc and I just knew if I didn't have a loan then I would be able to comfortably save and not feel like I was forcing myself to save. I spent a year saving to pay off this loan that I had with the Credit Union and December last year I paid it off (don't forget interest rates etc so speak to your loan provider about this and see what your options are). I'm not telling everyone to pay off their loans, that's up to you but personally and after speaking to a broker, they said it was ideal to not have a loan but most banks might not reject you, I wouldn't want to take on that risk as I've spent long enough as it is saving and I would like to avoid any set backs if I can. Again, please don't take this advice to heart. What might work for some, won't work for others. I've had friends who've been mortage approved with loans so please don't take my word for it if you find it adds more pressure. I just find that the money I would of been paying off for my loan, is now going towards something I can physically get and show for it whereas I was paying off something I wasn't even doing anymore and it was daunting.


8) Look around at other avenues!

Unfortunately many of the schemes in Ireland are gone. Most affordable housing schemes are shut down but there's a couple of ways to branch out. If you have a good search online you'll find there are a couple of housing associations that you could put your name forward. I will advise to put your name on the housing list to have your chances as it's lottery based. Everyone is entitled to put their names on the housing list, regardless of their housing situation. I am renting privetly with my boyfriend in a one bedroom apartment (and the rent is not worth the amount but it was cheaper than other places) and my parents own their own homes so I'm not with the mind set of "just get a council house" but if there are housing associations out there and they are willing to help with affordable housing then yeah sure, get your name down. Your only putting yourself in the lottery draw basically, you're not exactly looking for a 5 bedroom council house rent free (I wish!) I'm under no illusion that I will ever be given a council house as myself and boyfriend earn plenty to afford private renting (which kills us sometimes) but I feel if there's avenues out there then join them. I still have to have a certain amount of deposit saved so it's not like I'm going to be given a house for free but it would be a lot more affordable, albeit the competition will be immense. The Rebuilding Ireland scheme has a thread on here for loads of advice and information. Also check out the Housing Agency website for updates as they are to announce of further information on new developments throughout the end of the year. I found this all useful as I know I can save with the option of going straight to the bank and apply or if I see an affordable house that's within my price range in a location that's ideal then I can choose.


9) (This option wasn't possible for me but I've seen it work)

Move in with parents or house share to save money. I've a friend who himself and his boyfriend have joined in with other friends and each have their own rooms and their rent is next to nothing when they've split it between them, of course being able to save more. Moving in with parents has its pluses, you might not have to worry about batch cooking if your parents like to fed you and I won't lie, that sounds perfect! These are normally what people do if they really want to knuckle down and save. It might not suit some people and of course not everyone will have that option so that's why the budgeting comes in. I housed shared before I met my partner and it wasn't a great experience but financially it worked well

10) This was another great tip I recieved from a friend and I saw a huge difference

Cancel any subscriptions that you genuinely don't need or rarely use. I had 3 subscriptions, one for a magazine that didn't even read and 2 for beauty box subscriptions that I was getting bored off. I was hoarding most of the stuff and most of the make up wasn't even wearable but I recieved the boxes each month so a few months ago I cancelled them. I switch my mobile provider to a cheaper one. I used to pay €50 a month and luckily I was at the end of my contract 2 months ago so I switch to pay as you go to another network with pretty much the same deal just cheaper and I can decide whether I want to get credit or not. Its made a huge difference that goes hand in hand with budgeting. I had one clothing account that I used to visit regualry and pretty much buy at every payday and I've cancelled that more for the sheer fact that I wasn't even wearing most of the clothes I ordered and most still have their tags on them so that goes to show really, I even cancelled email subscriptions so I don't get tempted. Although I've stayed to treat yourself.... Not spending loads of things you know you don't need. Let's be realistic. My boyfriend is a gamer and of course would subscribe to download the latest game or buy a game every couple of days, he's also cancelled them as he realised he had racked up a good collection that he can go through to entertain himself.


11) Lastly enjoy the process and gather all information

Me and my boyfriend like to have a look online from time to time and see what options there is, what location we could prefer or would like to aim for, how may rooms we would like, how big we would like our kitchen to be etc. Pipe dreams really. We aren't at the stage of being able to speak to a broker properly as we haven't got that much saved but I have spoken to one mortgage advisor in a bank branch and a broker and they've both echoed the amounts that we could potentially need in order to go through the process. That information alone has spurred us on and has made the process easier as we know what we are aiming for rather than just saving and not having a clue what it is we need. In saying that there is plenty of online mortage calculators that you could mess around with to get a fair idea but personally I wanted to speak to someone, show exactly what we earn and know exactly what we needed. Also take all the help you can from family and friends. Most have been through the same process and if they offer to give you second hand applicances, take them! My parents have offered to give me a couple of items so I'll be taking them with me when I purchase a house, whether that's next year, or two years.

Me and my boyfriend are not loaded or wealthy by any means, we earn enough to get by which still isn't enough sometimes but we get by comfortably and its the trials and tribulations of life that can make saving for a house make a dream seem further away. My reasoning for this thread was because I felt that although looking through the other threads on boards, a lot of it seems daunting and I've read some awful stories of people going through the process to be told no for the most ridiculous reasons. I'm not expecting this to be all flowers and roses and things will go my way but if these tips and advice are anything to go by, they've helped me.