You want to buy your first home one day and this year, you’re going all-in on building your deposit.

We want to help you get there, so here are some tips on how you can knock those savings goals out of the park.

3 ways to set your savings goals up for success.

Keep it simple.

Try to stick with 1 – 3 savings goals per year, max. If you like, you can always reset your goals every 3 months.

Make your goal specific.

“I want to own a home one day” is your dream. Your goal is a lot more specific than that. It’s more like “I want to save a £20,000 deposit in the next 5 years so I can buy a 2-bedroom home in the region of £180,000-£200,000”. Or something like that. Think numbers and time frames.

Set your goal with the Nude app.

Know how much you want to save (or invest) for your first home? Tell us your deposit budget, plus how much you can put aside each month and our app will show you how long it could take to get there.

Don’t know where to start? You should try our app's Home Finder feature. Search any postcode in the UK and choose the type of property you want. Then, we use real-life house prices to show you how much you could need for your deposit and how long it could take to buy your first home.

6 ways to save more money (and put it towards your savings goals).

Understand where your money’s going.

Do you ever get to the end of the month and think “wait, have I been robbed!?” 🥵 If you really want to save, make a habit of regularly keeping track of your money (not just to see when your wages have come in). It’ll help you to:

  • Understand how much of your money goes towards essentials vs non-essentials every month.
  • See where you could cut back.
  • Make better decisions about your money.
  • Stop yourself from going over budget.

With the Nude app, you can connect multiple accounts and track all your money in one place. You also get insights about your spending in the Explore tab, like where you shop most and what you’ve spent your money on this month (all organised into easy-to-track categories).

Pay yourself first.

As soon as your money lands on payday, work out your next move: you could transfer it to the account you use for your savings goals (like, your Lifetime ISA).

Even better, you could set up a direct debit and it’ll do it for you automatically.

With that money kept safely in a savings or investment account, you’ll be less likely to spend it on other things.

P.S. Check out our blog on the Lifetime ISA early withdrawal penalty for more info about what happens if you want to take money out of your account for any other purpose than buying a house under £450k in the UK with a mortgage to live in, or retirement when you reach 60 or over.

See which savings have the most impact.

Sick of hearing that a Netflix subscription is the only thing stopping you from buying a home? Uh yeah, us too.

When you’ve got a big goal to reach, like building an emergency fund, or saving for a home, you want to cut back on the stuff that’ll actually make a difference.

We built this Time to Buy calculator to help you see exactly that – it might even give you an idea or two to stash some extra cash away in 2023  while you’re playing around on it. And when you join Nude, you get a personalised version of the Time to Buy calculator, with ideas based on your real-life spending that can help you buy a home at least 1 month sooner.

Reduce your costs.

Even if you saved £20 on your bills every month, that’s £240 a year you could put towards your goals. Check out this post on the effects of saving now vs starting later to see where you could get in 2 years by saving away different amounts each month.

Focus on building new habits.

You can achieve big goals by breaking them down into small, everyday habits.

Let’s say the majority of Dan’s spending happens in restaurants, but he has a savings goal he wants to reach this year. So, he makes a new habit of going for dinner twice a month instead of twice a week. Just from that, he cuts his spending by around 75% and can put that extra money towards his goal.

Look for discounts.

All those small savings add up, so when you do buy anything (and when you can) look around for a discount. Here’s where to find them:

5 ways to make more money (and put it towards your savings goals)

Open a Lifetime ISA.

Want to make up to £1,000 a year just by putting your money into an account?

Well you can, with a Lifetime ISA. A Lifetime ISA is a savings or investment account with a 25% bonus from the UK government. Every tax year (which runs from April to April), you can put up to £4,000 into your LISA and score an extra £1,000 towards your first home.

You can open one with us in under 5 minutes. Learn more about the Nude Lifetime ISA.

Sell your unwanted stuff.

That stuff you’ve been meaning to get rid of? It could help you reach your savings goals this year.

Just think, you exist in a time where you can sell stuff from a tiny computer in the palm of your hand. From eBay and Facebook Marketplace, to Gumtree and Depop — there are heaps of apps out there that make it super easy to turn anything into cash.

Any extra money you make? You can send it instantly to your Nude Lifetime ISA with one-off contributions.

Ask for a raise.

If you can live comfortably on what you earn now, you can put anything on top of that towards your savings goals. But how do you ask for a raise (and get it)?

We found this article about asking your manager for a raise and another about raising your prices (for all you self-employed people out there), but the main gist is this:

  • Show how much value you bring to the company (with evidence, if you can).
  • Give plenty of notice.
  • Clearly state how much you’d like to earn.
  • Choose your time wisely (e.g. When they’re setting a budget for the new tax year, which starts in April).

Make money from a side project.

Flipping furniture. Affiliate links. This woman made £8,000 selling sculptures of boobs.

With a few hours a week, you can take on a side project that boosts your income (and your savings goals). Just remember, if you make more than £1,000 from your side project, you have to tell HMRC and pay tax on it.

Don’t know where to start? Here are 14 ways to make passive income from home and thousands of videos with side project ideas.

Ask for money instead of gifts.

“Hey, your birthday’s coming up — what can I get you?”

This year, instead of replying with ‘Oh you don’t have to get me anything’ even though you know they inevitably will, you could ask for some money to put towards your savings goals.

With our Gift Time link, it’s super easy for your friends and family to send you money for your first home. One link, one secure payment platform and you’re one step closer to smashing your goal.

3 ways to stay motivated to reach your savings goals.

Set milestones.

Don’t wait 12 months to revisit your savings goals. Instead, check in at least every 3 months and ask yourself these questions:

  • Am I on track for where I planned to be?
  • Are these goals still realistic?
  • What can I do differently next time?

Celebrate along the way.

Before you reach that big goal, you’ll achieve lots of mini-goals.

Small things like, building a new habit, sticking to your goal 2 months in a row, putting money towards your goal from a side project, cutting your monthly bills by 20% — all that stuff!

When you achieve a ‘small win’ you get a hit of our happy hormone ‘dopamine’. This helps your brain stay motivated!

Remember the big picture.

Yes, you want to save £4,000 this year, but what is that for?

Take a minute to think about the bigger picture. You want to buy a home one day and this goal will help you do that.

Tip: Interiors mood boards and conversations with friends and family about your future home can give you a lil’ motivation boost when you need it.

If you want 2023 to be the year that you work towards buying your first home, we’ve got just the app to help you.

→ 13 reasons why you should use Nude to build your first home deposit.

→ 7 reasons why you should start building your first home deposit today.

→ Download Nude at the App Store or Google Play Store