How to save up for an apartment

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In theory, there is always a chance. Obvious, but no less sensible advice will help you not to miss it.

Is it possible to save up for an apartment

There is no definite answer to this question. It would be a lie to say that everyone can save up for a three-ruble note in the center of Moscow. Much depends on the circumstances.

You can collect money for an apartment relatively quickly if you have a large salary, you are provided with cheap or free housing, and you have no dependents. For example, a childless couple of programmers who live in a relative's apartment and pay only for a communal apartment have a very high chance of success. If they are relocated to rented housing, the likelihood of saving will still remain. And if school teachers find themselves in the place of programmers, and even with a baby in their arms, the chances will be reduced and the process will slow down significantly.

Time is another important criterion. In theory, anyone can save up for an apartment. It's just that for some it will take five years, while for others it will take a hundred. And the second option, of course, means "no, you cannot save."

Let's say the teachers from the example still manage to save 10 thousand a month. This is 120 thousand a year, or 1.2 million in 10 years - provided that nothing changes. If the apartment becomes more expensive, then they will have to live in rented housing for many years and dream about their own.

Starting conditions are very important, and saving is not always profitable. No matter how demonized the mortgage, for many it is a good and only tool to buy their home in the next decade.

All this does not mean that you cannot save up for an apartment. Let's figure out how this can be done.

What to do to save up for an apartment

Set a financial goal

First, you need to understand what kind of apartment you want and where: a studio or a kopeck piece, in Moscow or in Saratov. When you decide, you can look at the current offers on the real estate market and at least roughly estimate how much you need to save. Add 10-15% to this figure in case of inflation, crises and similar shocks, and your financial goal is ready.

Decide on a strategy

There are two ways of calculating. It is worth using both for clarity - the results will give you material for further analytics.

1. Calculation of "surplus"

You figure out how much you have left every month and calculate how long you have to save. For example, you can save 15 thousand rubles monthly. You need two million. Under such conditions, it will take more than 11 years to save.

2. Time calculation

You determine how much time you are willing to save and calculate how much you need to save each month. Let's say you want to move in five years and for this you need all the same 2 million. Then you need to save 33, 3 thousand a month.

Accordingly, you can either save longer, without prejudice to anything, or make efforts to save more and reduce the time. The resulting figures will also help you come to a compromise option that is convenient for you - you already have a range of terms and amounts for this.

Deal with a budget

Usually, when it comes to increasing savings, they suggest cutting costs. This is a sensible and always good idea, but there is a nuance. In any case, it will take a long time to save up for an apartment. Tightening your belts for several years and limiting yourself in everything is quite difficult. Moreover, it is often unnecessary spending that brings more pleasure.

However, it is still worth taking into account the costs, organizing and planning them. Keeping a budget helps to correctly distribute spending in accordance with income so as to avoid financial pockets.

It is not difficult to treat expenses rationally and spend wisely. Let's say you don't prohibit yourself from going to a bar on Friday night, but you set a limit on spending. Or you issue, for example, a bank card with a good cashback, so that part of the money spent will be returned to you. It is also useful to track discounts in order to buy quality goods and save money.

This will make it easier to postpone regularly.

Increase your income

Cutting costs will free you up a little money, but the accumulation process won't cut much. So focus on increasing your income.

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all way to go and make millions right away. Moreover, if you thoughtlessly follow the advice of business coaches and give up everything in the name of a better future, you may be left not only without an apartment, but also without bread.

There are definitely options to earn more: ask for a raise in salary, change company, take a part-time job, get new skills and rise up the career ladder.

It's not even about the apartment here. If for 5, 10 or 20 years (how much you are going to save) your income does not change, then something you are doing wrong. If you manage to increase your income, you can save more, overfulfill your plan, and save up for an apartment earlier.

Take care of your savings

The accumulation process will take years, which means leaving money under the mattress is shortsighted. There they will only depreciate due to inflation. Ideally, you need to not only save, but also increase your savings. How to do this depends on when exactly you plan to buy an apartment and to what extent you are ready to deal with investment instruments.

For example, conservatives may opt for bank deposits. Now they have extremely low profitability due to a record cut in the key rate. But they are understandable and suitable for any term.

Another simple instrument is bonds. The mechanism is this: you lend money to a company or the state, and after a certain time they return the loan amount and interest from it to you. The yield is fixed and is usually higher than on deposits.

In general, if you plan to save for a really long time, almost any type of investment is suitable for you. But the important thing to remember is this:

• Invest only in tools you understand.
• High returns mean high risks. Money for an apartment should not be jeopardized.
• Very high and guaranteed returns may indicate fraud.

Find out how to get help from the state

There are bonuses that will bring you closer to your goal.

Tax deduction

If you have children, you received medical treatment, studied, donated to charity, made contributions to a non-profit pension fund or invested, the state is ready to return part of the property tax to you. The deduction is easy to issue in your personal account on the FTS website.

Maternal capital

Since 2020, in Russia, he is paid for the birth of the first and second child. In total, you can get more than 600 thousand rubles. They are allowed to send them to buy an apartment. Of course, giving birth to children for the sake of improving living conditions is not worth it. But if you have them, then you will have to save a little less.

Young Family Program

The state is ready to pay 30–35% of the cost of an apartment to people under 35 years old. There are many nuances in the program, but if you are suitable for it, this is a good chance.

Brace yourself

It is always difficult to save large sums. It seems that you are denying yourself in many ways, but the ending of the epic is still so far away. And the situation turns out from memes: I saved up for an apartment, but then freaked out - and lowered everything to shawarma.

There is a long journey ahead of you, and the hardest part will be not to quit. Therefore, you need motivation, and no one knows better than you what. For some, gamification works when you turn savings into a quest. Someone is passionate, and he will be whipped up by a bet.

Find your reasons not to get lost and keep going. In the best case, you will get an apartment. At worst, save up some amount of money that will not be superfluous. So there is no reason not to at least start.