Quote:
Originally Posted by Toy Soldier
I dunno Kizzy, if I was living rent-and-bills-free that would already be £800 a month. If we got rid of the car and took insurance, upkeep and fuel out of the equation that would easily be closer to £1100. I'd also say that, realistically, if we dramatically tightened our belts we could easily save another £500 a month on top of that so that's £1100 a month without changing our lifestyle or £1600 a month if we became hermits.
And I'm certainly not "rich" or even that well off. Obviously the "living with parents" scenario isn't a realistic one with kids unless your parents have a mansion, BUT in theory, if we were a childless couple both working full time, we could live with parents and save that amount. It would be a nightmare but possible. I guess the point is - an absolutely massive chunk of most people's monthly budget is rent and utility bills. If you take those out of the equation, you actually can save a lot of money pretty quickly.
A friend of mine did it - him and his girlfriend (now wife) lived with her parents for nearly 2 years when they were in their mid 20's, and they were saving over £1000 a month for a deposit on a flat just with him on full time £9 an hour, and her 20-hours at minimum wage. And then they had a relative die and leave them over £70k which they used to buy a place outright so it was all pointless in the end  ... ... lucky bastard...
Of course, ALL of this hinges on whether people have parents who are well off enough to have the space for it, who actually WANT to do it, and also where everyone gets along well. The reality is, most people just don't have that. |
If you took out the car how would you get to work?... If I lived on a desert island and ate nothing but foraged nuts and berries I could pay my house off in 5yrs ... Let's try keep it real eh?