Save for a house or go travelling?

Back when I started working and earning money, this question was on my mind- shall I save for a house or go travelling?

If you’re something like me and always DESPERATE to travel, looking for the next adventure…

…but at the same time, understand the importance of investing.

Save for a house or go travelling? -Is the million-dollar question!

It was a choice between my passion, travel, and investing my money into something secure.

I was torn between my HEAD and my HEART.

…This reminds me of a West Side Story song…

Save for a house or go travelling, that is the question!

Forget Shakespeare!

Can you really have your cake and eat it?

If you’re like me and keen for both, then if you can plan and you’re determined, there’s no reason why you can’t have both!

That’s what I say anyway!

For a long time, I was hearing and reading that it was not possible to save money for travel and save up for your first home.

“If you want to go travelling, you will have to take time away from your job.”

“So, when you’re not working, you’re not saving and further away from buying your first home.”

“Travelling for a long period can be costly, and once you run out of money…the sad reality is… you have to go home.”

This is the kind of thing I was hearing.  

But now that I can make up my own mind… I BEG to differ.

I am living, breathing proof that you CAN have both!

Don’t get me wrong, if you want both, you have to plan and compromise.

There are ways and means to achieve your ULTIMATE goal of having BOTH!

You’ll probably have to think outside of the box a little in order to get there.

But, it’s certainly possible!

Come up with a strategy to save for a house

If you’re SERIOUS about doing both, you need to know what’s expected of you.

FIRST:

1. Calculate how much you actually need to save to buy a house?

2. How much do you need for a deposit?

Now I’m not a mortgage adviser but in the UK, you need a minimum of 5% deposit of the purchase price and a mortgage.

The amount of money you can lend for a mortgage is dependent on your income and other factors.

I’d suggest going to a mortgage broker for a FREE consultation and see how much you have to actually save!

You may be surprised that buying a house is more attainable than you thought!

Let’s face it…

Once you know how much you need, you have something to work towards.

Then you need to establish a PLAN to actually save that amount of money.

Take a look at my post on saving money for travel, this also can apply to saving money for a home!

How to save for travel alongside saving for your house

Now, what you need to bear in mind when you’re saving for your first house, is that you need to put money aside for travel ALSO if you wanna do both.

This is where you have to juggle the two!

Set up a savings account for TRAVEL and one for a HOUSE.

That way, your savings don’t cross over.

I have found that if I am continuously saving for travel even when I don’t have a trip planned, when I do want to go away, the money is already there.

If you plan to go on big trips, or frequent trips, this is the IDEAL method.

You can then proportion your savings however you find appropriate for your goals.

So, I decided to put about 80% of savings into the house fund and 20% into the travel fund.

Saving for a house takes a lot longer than for travel, so this gave me a strong footing!

You may want to consider options for combining working and travelling so that your house fund isn’t hindered by you travelling.

How do you do that?

I’m glad you asked…

ALL the methods I talk about, I have done myself!

Save for a house or go travelling? How to combine work and travel!

Work abroad?

Ever considered making money abroad?

Think about your skills and what you’re willing to take part in.

Can you get a job in another country?

You could look for an internship abroad, this way you’re on a short contract and don’t need tonnes of experience to secure work.

One way that I was able to combine work and travel whilst also being able to save money for a house, was to teach English in Spain.

Take a look at my step by step guide to teaching English in Spain.

Travel during work holidays?

If you have a job, you may be satisfied by working and going on frequent trips throughout the year.

But… in order to do this effectively, you may want to travel on a budget.

Check out my post on how to come up with your realistic travel budget- here!

This way your thirst for travel is QUENCHED whilst you’re also managing to continue in your career and save money while you’re at it.

A disadvantage of taking time out to go travelling rather than building your career is that your salary may become stagnant which subsequently means your savings can’t increase.

Remember…travelling through the year is totally doable, so don’t rule this out so easily!

I was able to go on a big trip to India and Nepal, along with a few long weekend breaks in Europe whilst working a job.

On this note…Check out my post on 24 hours in Kathmandu!

I totally understand that it is not a nice feeling knowing that you only have a strict number of days to use on a holiday, but these are the types of compromises you have to make if you want to do both- save money for a house and travel!

Study/volunteer abroad?

If you’re planning on doing a Masters or a language course or something to boost your education...

Have you thought about doing this overseas?

For example, if you’re wanting to do a professional cooking course, why not see if you can do this in another country?

Whilst these activities mean that you’re probably not earning money while you’re travelling, they may give your CV that extra OOMPH when you’re looking for work on your return home.

Not only this, you’re gaining valuable knowledge which you would do at home anyway, but you’re also experiencing travel at the same time.

Stay with me here!

Think about it….

You may be able to get a better-paid job when you get home if you have this amazing experience under your belt.

This will ultimately give you the chance to save more money.

Travel once you’ve bought your house?

Think about it, once you’ve saved enough money for a house, you can still go travelling!

You can always rent out your house or put it on Airbnb and earn money (or break even) whilst you’re travelling.

What a lovely thought?

To conclude…

If you’re racking your brain about whether to save for a house or go travelling and trying to find what the right answer is…

I gotta break it to you…

There’s no right answer!

You have to decide if you’re going to make the commitment.

If you’re serious about buying a house and going travelling, you can do both!

Nobody can tell you you can’t, because nobody else is you!

Find ways to save money for both, you can do it if you really try!

Yours,

Holly