How to save for an apartment, even if you have a small salary5 (1)

Every Russian today faces a housing problem. Some of them are trying to get rid of overcrowding and expand their living space by buying new apartments. Others do this through construction or exchange. However, the majority of our compatriots use bank mortgages for such purposes. When receiving a loan to purchase a home, we don’t even think about how much we overpay to the banks. After all, for that amount you can buy two apartments. All this happens due to a lack of self-discipline and due to the desire to receive immediate satisfaction of one's needs.

We are willing to pay huge interest rates on our mortgage for many years just to move into a new home. But this can be done without any mortgage. In just a few years, even with a small salary, a person will be able to accumulate enough money to afford the purchase of an apartment.

State of the real estate market in Russia, approximate prices

The state of the real estate market in Russia cannot but be affected by the protracted economic crisis caused by falling energy prices and political factors.

According to the forecasts of some experts, the pace of housing construction is expected to slow down in 2021. This in turn will reduce supply in the market and lead to higher prices. On the other hand, the pricing policy of construction companies cannot ignore rising costs due to changes in the ruble exchange rate and prices for imported equipment.

Nevertheless, the developer is still focused on the consumer, so the cost of housing for many companies remains within the range of 2015 - 2021, but savings are achieved due to a slight decrease in the quality of building materials and infrastructure.

Due to the crisis, prices are even falling. At the same time, many experts predict a serious drop in the cost per square meter, amounting to 6 - 7% and caused by:

• reduction in the purchasing power of the population;
• the desire of the developer to quickly sell apartments and houses.

Thus, forecasts for the near future practically contradict each other.

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Today the following is the average cost per square meter of an apartment in different regions of the country. Changes in prices as a percentage compared to last year are indicated in brackets.

• 106600 rub. in Crimea (- 13%);
• 96600 rub. in Sochi (+ 11.1%);
• 73,000 rub. in Khabarovsk (+ 0.5%);
• 67500 rub. in Nizhny Novgorod (+ 4%);
• 65500 rub. in Kazan (-0.7%);
• 62,000 rub. in Ufa (- 5.7%);
• 56800 rub. in Rostov-on-Don (-4.8%);
• 40900 rub. in Smolensk (-9%);
• 36300 rub. in Maykop (- 1.3%);
• 34,000 rub. in Yelets (+ 1.2%);
• 22000 rub. in Kaspiysk (Dagestan Republic) (-20%).

In Moscow and St. Petersburg

Today, the average cost per square meter of Moscow housing is 215,000, and in the Northern capital - 105,000 rubles.

In the first months of 2021, prices in Moscow remained virtually unchanged, while in St. Petersburg they increased by 4.5%. At the same time, many developers complain about a decrease in demand. In this regard, they offer various preferential programs:

• enter into agreements with banks to provide mortgages;
• provide discounts that sometimes even reach 20-30% of the cost per square meter;
• conduct advertising campaigns with wide bonuses and benefits.

Prices thus vary several times depending on the region. Their dynamics change in the same way. Somewhere the cost of housing is falling, and somewhere, on the contrary, it is increasing.

Good for your budget and health: give up smoking and alcohol

According to statistics, a man who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day since adolescence “smoke” an entire apartment in his life. Don't believe me? To do this, it is enough to make a simple calculation, taking as the calculation the cost of a pack of cigarettes at 60 rubles:

60×30 = 1800 rubles per month

1800×12 = 21,600 rubles spent per year

21.600×70 = 1.512 million rubles spent over a lifetime

One and a half million rubles will be given by a smoker with 70 years of experience - and this is precisely the experience of our grandfathers, who began dabbling in cigarettes at the age of 12-14. One and a half million is the cost of a one-room apartment in a small town or two houses in a village. If we make a similar calculation with alcoholic beverages, you will realize that you will lose two apartments in your entire life. So maybe you can give up bad habits today?

See also: How to attract money and luck to yourself: 10 simple rules for attracting wealth and prosperity into your home and luck into your life

Video: A story about a guy who saved a lot... and bought an apartment at 25+ years old

Comparison with average salary

The average salary in the country is calculated annually. However, the resulting results from official statistics and non-governmental bodies may differ from each other.

Today, the average salary of Russians is 35,000 rubles. excluding taxes or about 30,000 rubles. real income. This is according to the state statistical agency.

The largest job search services reduce this amount to 30-31 thousand “dirty”. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, the salary level exceeds the all-Russian indicators and reaches about 50,000 and 40,000 rubles, respectively.

Meanwhile, many people have incomes in the range of 15-20 thousand, because the given official statistics for the country are the arithmetic average between the incomes of ordinary workers, directors and top managers of large companies.

Choose a way to store money

Another important point is to choose a way to save the freed up money and the money that you will earn extra. Be clear about where you plan to store your money before purchasing an apartment. We are sure that for this purpose you will choose a bank account, and not a place under the pillow at home. After all, keeping money at home and not spending it is a difficult task that will most likely be beyond your capabilities.

“Personally, I would recommend the well-known Zhilstroysberbank,” says independent financial consultant Zhanagul Rasheva. — You open a deposit and make it a rule to take the money you set aside monthly to the bank. Fortunately, there are now enough terminals to carry out this operation. The faster you save up for the down payment, the closer you will be to your goal. Having collected this amount, you can count on an interim loan from the bank to purchase an apartment. In addition, by the time this amount accumulates, you will already be psychologically rebuilt.

How to save for an apartment in Zhilstroysberbank >>>

Calculation of the approximate required amount

To understand how many years you will need to save for housing, you need to weigh your family budget and monthly expenses. Some statistics are not appropriate here, because all this is strictly individual.

Nevertheless, there is a pattern according to which an average family of three will need to spend approximately 40,000 rubles for normal living in Russia. monthly. If you set yourself the goal of saving money, you can, for example, give up summer vacations and some entertainment. This will make it possible to save another 5-10 thousand. This unspent money can be saved in a bank account by opening a deposit with the ability to add funds.

For clarity, you can calculate the resulting savings amount if you save several thousand monthly and keep the money in a bank account:

• putting aside 2000 rubles. per month into an account at 10% per annum, you can accumulate 156,209 in 5 years and 413,279 in 10 years;
• if you increase this amount to 5000 rubles. and have a deposit on the same conditions, then you can accumulate 390523 in 5 years and 1033197 in 10 years;
• To save up to buy housing in 10 years, you need to save at least 10,000 rubles. per month, resulting in 2,066,394 rubles in the account.

Once again, it is necessary to emphasize that these indicators vary greatly depending on the needs of a person and his health. Many families, even with good incomes, cannot save up for their housing for years, because they are wasteful or, for example, are forced to spend money on renting an apartment.

First step

First you will need... paper and pen. However, a table in xls is also suitable. You need to describe how your personal system of income and expenses is built. There is no universal recipe for happiness here. Your main source of income (that is, your monthly salary) will become systemically important. Fortunately, many have other secondary, often irregular, sources. These could be cash gifts, part-time jobs, awards and bonuses. As a rule, they are not taken into account, and in vain. So, first, record what your income is. Try to roughly recreate the picture over the past year.

After that, remember what you spend your money on. Figure out which of your expenses are mandatory and which are optional. For example, you definitely cannot do without spending on food, hygiene products and medicines, paying for housing and communal services, kindergarten and clubs that your children attend. But you can save on entertainment, cafes, optional purchases and travel.

Can an officially unemployed person take out a mortgage?

10 principles that will help you save for a mortgage

Saving methods

To reduce the time spent collecting money, you need to save. In fact, this is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. However, there are several recommendations that can help you raise money a little faster.

1. It is important to carefully plan your family budget, consider the need to purchase expensive items, and try to regularly save at least a few thousand every month.
2. It is worth giving up a number of entertainments: going to restaurants, summer trips, relaxing in clubs, and the like.
3. Every day people spend large sums of money on trifles and bad habits. If you give up meeting friends at the bar in the evenings or buying coffee and chocolates during breaks at work, you can save more money for a new apartment.
4. A lot of money goes towards transport. You can save money by not driving a car to work and home, using transport only when absolutely necessary. Gasoline is expensive today, so the savings will be significant.

Of course, these savings options are far from the only ones. If you think a little and carefully weigh your family budget again, then various other ideas may come to mind.

We determine monthly expenses and forecast savings

Any wealthy person knows how to count money, so he always records his expenses or hires a special person for this. Can you immediately tell how much you spend on groceries per month? What about public transport? For utilities? If your answer was negative, this is a reason to immediately start tracking your monthly expenses, which in the future will allow you to correctly predict your savings.

Give up the “grandmother’s” method of counting on paper and use the convenient “Family Accounting” program or any other similar one to keep track of the family budget.

If you plan to save 10,000 rubles from a salary of 30,000 rubles, based on the calculations it will not be difficult to decide which expenses you should save on.

Options for increasing income

In addition to saving, you can think about how to earn more. You may be able to get a higher position or find another high-paying job, so you should definitely talk to your boss and regularly monitor the dynamics of the labor market. You can get a part-time job on weekends, do internet copywriting, write term papers or dissertations to order, or become a taxi driver.

1. Another way to earn money is to participate in any contests, lotteries and competitions. Many of them will not require time or your personal participation.
2. A good way to make money is to sell works of art or goods (for example, handmade wood paintings, decorative candles, etc.) made by yourself. But for this, of course, you need to have certain talents.

3. Additional money can be obtained by selling some valuable items stored at home:

• jewelry;
• antiques;
• old books, music records and so on.

And again, in order to come up with some profitable option for yourself, you should find free time to think about this in a calm atmosphere.

No. 7 Detailed strategy for the most prudent

1. Pay off all debts as quickly as possible - firstly, this will reduce your stress. And the less stress, the more productivity. Secondly, any savings are pointless when you are constantly pestered by disgruntled creditors.
2. Plan your expenses so as not to live on bread and water - most often the idea of ​​savings is frustrated due to the fact that people “tighten their belts” too much and life in such conditions becomes unbearable.
3. Start saving at least 5% of your salary - if you use the saving tips in the link above, you will be able to do this without much difficulty.
4. Start by investing in the most reliable ways - the deposit will do.
5. Add investment options – first, with the principle of “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Secondly, the more accumulated funds, the more opportunities open up.
6. Think about buying the property that will be the first to be available - yes, this may not be the right option yet, but you will already be able to generate additional income from rentals. And then you can simply sell this home and buy another one.
7. Make a clear financial plan - in 90% of cases, haphazard savings lead to nothing.
8. Break a large goal into small ones - this also helps not to get distracted and not give up.

Investment options

To accumulate money more effectively, the amount set aside must be used taking into account the existing risks and possible results.

For example, a bank deposit gives a small interest, which at best will compensate for inflation. But the credit institution guarantees the safety of funds.

Investing money in some fund or in the purchase of securities, under a successful combination of circumstances, will give good dividends, but this is a risky business, and the funds may be burned.

Another investment option is the purchase of valuables: works of art, antiques, jewelry. There may be many options here, but it is important to be sure that the price of these items does not decrease, or better yet, increase over the years.

Let's sum it up

Every person has the right to decide how to manage his life. Each of us has equal opportunities and chances of success, only some live in a communal apartment with three children for the rest of their lives, while others move into their own apartment by the age of 25. Only you can decide how to manage your life further and whether it is worth working hard for several years in order to then buy a home with the money you earn.

Each of the secrets we tell you today works 99% - another 1% depends on you and your desire. Quit smoking from now on, forget about Doshirak and sandwiches from McDonald's, find a reliable bank, rent out your car - and in a few years you will hold the keys to your own apartment.

Write in the comments whether you are saving money to buy an apartment, and what methods you are already using and which you are planning after reading. Also write what you think is better, take out a mortgage or live in a rented apartment and save for your own. Let's discuss!

Is it worth taking out a mortgage?

A mortgage is a possible option for purchasing a home. However, before putting yourself in a hole of debt, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons.

Mortgage lending is an extremely unprofitable program if the money is not provided on preferential terms. In Russia, in general, loans are not very profitable for the consumer, since in our country, compared to Europe and the USA, inflation is quite high, and the interest rate on the loan cannot be lower than this value.

For greater clarity, we can give an example. Let's say an apartment costs 3 million rubles. A mortgage loan is provided subject to a mandatory down payment - usually 15%, that is, 450 thousand. Consequently, the bank lends 2.5 million rubles. If the loan term is 10 years, and a 13% bank rate is imposed, then the bank overpayment will result in about 2 million, that is, almost the entire cost of the loan. So, in our opinion, it is better to save up yourself than to overpay the bank.

However, a significant advantage of a mortgage is that with the help of a bank loan a person immediately becomes the owner of his home. In principle, loan repayment costs can be reduced by renting out one of the rooms or even the entire apartment. However, debt bondage cannot be beneficial for a person, because it is a banking service, and the credit institution itself receives all the benefits from it.

I see a purpose, but I do not see obstacles

If your goal is an apartment, then you need to very clearly think through the plan by which you will save money, and, what is important, follow this plan.

It is clear that putting a large amount into a “piggy bank” in a single tranche is not easy. It's better to break it down into several smaller ones. Remember our ambitious friends - Evdokia and Gennady? The income of each of them is 40 thousand rubles. Let’s say Gennady receives an advance in equal parts on the 25th of each month, and a salary on the 5th; and Evdokia – the same amounts on the 1st and 15th of each month. If their common goal is to save 30 thousand rubles a month, then it is easier to transfer an equal amount to a savings account from each receipt of money. That is, 7.5 thousand rubles four times a month.

Examples of calculating savings for an apartment for a certain amount of time

Let's try to figure out how many years it will take to save for housing if you have certain incomes.

1. Salary 20,000 rub. It’s unlikely to allow you to save more than 5,000 rubles. per month for a new apartment. This will give 60 thousand a year and it is not difficult to calculate that by saving that much, it will be possible to save at least a million for a one-room apartment in only 15 years at least.
2. With a salary of 30,000 rubles. It will be possible to save half of this amount, if, of course, such money is enough for living: food, clothing, utility bills, rent, and so on. Nevertheless, 180 thousand a year allows you to reach almost 2 million in 10 years, and at today’s prices this is enough for a good two-room apartment in the provinces and a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Moscow.
3. With a salary of 50,000 rubles. With certain savings, it is quite possible to save 30,000 rubles per month. or, accordingly, 360 thousand per year. Thus, in 4 years there will be one and a half million, and in 8 years - three.

All these figures are given without taking into account inflation and bank interest charges, so they can be considered approximate, but fully reflect the required time frame for purchasing your own home.

Total

As a result of all calculations we get the following:

• the initial cost of the apartment is 5,877,861 rubles;
• the cost of the apartment, taking into account the overpayment of interest on the mortgage – 6,945,838.14 rubles;
• the amount of overpayment on the mortgage is 1,067,977.14 rubles;
• Mortgage repayment period is 7 years (with early repayment through personal income tax refund and with a monthly payment of 68,693.64 rubles).

As a result, if you purchase an apartment for 5,877,861 rubles in 2021, then by 2028 you will become its owner. However, its cost will increase to 6,945,838.14 rubles. Sounds good. But we need to compare it with the second option – saving for an apartment.

What can you save on when buying an apartment?

When you are saving enough money to improve your living conditions, you can take care of looking for an economical option. So, how can you reduce the price:

• secondary housing is cheaper than new;
• you can find living space that does not require renovation;
• the price is significantly reduced due to the distance from the city center, the crime situation in the area, the proximity to industrial facilities, and so on.

Buying a secondary home also allows you to bargain with the owner, so after a careful inspection you can try to bring down the price by pointing out to the owner certain shortcomings of the offered living space.

Read more about how to invest money in real estate here -

Thus, it is quite possible to save for an apartment without a mortgage. However, this will require some patience and, of course, at least an average level of family income.

#4 Legal, but not obvious

You don’t always need to save for an apartment. The survey showed that more than 70% of Russians are not aware of possible promotions and benefits that they can take advantage of.

Starting information, for example, for families with children can be found here and here.

In a nutshell, today there are many subsidy options and federal assistance options. Especially for young families, couples with children and those who live in cramped conditions.

The best way to save money is to know your rights!