When you’re saving for your first home, the amount of money left to “put away” after your friendly payroll services have delivered your salary, is all important to say the least! The thing is, there’s no other way to say it: you need to save money for that all-important first deposit. If a home of your own (and a mortgage) is your heart’s desire, then you need to make it the priority. Basically you should try to save about 20-30% of every month’s salary. You’ll find the money does grow and need not take “up to seventeen years” to save as some gloomy types advise.
It’s important to clear your credit cards because having the balance at nil will give a good impression to possible Lenders, keep your credit rating up and may even affect your capability for repaying a mortgage.
While saving for that first deposit it’s important to select the best savings account. You should firstly consider an ISA – such as Barclays, Santander or Nationwide. You can now pay up to £5,340 per year in a cash ISA. It’s advisable to check out how much money you should try to save on a monthly basis, by consulting an online savings Calculator – such as this: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-1633419/Monthly-lump-sum-savings-calculator.html . On that website you can input various amounts to see how fast your money will grow.
Whichever way you choose to save and however long it takes it’ll be worth it in the long run, that’s for sure.