A leading estate agent has suggested young people cut back on “luxuries” like sandwiches if they want to save up for a house.
Strutt & Parker estimated that making up a packed lunch rather than buying sandwiches could save aspiring first-time buyers £2,576 a year. Dispensing with takeaway meals could save another £2,640.
The company’s gimmicky report is the latest to question the spending habits of millennials, the kind of dismissive naiveté that wishes away financial pressures by mentioning the popularity of lattes and avocados.
With the average deposit in London costs a staggering £94,000 (and the UK average around £33,000), rents rising above inflation, and a long-term squeeze on real wages, getting a mortgage has never been more difficult.
Yet Strutt & Parker analysts make the audacious claim that minor lifestyle changes could help a professional couple save £64,000 in only five years.
If a couple sacrifices six luxuries for at least five years, they can put away significant savings
Their figures seem to be based on the small minority who can afford lavish nights out (soirées amounting to £6,000 a year, apparently), and can already expect some help from the bank of mum and dad.
