As it gets ever harder to save enough money to buy a home of your own, discover the small savings can help you build a deposit.
Five ideas to help you save a home deposit:
Want to buy a home of your own? It isn’t easy to save for a deposit but here are five ideas to help you build that nest egg:
1. Raise your first £200 by switching your current account to a bank that will reward you with a welcome present.
When it comes to banks, loyalty rarely pays. Instead, switching your account can give you a valuable cash bonus. HSBC’s Advance Account offers the biggest lump sum. If you can pay in £1,750 a month and pay out at least two direct debits, you will be credited with £150 after 30 days. Stay there for 12 months and you will receive another £50. Advance Account holders can also open a five per cent regular savings account, helping savings to grow even faster.
NatWest’s Everyday or Reward Accounts are a close second, offering a £125 bonus for switching. The difference between the two accounts is the cost. The first is free, while the second charges £2 a month, but rewards you with two per cent back on household bills and one per cent on its retail partners.
2. Save £200 more by switching energy suppliers — or get someone else to do it for you.
You could save at least that amount by switching suppliers, according to gas and electricity regulator Ofgem. All you need is your postcode, a recent energy bill and a couple of spare minutes. Then in a few weeks, your supply will switch over seamlessly.
Despite the ease of switching, Ofgem suggests nearly 70 per cent of people still get their energy from the “big six”.
If you are one of those who just can’t face the switching websites, you have an alternative: let Look After My Bills do it for you. In exchange for a two-minute sign-up, its website promises to “get you a great deal and take care of everything. When that deal ends we’ll switch you again. You don’t have to do anything.”
3. Take advantage of technology to help you work out how much you can afford to save.
Saving is more difficult for those with fluctuating incomes. Thankfully, Chip can take on the responsibility for you. Chip is a free iOS and Android app that links to 12 of the UK’s largest online bank accounts. Chip’s smart algorithms work out how much you can afford to save without impacting on your lifestyle, and put away small amounts every few days into your new account hosted by Barclays. So confident are the developers that you’ll stay in the black, Chip promises to give you £10 if it causes you to go overdrawn. To make your money grow faster, invite friends. For each one who joins, you get one per cent interest on your account for a year, to a maximum of five
https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/five-easy-ways-to-kickstart-your-home-deposit-savings-from-switching-banks-to-the-apps-that-save-for-a125306.html