Switching between expensive dates and pints in the pub for a walk in the park helped a couple save the £ 12,000 needed for their first home.
Olivia Gil, 20, and carpenter Jack Ecott, 22, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, bought their first home for £ 232,000 in July.
The couple saved a lot of money because they couldn’t go out at night or spend money on food during the blockade.
When the country’s stores, pubs and clubs reopened, the pair still decided to continue their blockade savings routine.
Dating nights began to walk in the park, and the couple stuck to a budget of £ 50 a week for food that helped them save.
They also increased their budget using the government’s Help to Buy scheme.
This scheme allows aspiring homeowners in the UK to buy real estate with a deposit of only 5%, and the government will provide equity loans to first-time buyers.
The government lends up to 20% of asset value (40% in London) to owners interest-free to reduce mortgages and increase affordability.
However, those who want to use this system can apply in a few months.
Olivia said: “By saving in a joint account, we were able to secure a deposit of £ 12,000.
“All of our friends and family have been very supportive of us through our journey of salvation, and we are very happy to have what we have been working on now.
“Maintaining our finances helped us reach the first big step on the property ladder.”
Olivia and Jack are not the only young couples grafted into their first home.
Sun spoke to first-time buyers Meg and Ben, who sold the car to save the £ 20,000 deposit needed for the first home.
A saver’s simple penny savings challenge kept her savings on track and buying her £ 270,000 first home.
Here’s how one saver did his second job at McDonald’s to help raise £ 252,000 in cash for his first home.
One saver’s ISA accidentally spent £ 105,000 on his first home.