A young woman has revealed the tricks she used to buy her first home at just 25, despite operating in an extremely competitive property market.
Hannah Armstrong learned the value of being frugal from a very early age. Her mother, Cath, founded the shopping deals site ‘Cheapskates Club’ when she and her husband lost their jobs in the same week.
The now 29-year-old said that while many people might be looking for quick fixes or shortcuts to cut back, she was able to achieve homeownership by working consistently to keep her expenses down.
“From a very young age, I was taught not to go into debt and to save up to buy things,” Armstrong said. Nine news.
“I remember when I was young I would save up for the Olympic Barbie that came out in 2000 for Sydney, and for the skates and toys I wanted. I would do little chores around the house to get five and ten cents to put towards it.”
She spent two years painstakingly saving a $55,000 deposit so she could buy the $270,000 four-bedroom home in Victoria’s Gippsland region in 2019.
And she did it on a customer service agent salary, spending part of those two years working only part-time.
Before that, she worked as a hairdresser’s apprentice, earning $380 a week, but managed to finance her own car and take vacations in Europe.
Hannah Armstrong has revealed how she bought a house at the age of 25
She spent two years painstakingly saving a $55,000 deposit so she could buy the $270,000 four-bedroom home in Victoria’s Gippsland region in 2019.
Ms Armstrong said she was “surprised” she had been able to scrape together enough money for a deposit on a house, but she did so “with hard work” and by sticking to a budget.
“I get paid biweekly, so every two weeks I sit down with a pen and paper, write down what I’ve received, and then review my budget.”
She also extends this simplistic but effective strategy to her way of handling money: she decides to use physical cash for all her purchases.
She said this trick forces her to be more conscious of how much she spends.
You also keep your money in separate accounts for each of your budget categories and can only use that cash for its designated purpose—an old trick known as cash stuffing, which refers to filling labeled envelopes with notes.
For her, shopping is an art: she buys in bulk whenever she can, prepares her meals from scratch and goes to farmers markets to find cheaper and generally better quality produce.
Ms Armstrong said she was “amazed” she was able to scrape together enough money for a deposit on a house, but did so by “keeping her head down” and sticking to a budget.
Another effective trick that she often uses is to entertain friends at home instead of going out and meeting somewhere.
Despite already owning property, Ms. Armstrong has not let go of her strict money management techniques.
He said he is aware that interest rates could change and push up his mortgage, as has been the case in the past two years, and home repairs could be necessary.
He estimates that he will be able to pay off his mortgage in seven years.
Once she gets a foot in the door, she said she intends to gradually work her way up to one day owning her dream, all through budgeting and willpower.