Advice for a clueless twenty year old?

kteara

Hi guys.

I've made this thread because I have no plan for my savings currently and this is frustrating. The reason being is because I believe that owning a house is near-impossible. I have about 10k saved and I save 500 a month. I will graduate in 2 years time and I'll hopefully land a entry level full time job. I need a plan for what to do after these 2 years are up. I have gone through hell trying to save this much money and I really want to reward myself with a sports car but not at the expense of never owning a house. At the same time, I don't honestly beleive I can ever afford a decent house, let alone a nice one given the prices they are at.

My whole life has consisted of being smart with my money and working towards being successful. One major "problem" is that my biggest joy/aim in life is to own and enjoy sports cars. I know that sports cars are a bad investment but this is what I enjoy MOST out of life.

A crappy 2 bed apartment costs roughly 250k which will need 50k for a 20% deposit and require me to slave away for many years to pay off this said "crappy" 2 bed apartment. Is this really what I will have to look forward to? What is the best thing I should do with my money in a few years? I don't want to go through hell of saving and slaving away for a crappy property and at the same time I don't want to end up staying at home for eternity at the cost of a nice car. What should my plans be right now? I hate not having a plan I can follow because it leads to depression and doubt.

ACG

Duplicate post
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5141687

kteara

ACG wrote: »

Duplicate post
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5141687

Apologies. This section I believe is better geared towards this thread.

fairy_lights

How much will you be earning once you graduate? You haven't said which industry you'll be going in to.
A two bedroom apartment might cost 250k in London, but in my part of the country that could get you a three bed house with garden. I don't mean to sound patronising but at 20 and still years away from graduating you never know where you're going to end up.

pinkshoes

A home is for life.

A sports car is more often for a mid life crisis.

A mortgage in some areas is cheaper than rent. Don't forget you can take in a lodger to help pay the mortgage, which can then help towards funding your mid life crisis sports car.

Pixie5740

Why are the only two options living at home or buying a property? If you're about to graduate then renting gives you a lot of flexibility to take career opportunities anywhere in the world without being tied down.

Atomix

Can only go on my own experience, I met my wife at uni 20 years ago, and we've bought many houses together, just been really lucky we both landed good jobs/and both set out of life after uni 'together' - maybe you'll meet someone in the same position, and therefore jointly increase your deposit/income etc... Good luck, wouldn't want to be doing the same now (job prospects/housing costs)...

Lord_Baltimore

Advice for a clueless twenty year old?

Yes, stop worrying about houses and go and get your leg over

Mojisola

kteara wrote: »

I have gone through hell trying to save this much money

My whole life has consisted of being smart with my money and working towards being successful.

Don't forget to enjoy life along the way. It's no good life 'being hell' for years just so you can own a house.

Pixie5740

How did you go through hell to save £10k? Did you sell a kidney? If you think saving money whilst living in the comfort of your parents' home is hell then you're in for a rude awakening when you finally stand on your own two feet.

princeofpounds

The average first time buyer for a house is now in the second half of their third decade (without parental help - that is about 29-30). Yes, they are hard to buy. That's just the economic consequence of a tightly restrictive planning system and interest rates that have been slashed to unprecedented lows to protect the economy (or at least certain parts of the economy).

Sports car or buy 3-4yrs earlier, it's really a matter of personal choice. Not much I can say, deep down you know the trade-off. I wouldn't tell you not to do it, but how and when may take some thought.

The really important thing at your age is to grow and maximise your income. Career choices and drive in your twenties will have a disproportionate effect on your potential for the following 30-40 years of work. There's a reason why so many sports car drivers are middle aged portly men with good careers, and it's not always mid-life crisis. Often those are the guys that can afford it.