Save money - live at home

It sounds stupid, but I have moved back home to live, at the age of 28. Great!

I should probably not have moved out in the first place now I come to think of it, the house is much nicer than anyting I could afford myself, I get my washing done, my food cooked for me and my bed made! The only downside is that my housemates are in their late fifties!

I was discussing my parent’s courtship the other day and to my surprise found out that both of them didn’t own their own home until they got married. In fact, my mother was living with her parents, and had been for a number of years (even though she was in her mid / late twenties) and my dad lived in “digs” during the week and went back to his parents on the weekend.

Contrast this with how people think nowadays and it is completely different. Because my parents were living cheaply they had managed to save up a fairly hefty deposit when they bought their first home - in the region of 25%. That is pretty much unheard of these days, most first time buyers struggle to put down even a 5% deposit!

It begs the question, why? Why have attitudes altered so much in one generation? My parents weren’t radical in their thinking, nor were they high-flyers earning spectacular salaries, so how did they managed to save up a 25% deposit on a three bedroom home in the 1970’s?

What would that be equivalent of today? If you assume the avereage 3 bed house is worth £160k, that’s equal to £40,000 saved up in the space of a few years. That sort of thing is practically unheard of today. So why have attitudes changed so much?

My best guess is that the banks have contributed to the change in attitudes by offering credit so freely, and the increase of the “I want it now” culture, you only have to watch a TV advert and see all the happy, carefree, beautiful people consuming vast quantities of anything they can get their hands on.

This has created a generation of consumers who are only interested in spending money, there’s no thought to how they will afford to pay for the spending or in fact if they really need it. The fact is people buy with their hearts now and not with their heads. This attitude will have to change in the coming years because most people are going to find it much more difficult to get access to “easy credit”, which will mean they will have to live within their means.

So if you’re young, just about to leave university and thinking about how on earth are you ever going to afford to buy your own place, then consider moving back in with your parents for a few years. You’ll be able to save a decent deposit up, you won’t have to wash your own clothes and best yet, you will act as buffer between your parents and stop them tearing into each other on a daily basis!

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