How to Save for a Mortgage Deposit if you are Paying Rent

When you are renting a lot of your money gets put towards that and it means that there is often not a lot left for saving up. However, if you want to buy a home then you will have to save up enough money to be able to afford the deposit. This means that somehow you will need to find a way to do this. There are some things that you can try that might be able to help you.

Rent a cheaper place

If possible it could be worth looking to see whether you can rent a cheaper place. This will enable you to have more money available to save towards your mortgage deposit. Of course, you will need to take other costs into consideration as well. Try to find out whether your utilities will be more or less if you move, a good guide tends to be the size of the place but the type of heating and what insulation there is and the types of windows can all influence the costs too. Also think about the distance it is from your work and where you shop and socialise as if you are paying extra for travel that may outweigh any savings that you are making from the reduced rent. You may have to put up with living in something smaller and in a less desirable location for a while but it could be worth it if it means that you can get to buy your own place much sooner.

Share the rent with someone else

If you have a spare room then it could work out cheaper if you can share the rent with someone else. You will obviously have to check with the landlord first. If you can do this then it could mean that you will be able to put the money that you would have spent on half the rent towards your deposit. You will also be able to share the other bills as well such as council tax and heating bills which means that you should be able to save a significant amount compared to what you were saving before.

Compare prices and cut spending

Cutting down what you are spending can make a big difference too. It can be worth looking at the cost of everything that you buy and seeing whether there are any ways that you can reduce them. It might be that you will be able to go without some things or that you can buy some things cheaper. It could be a struggle to go without things for a while, but it will be worth it. Buying cheaper alternatives though is less likely to be a struggle and you may even find that you do not really notice any difference. If it will mean that you can buy your own place sooner then you could be quite happy to make these sacrifices.

Sell things

If you have things that you no longer want or need then selling them could be a good way to get a lump sum of money to put towards your deposit. There are plenty of places where you can sell things, both offline and online and it is just a matter of finding the right place for you. By looking at the sorts of things that are already selling on there you should be able to choose the right place to sell your items. If you want the money quickly then price them low, but if you still have a lot of saving to do, then price them a bit higher and wait a while for them to sell. Hopefully you will get a chunk of money that you can use to boost your savings.

Earn more

Earning more does sound easier than it is, but there are ways that we could all earn a bit more money. If you have a conventional job, then you may think that there is nothing else you can do. However, there may be opportunities to earn more in your current job or to earn extra alongside it.

In your current job see whether you can work some overtime to get some extra money, or you might be able to ask for a pay rise. It could also be wise to look for opportunities to get a promotion so that you can earn extra money.
If this is not possible then there are ways that you will be able to earn extra money in addition to your job. You may be able to find some part-time work, for example in the evenings or at the weekends, which could help you to put more money in your savings account. You might also be able to pick up some casual work, perhaps some freelance jobs online or something like that which will bring in some extra money for you.