Being a Young Homeowner

I never used to be that boring friend; the friend who needs to stay in on a Saturday night to save money. The friend who can’t come out for dinner as they ‘already have one social event booked in for this week, and you’ll just have to wait until next’ – sound familiar? It will, if you’re a young homeowner.

Originally published on the 04.12.17

In the premise of giving you guys a little insight into my life, I thought I’d give you the 4/11 into owning a home. I’m 25, I live alone, I own my own gaff. It’s got its ups, but Jesus, it’s got its downs. Don’t get me wrong, owning my own home has always been my dream. I remember when I was little, and people used to ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up, owning a place to call my own was up there, straight after being a photographer and a fairy princess… but it’s so much harder than I ever imagined it would be.

Being a young couple, & owning your first home with your partner is a completley different kettle of fish; don’t get me wrong, I am not belittling the worries of other young homeowners. But being able to lean on your significant other for support sounds to me, blissful.

In upcoming posts on this blog, I am going to provide aid, support and tips for other independents out their, who are owning their own little piece of heaven (or hell, depending on what day you catch me on…). I’ll be passing on whatever wisdom or shortcomings I run into, making sure you all learn from my mistakes. For now, take these three factoids with you, just to give you a little taster of what’s to come.

1. Get Organised

 Snooze-fest, I know, but becoming organised when it comes to your home really will become your best friend. If you’re like me and you work for yourself then you’ll know that routine doesn’t really come as second nature to us freelancers. Constructing order and keeping to a timetable is literally my worst enemy, and I am a sucker for not keeping consistency. The human race are creatures of habit; not matter how much you try to convince yourself that you love to be spontaneous I know deep down you love a bit of routine, you can’t kid a kidder.

It could be something big like keeping a record on your calendar of the dates your bills go out. With reminders two days before to actually make sure you have enough money in your current account (don’t pretend like you haven’t been there). Or it could be something really small, like washing your clothes the same days each week (mine are Mondays and Thursdays, thanks for asking…). Adding this element of organisation to how you keep your home will act as respite in the future, I promise.

2. Know Your Money

Us Brits love to be stuffy about money; people don’t like talking about it, or even thinking about it for that matter. It’s so easy to stick your head in the sand and think “Oh I’ll just got out for that Nando’s, I’ll deal with the repercussions later…” Right? Wrong.

Making that transition from happy go lucky teenager to responsible young earner is so difficult. Cutting out those frivolous purchases at Primark so you can save money for the gas and electric bill is so depressing.

What I like to do to beat those budget blues is at the beginning of the month estimate how much money you have coming in, and then what you’ll have coming out across different days for your bills in that month. Put a little aside for a rainy day if you want to, and then take a look at what you’ve got left – your ‘fun’ money if you will (a fond term a picked up from a friend…) Then, divide your ‘fun’ money by how many weeks there are in that month; for example January is a 4 and a half week month, so if you know you have £300 fun money, that’s £66.67 each week for that month, that you can spend on whatever you like.

3. Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help

Being afraid of picking up the phone is crippling; and something I myself suffer with. Whether it be a small cry for help, or a ‘Lost Season One’ kind of wail until you feel yourself breaking down, kind of call for help, either way, don’t be afraid to ask.
I’m not saying ask for money, these are two very different subjects, what I am saying is don’t be embarrassed to say your struggling. The responsibility of owning a house, bricks and mortar in your name, is HUGE. Sometimes the magnitude of this massive thing can be too much to bare. I know, the times I have opened up to my family, friends or my boyfriend about how I’ve been feeling about a situation has really helped lighten the load. Usually, they don’t have the answer; but being able to share in confidence always helps me feel a little lighter, and sometimes talking it through can help shed the light on the solution.

I really hope this post has enlightened you a little into my life – and what I hope to bring you guys across my blog in 2018. If you have any questions or own your own home and want to share some of your tips, please pop me a comment below.

Now don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here, pretending to be a fairy princess…