A young Australian woman says people who want to save for a house deposit should stop spending money on eating out, beauty treatments and vaping.
Zali Gillings24-year-old said people should stop complaining about not being able to buy a house or start a business if they can’t adopt stricter saving habits.
“You know what’s been bothering me lately? The amount of people who complain about the cost of living and say, ‘I’ll never be able to save up for a house,’ or ‘I’ll never have money to start a business,’ but they still get their nails done every week, do their hair, put on their eyelashes, all that kind of stuff,” she said in a video posted on social media.
‘Going out to dinner, vaping, smoking… They want to complain about the cost of living. Honey, I don’t think you understand how much money you could be saving.’
The South Australian woman shared one of the money-saving hacks she had used to save enough for a house deposit.
“When I was saving up for a house, one question I asked myself when I went to buy something was whether I would prefer to be given the amount of money it’s worth,” she said.
‘For example, if I wanted to get my eyelashes done, I would think: would I rather have someone give me a set of eyelashes or would I rather have someone give me $120?
“And she always chose money. That tells me, ‘Honey, you don’t need those eyelashes, it’s more money for a deposit on a house.'”
Ms Gillings said people wanting to save for a house deposit should stop spending money on beauty treatments, dining out and vaping.
Zali Gillings, 24, said people should stop complaining about not being able to buy a house or start a business if they can’t adopt stricter saving habits.
Ms Gillings said there were some Australians who were already living on “the bare minimum” and were not getting their hair, eyelashes or nails done.
“But most people who say they can’t save money could do so if they set their priorities right,” he said.
Ms Gillings told the Daily Mail Australia that her method would not be suitable for everyone.
“I’m certainly not ignorant of the fact that housing prices and barriers to entry are at an all-time high, I was just giving a simple tip that helps me save money,” he said.
‘The video doesn’t apply to everyone’s circumstances and I’m certainly not saying that not having nails for a year will give you enough for a deposit on a house.
“It was more about how all the little things add up.”
Australians were divided over Ms Gillings’ approach to saving money.
“So we’re not allowed to live? It’s better to live life and enjoy it than to have no memories,” one woman commented.
“I’ll just say that nails, hair, eyelashes, etc. can all be part of someone’s self-care and can be very important to someone’s mental health,” a second added.
A third said: “I literally dropped everything to save up for a house. I got a mortgage and still can’t afford to go back to my old lifestyle. It’s all about priorities.”
“Because what’s the point of trying to save when it seems so far out of reach? I’d pull out the nails,” said a fourth.
A fifth agreed: “If buying a house is impossible (as it is for many people), why not just buy some nails and a vaporizer and enjoy what you can?”
However, many agreed, saying they had given up beauty treatments and other luxuries to save money.
“I have stopped getting eyelashes and nails done. I can afford it, but I would rather save up for the deposit. I love the idea of saying, ‘Would you rather?’ Very useful advice!” said one of them.
A second person wrote: “A friend complained that she didn’t have money to pay rent and wasn’t sure where she was going to live… then told me she got a facial in the afternoon because she’d had a rough week.”
“I still go out on special occasions, but I don’t go out all the time or eat out often. I see people complaining about not having money, but I see them spending it on useless things that are only done once,” said a third.
Saving for a deposit on a home now takes the average homebuyer more than 15 years, even when saving up to $400 a month.
“Oh, literally. I’m 21 and I just bought a four-bedroom house without any help from my family. If you can’t live for a year or two without some luxuries to help you get by, that’s a problem,” a fourth member commented.
Australians looking to enter the property market aim to save an average of $67,474 for a deposit, according to a survey by financial comparison group Mozo.
If someone can save $359 a month, it would take 15 years and eight months to reach that $67,000 figure.
For those saving less than $200 a month, setting aside money for a mortgage down payment would take at least 21 years and eight months.
Even that savings goal is modest, as only a 10 percent deposit would be enough to purchase a $674,737 home or unit, meaning the buyer would have to pay mortgage insurance to lenders.
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