We asked three 23-year-old women how they spend their money post-lockdown while saving for a house. Here’s what they* had to say:

Are you a spender or a saver?

Emily: Saver! Although I’m trying to get better at spending without huge guilt.

Ava: I am definitely both a saver and a spender, but I spend more than I save.

Charlie: More of a saver but I like the occasional treat.

What is your favourite thing to spend money on?

Emily: Food (of course) and travel.

Ava: Holidays and experiences!

Charlie: Clothes or nice food.

What are your current savings goals?

Emily: To save as much as I can towards going travelling and buying a house and paying off my car.

Ava: My savings goals are to pay off my holidays (almost done) and reach 15k in savings by the end of the year.

Charlie: To consistently put money into my Lifetime ISA (LISA) and use sinking funds for shorter-term goals, like holidays.

Is saving for a house going well?

Emily: I’m doing the best I can at the moment. I’m saving for a house as well as 3 holidays and paying off my car, so hopefully, I’ll be able to contribute more later this year. I’ll get there when I get there.

Ava: I feel like saving for a house is going really well. I’ve saved a lot already and haven’t had to cut back much elsewhere. There is some travelling I want to do before I start looking at buying a home (the next 2/3 years).

Charlie: I got off to a good start in the first year I opened my LISA but I changed jobs over lockdown and took a large pay cut so haven’t been able to keep up the same rate of saving. I would like to buy somewhere before I’m 30 but I know a lot of the factors as to whether that happens are outside of my control so I am trying to keep an open mind.

How do you like to save?

Emily: I work out a budget a few days before payday when I know how much I’ll be getting (this differs due to overtime each month) and transfer everything over including savings on payday.

Ava: I save when I get paid, I put in a chunk of money at the end of the month before the new month starts and then I put in a smaller amount weekly that is manageable as extra.

Charlie: A combination - I plan my LISA and Stocks and Shares ISA contributions at the start of the month and then put some into sinking funds based on my budget. I tend to allow myself a cushion which if leftover at the end of the month, can be additional savings.

Did you have many conversations about money growing up?

Emily: I was always encouraged to think about things before I buy them. My parents never made any big financial decisions without thinking it through thoroughly and I am grateful for that lesson as it has stuck in my head from buying a top to buying my first car.

Ava: We never had conversations about money growing up but I started working at age 14 and haven’t taken money from my mum since then as she’s a single parent, so I learnt to manage my own earnings from quite a young age.

Charlie: My parents were quite open about money and we had family conversations when money was tight. When I turned 14, I started receiving an allowance each week, which I was expected to budget to cover school lunches, birthday gifts for friends and clothing essentials.

Do you invest and if so, how so? Eg. Stocks and Shares ISA/Shares/Crypto?

Emily: Yes - I have a stocks and shares ISA (ethical option, medium risk) that I contribute to monthly and I’m trying to educate myself more on other options.

Ava: I don’t invest, I want to but I don’t really know where to start.

Charlie: I opened a stocks and shares ISA at the start of this year, with weekly deposits. I don’t really know much about investing but I wanted to make a start while I’m young.

Have you had to cut back on anything while saving?

Emily: Buying clothes -I have a new rule that for every item I buy, I have to get rid of one (either sell it or give it to charity).

Ava: I could cut back on buying clothes and random shopping splurges, but I just spend when I want to, I haven’t had to cut back on anything really.

Charlie: Takeaways - I can sometimes be a bit lazy about cooking from scratch. I haven’t necessarily cut back on things but have started being a bit more mindful when it comes to budgeting.

What’s your best saving tip?

Emily: Have a fun spending account if you’re tempted to go into your savings a lot. It gets rid of the guilt of spending money when it’s actually allocated to spending.

Ava: I think a great tip is to have two accounts, one which you get paid into and pay your essential expenses from and another where you can transfer your “allowance” for the month.

Charlie: Budget! It doesn’t have to be a strict thing, but having a rough idea of income vs expenses so you can see how much you can afford to save and what areas you could pull back on if you want to save more.

*Names changed for anonymity

‍