On becoming a statistic: homeowner dreams

This week I realised I’d become a statistic. Plastered all over the web was the news that 30-something Londoners are leaving the capital in droves. According to the Office for National Statistics, last year, 58,220 people aged 30-39 left London – the highest number on record and a 10% increase on 2010.

I felt a mild pang of relief. Maybe upping sticks isn’t such a bad decision. Maybe it’s actually a pretty sensible decision. As I read this article on the Guardian, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The average house price in London stands at £402,800. The average in Manchester? £137,000. Definitely the right decision.

In the spirit of making sensible financial decisions (a first for me I assure you), I’ve started setting my sights on the golden prize: a home of our own. The move to Manchester has just about halved the deposit we will need to save, and I’ve been busy calculating how much we’ll be able to tuck away each month in order to make our dream of bricks and mortar a reality.

On top of this, I’ve also been making a list of these helpful tips from the Money Advice Service on ways to save pennies around the home. Some good habits I need to adopt include turning off the tap while I brush my teeth, riding my bike to work and scrapping my gym membership.

A new year, a new city, and hopefully a new outlook on my finances. I’m looking forward to watching my money grow and fingers crossed in two years we will be by jingling those homeowner keys and picking paint samples in Homebase.

I’d love to hear your homeowner stories. Are you saving for a deposit? Do you own your home? And if so what little changes did you make to top up your savings?

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