Member Article

Students saving, says bank

Students are apparently foregoing their carefree travel plans in order to save money to buy their first home. Around 42% of students said they were already setting money aside towards buying their first home, said high street bank Abbey.

The figure is more than double the 19% who are saving to go travelling when they graduate. At the same time, one in 10 graduates who have taken a gap year during the past 10 years said they probably would not have made the same decision today given current property prices.

Only 7% of those who graduated during the past decade said they had started to save towards a housing deposit while they were still studying, a sixth of the current level.

But one in five graduates said they could definitely have saved more money while they were at university and 17% said they wished they had worked harder.

Abbey’s Nici Audhlam-Gardiner said: “House prices have brought in a harsh new reality for students. They now need to weigh up the benefits of travelling against jumping straight into a career and being able to afford to get on to the property ladder.”

No doubt with a mortgage from Abbey, if all goes to plan…

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .