Last month officially marked the beginning of the next chapter. Laura and I both started saving for our house deposit so we can get our own place to properly call home. It's something to really look forward to and work towards so we're happy to finally get set up to start saving. When it comes to saving, there isn't a wealth of savings accounts with amazing interest rates jumping out at you. It may seem like there's no point looking around for any help with saving, however, there are still a few things out there to help you out.
Help To Buy ISA
These have been around for a little while and are such a good way to get some free money for first-time buyers. And yes, it's pretty much free money. If you're saving up for your first house and open one of the help to buy Isa's, for every £200 you put into the account, you'll get £50 from the government when you use this money for a house deposit. This is a great way to reach your savings goal quicker or to allow yourself to have a bigger deposit than you thought. You can be rewarded with anything up to £3000 on top of the money you put in.
We went for accounts with Halifax, which can be opened with anything from £1 to £1000 and transfer up to £200 per month via standing order. By doing it via standing order, it means you have a bit more freedom to change the amount and date of the transfer. Another bonus of the account is that it will allow the two of you saving for a house to combine them when putting down your deposit, as long as you are both first-time buyers. This means you'll get double the reward which will give you even more assistance with up to £6000 free top-up. There are a number of other banks that offer these government backed Isa's so you have some choice with where you'd like to go.
Don't Overlook Your Current Account
Sometimes the interest rate on your current account can actually be higher than some of the savings accounts. You also have more freedom to move your money around. There is sometimes an upper limit to the amount you can gain interest on but it could be a good option to help gain some extra money on the cash already in your account. The upper limit may well vary depending who the account is with, but it's definitely worth finding out when thinking about where to keep your money.
Make Use of Your Spare Change
I'm not one to really have cash. I use my card for most things and whenever I do have physical money, it tends to get spent easier because I know it's there. I do have one of those change jars for all your spare pennies which I've probably got around a tenner in now. It might not be much at the minute but there are ways I could start to increase this. As well as putting any change you get into it, setting yourself the target of putting a pound a day in will start to build up those savings. It might not seem much to start with but it will all help to get yourself that deposit.
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