Still saving... though in a luxury position.

proefkonijn
proefkonijn Posts: 3 Newbie
edited 3 February 2019 at 4:14PM in How much have you saved?
Heya.

I've recently discovered this forum and I'm already obsessed with it.
Have read through a few threads and got inspired to create my own.

I live in a European country, in a city where prices for a 55 square meters flat in a decent neighborhood begin at € 300K. In the last few years it has become a norm to overbid 5%-15%. Yup, the market is crazy, but they say that it has reached its peak of prices growth.

You can get a mortgage for 100% of the house value - which means that you have to save this extra money to bid over, and of course for the notary fees, transfer tax etc.

My goal is to have at least 35K saved before I can look into the market. Who knows, maybe by then we'll have another crisis and I'll be lucky?

My annual income is 46K. Partner, no kids. Debt-free. Partner is currently finishing (well, in June) his master studies and works part-time to just meet his living needs, so I'm not counting him in until August at least. We don't live together but are willing to. We have considered renting, but the market there is even more ridiculous (just a short example, there were 5500 applications for 500 apartments in a newly build apartment block where I tried to apply for). So renting is a no go.

I've started my first graduate position in February 2018 and since then have saved € 9200. I'm willing to allocate most of it (with exception of a € 1000 emergency fund) to the house deposit fund. Partner's got no savings but I don't mind. We are not married but have a long lasting relationship and have talked about how we should equalize our contribution going forward.

Plan for this year is to have 25K by end of December on my own, I'm expecting some lifestyle inflation for the partner when he starts his first full-time well-paid job (he's got a place in one of the Big 4 firms practically reserved for him), so again, not counting on him in terms of significant savings.

Partner's parents offered us 90K but I'm not fond of the idea. It would definitely help us to reduce the % on the mortgage and we would be able to get a house right NOW, but something (pride?) stops me from excepting these funds. It would not be a present, rather an interest-free loan, or a share, so their names are on the contract as well. I was raised not to mix family relationships with business ones, so it bugs me really. Would be happy to listen to your opinions about this situation.

Regards,
pk

Comments

  • Recent lifestyle changes I implemented to boost savings:
    - Started to pack lunches every day. Why didn't I do it before? It saves ton of money, is much tastier than this over-salted soup in the company's canteen and healthier for sure. Unbelievable that I used to pick up a salad for € 8 every day when I can prepare a HM one with exactly the same ingredients for just slightly over a euro per portion. What was I thinking?
    - Meal plan and prep. It's so easy! I used to eat trashy, fatty foods and order wa-a-a-a-ay too much take-out, thinking that meal planning is too headache-y for me. Now I buy ingredients for all three meals in a day and it feels like I eat much cleaner and it's not that difficult after all!
    - I paid my health insurance for the whole year and saved 2%.
    - I stopped buying coffee to go, mainly driven by guilt to waste so much plastic.
    - Another environmentally friendly advancement: finally started using a silicon sheet for baking i/o baking paper.

    These all did not change quality of my daily life at all.

    Planning to do more this month, just have to find out the lifehacks :think:
  • savingwannabe
    savingwannabe Posts: 16,610
    First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    Hi welcome!

    Your plan sounds fab. I'm curious as to why you have reservations about borrowing money from your partner's family? I think if you have second thoughts about borrowing money you should trust your feelings.

    Great news on your money saving ideas with taking own food in. Good luck with your plan. :beer:
    Aiming for a minimal spend 2022
  • Hi welcome!

    Your plan sounds fab. I'm curious as to why you have reservations about borrowing money from your partner's family? I think if you have second thoughts about borrowing money you should trust your feelings.

    Great news on your money saving ideas with taking own food in. Good luck with your plan. :beer:

    Hi savingwannabe,

    Thanks for stopping by and such a warm welcome!

    I'm not sure why I'm unwilling to take money from my in-laws. We have a great relationship, and I just don't want to have a chance to ruin it with some contractual duties, I guess. We are going to discuss this opportunity tomorrow with my partner, and hopefully I get a clearer vision of my feelings towards it.


    On a positive note: I started to round up numbers on my paying account to tens and fives. Doesn't hurt, but accumulates quite quickly! Pretty pleased with this new strategy.
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