Couple Reveal How They Saved £25,000 For House In Just 18 Months

As the gap between house prices and income continues to widen, unless you 1) were born into wealth, 2) win the lottery or 3) don't leave the house, it's pretty hard to save enough for a deposit.

But before you lose all hope of ever getting your foot on the property ladder, just take a look at this couple, who managed to save the £25,000 they needed to secure a home in less than two years.

Rebecca Bradbeer, 26, and her partner James Hill, 29, now own a £235,000 two-bedroom flat in St Albans.

And no, they didn't win big on a scratchcard - in fact, Rebecca was earning £22,000 as a property administrator when the couple first bought the flat, while James was on a zero hours contract as a roofer.

"It wasn't easy, but we were desperate to make it. We set ourselves a target of £10,000 each - which we had to meet within two years.

"We then added that money to my savings to create a five percent deposit and enough for our legal fees. It was certainly a challenge!"

The pair decided to get the deposit payment sorted the good old fashioned way - by saving their pennies.

"It took us around 18 months to save up for our first home," Rebecca told Mirror Money.

Over those 18 months, Rebecca and James cut costs on everything, from weekly grocery shopping to dining out, while making good use of their banks' various savings account offers.

"At the start of every month, we'd move our money into an easy-access savings account. We made sure we had direct debits in place for this," she added.

"We also had Help to Buy accounts each - so made sure we made our monthly contributions on payday.

"This was a huge help as we managed to get £1,000 each in bonuses when it came to buying the property.

"Any leftover cash at the end of the month would then also be transferred into our savings account."

There were a number of major sacrifices as well, Rebecca noting an instant £2,000 payout after selling her car.

"At the time, James was living on his own and paying £1,300 a month in rent so we made the decision for him to move in with my family," she explained.

"We continued to pay £600 a month in rent, but even with that, he was saving £700 a month."

A couple of years on, the pair are now living in their own flat and, after a year of renovating, have also welcomed their first child Jackson into the world.

Congratulations, guys! Maybe this 'saving money' is something we should all look into...

Featured Image Credit: Mirrorpix

Topics: UK News, Money

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Daisy is a UK-based freelance journalist with too many opinions. She loves everything film and music-related and has a track record writing for Little White Lies, BWRC, and Film Daily. Contact her at [email protected]