Deciding How Much Is Realistic.

sharloid

My partner and I are currently wanting to save some money up but we aren't sure how much is realistic.

We're looking into buying a house very soon (it'll be our first), so we aren't sure of what will be going out. Should we wait and see what our definate outgoings are, or just save what we can now and change our calculations when we move?

How do you decide how much a realistic amount is?

I'd be grateful if someone could help us work out how much is realistic!
We want to save X amount by X date.

Thanks

Baldur

sharloid wrote: »

We want to save X amount by X date.

Select "I'm saving up for.... How much should I save each month" and put your figures into the relevant boxes in this calculator - also select the appropriate tax status.

What's realistic depends on your personal circumstances.

Reaper

Start saving as soon as you can, as you can always adjust the amount you put away each month later and you are going to need it if you are buying a house - the bigger a deposit you can afford the better the interest rate you can get. Last time I looked the best deals needed a 25% deposit and an arrangement fee too. While that may be out of your reach as a first time buyer the more you can save the more choice of mortgages you will have.

nicko33

sharloid wrote: »

My partner and I are currently wanting to save some money up but we aren't sure how much is realistic.

We're looking into buying a house very soon (it'll be our first), so we aren't sure of what will be going out.

Do you mean how much to budget for:
Council Tax
Gas
Electric
Water
Telephone
Buildings Insurance
Repair bills
Contents Insurance
Life Insurance
Car Insurance
Road Tax
TV Licence
etc.

sharloid

nicko33 wrote: »

Do you mean how much to budget for:
Council Tax
Gas
Electric
Water
Telephone
Buildings Insurance
Repair bills
Contents Insurance
Life Insurance
Car Insurance
Road Tax
TV Licence
etc.

Ooh, that's helpful, thanks.

I didn't mean saving for a deposit, or anything in particular. I just wanted to know how much people are managing to live on comfortably etc.

How much % of your income are you able to save etc?

Thanks.

Mini_Bear

I manage to save 65% of my take home pay my partner however has a lot more outgoings and saves perhaps 15%. Its important to get the tariffs down as low as poss on things like gym and mobile phone etc. once i did that and budgetted for things like food and petrol i gave myself £200 spending money a month and the rest i save. You have to be very disciplined and have an aim. Good luck to you OP!

[Deleted User]

I'd suggest reading this thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=295326

Personally I save 29% of my take home, soon to be 38% when I'm debt free. All going to a house deposit and aiming to save 20k or so by 2011-2012...

To put this into context I'm 25 and renting at the moment.

evenasus

nicko33 wrote: »

Do you mean how much to budget for:
Council Tax
Gas
Electric
Water
Telephone
Buildings Insurance
Repair bills
Contents Insurance
Life Insurance
Car Insurance
Road Tax
TV Licence
etc.

Now if things were as they were in the sixties...

My husband lived with his parents and I with mine. We saved for three years hardly spending anything that wasn't necessary, ie board to our parents and bus fares to work etc. It took three years to save for the 10% deposit and some basic furniture.
We didn't live together till we were married (old fashioned today I know) and moved into our new 3 bed semi. Honeymoon, if you could call it that, in an ancient caravan, in a wet cold and miserable Saltfleet.

Was much easier to save when we didn't have to pay the list of items above though.