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<\/p>\nIF you're saving for a home, seeing your money drain away on bills can be disheartening.<\/p>\n
But it didn't stop Ashleigh Hoskin, 27, from putting away a whopping 80% of her monthly wage into her savings account to buy her \u00a3150,000 first home.<\/p>\n
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Ashleigh, a health and wellbeing administrator, was paying out around \u00a3400 a month to cover her bills, and rent to her parents, and still managed to save up to \u00a31,500 for her pay packet towards buyinga place of her own.<\/p>\n
Sacrificing her social life and holidays helped her to boost her savings.<\/p>\n
When she first started saving for a house five years ago, she was earning working as an apprentice and earning \u00a33.70 an hour.<\/p>\n
Ashleigh still managed to put away 80% of her salary every month, by being really strict with her outgoings. <\/p>\n
As she got promotions and moved roles, she was able to put more cash away and watched her savings build.<\/p>\n This meant that Ashleigh was able to put down a whopping 28% deposit of \u00a332,800 because she saved so much cash.<\/p>\n She also wanted to reduce the amount of money she was paying back on monthly mortgage repayments.<\/p>\n Ashleigh got the keys to her three-bedroom home in Suffolk in October.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n We sat down with Ashleigh to take a snoop around her home for The Sun\u2019s\u00a0My First Home series.<\/p>\n It's a three-bedroom house in Suffolk.<\/p>\n The house is on a quiet cul-de-sac and there's a real sense of community and people looking out for one another.<\/p>\n It has a closed floor plan, so I have a nice big living room, dining room and kitchen.<\/p>\n There is also a bathroom downstairs and you can gain access to the garden through the kitchen.<\/p>\n Upstairs is the master bedroom and two spare rooms.<\/p>\n I don't have a driveway, but there is communal parking and it's easy to grab a spot directly outside of your house.<\/p>\n This is the first time that I have ever lived away from home, so it was important for me to be somewhere that I felt safe on my own.<\/p>\n The cul-de-sac is really quiet and that put my at ease straight away.<\/p>\n It was also important for me to find somewhere close to my parents; they're just a ten minute drive away.<\/p>\n My house cost \u00a3150,000 and I put down a 28% deposit of \u00a332,800.<\/p>\n I have taken out a mortgage of \u00a3117,200 over 40 years at a fixed rate of 6.5% for two years.<\/p>\n I chose a two-year, rather than a five-year fix because of how high interest rates are currently.<\/p>\n I'm hoping that by the time my fix ends, interest rates will have come down.<\/p>\n My monthly repayments are \u00a3700 a month.<\/p>\n I first started saving solely for a deposit around five years ago.<\/p>\n I've always been really good at saving money. I find it almost addictive to see my savings go up and up.<\/p>\n Even when I was a little kid I would always make sure that my birthday and Christmas money was stashed away.<\/p>\n Because of this, I started off with a nest egg of around \u00a310,000.<\/p>\n To make sure I was constantly adding to my stash, I would put away between \u00a31,000 and \u00a31,500 into my savings account every month.<\/p>\n This would go into my savings account at the start of the month and was roughly 80% of my wage.<\/p>\n I started doing this when I got my first job as an apprentice estate agent and was earning around \u00a33.70 an hour.<\/p>\n My outgoings were around \u00a3400 a month, which included \u00a3150 in rent to my parents, as well as my phone contract, gym membership and car insurance.<\/p>\n To be able to make sure I was putting away as much cash as possible, I had to make a lot of sacrifices.<\/p>\n I had to cut back completely on socialising, eating out and going on holiday.<\/p>\n I would go for walks or visit the beach, which were all free but were still fun things to do.<\/p>\n I did miss out on a lot, and there were times when I wondered if I should just treat myself, or splash out, but I'm so glad I didn't.<\/p>\n I am buying everything in stages to spread out the cost of furnishing my home.<\/p>\n To afford this, I made sure that I saved beyond my deposit and my saving habits had put me in a good position to be able to do this.<\/p>\n It sounds simple, but saving really is key and you can't rely on anyone else to help you.<\/p>\n It was a struggle and I did have to sacrifice a lot to afford my home, but it was definitely worth it.<\/p>\n I think living within your means is the key, but of course it's really tricky with the cost of living.<\/p>\n Just save as much as you possibly can and be sensible with spending. <\/p>\n Make sure to seek proper advice too from solicitors and mortgage advisers.<\/p>\n This can make you feel a lot more reassured and make the process seem a lot more manageable.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/rw-comp-my-first-home-nov01.jpeg\")
<\/picture>STACKED UP <\/span><\/p>\nMy side hustle helped me save \u00a35k for \u00a3310k home – it took just a few hours<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/rw-comp-mfh-sep22v2-1.jpg\")
<\/picture>LOCK IN <\/span><\/p>\nWe'd have needed to TRIPLE our deposit for \u00a3245k home without 'game changer' scheme<\/h3>\n
Most read in Money<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/JOHN-LEWIS-GIF_COMP.gif?strip=all&w=300&h=192&crop=1\"\/)
<\/picture>IT’S HERE! <\/span><\/p>\nWatch John Lewis Xmas ad about boy\u2019s quest for perfect tree – it’s a tearjerker<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/RW-COMP-PIES.jpg\")
<\/picture>PIE LIFE <\/span><\/p>\nI tested supermarket steak pies – the best is just \u00a32.99 and is good as any pub’s<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/newspress-collage-24676392-1699477332494.jpg\")
<\/picture>HELPING HAND <\/span><\/p>\nLow-income households to get \u00a3150 extra for energy bills over winter<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/newspress-collage-24676246-1699474972580.jpg\")
<\/picture>LONG GONE <\/span><\/p>\nHellmann’s discontinues ‘best sauce EVER’ and there’s NO plans to bring it back<\/h3>\n
Tell me about your home<\/h2>\n
How did you decide on location?<\/h2>\n
How much was it?<\/h2>\n
How did you save for it?<\/h2>\n
How did you afford to furnish it?<\/h2>\n
Do you have any advice for other first-time buyers?<\/h2>\n
Read More on The Sun<\/h2>\n
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