Dan Barker

I knew I wanted to buy for a while and set up a Lifetime ISA (LISA) in 2019.

My mum encouraged me and my two brothers to each open an account as it offers a free 25% on anything you save up to £4,000 per year, meaning you can get a bonus of up to £1,000 every year.

In total, I contributed £21,050 into my lifetime ISA and received a £5,262.50 bonus. I had chosen a stocks & shares LISA as I’ve always been interested in the stock market*.

With the bonus and increase in value from the stock market combined, by the time I bought my flat the total value was £32,500 – so I’d received an extra £11,450.

I bought by myself which can make it really difficult to afford, but the extra money I received by investing into a LISA made it possible. It wouldn’t have happened otherwise, or I would’ve had to buy a property that required a lot more work or wouldn’t have been able to get the location I’ve got.

The extra bonus and growth allowed me to get exactly what I want.

One of the reasons I was able to save so much is that I decided to move back in with my parents to help me get on the property ladder. I had been spending almost £900 on rent and bills alone, so straight away I had almost an extra grand to put into savings every month.

If I hadn’t moved home and invested into a LISA I wouldn’t have been able to afford the property I’ve got now. And it would’ve probably taken me at least another three or four years to get on the property ladder.

My savings goal for a deposit was about £30,000, I knew I wanted something around the £300,000 mark and needed a 10% deposit.

By the time I bought, I had about £32,500 in my LISA and additional savings in other accounts. I bought my property for £280,000.

The flat needed a decent amount of work and renovation. I recently stripped out the kitchen and I got parts of the flat replastered as well as new carpets.

At the moment it’s a bit of an empty shell, but it’s all freshly painted and ready to add furniture into.
There’s been lots of high and lows with renovating that I didn’t anticipate, so it’s nice to have the extra support of the LISA which has freed up some of my other savings to help with any unexpected expenses.

I’m a big advocate of Lifetime ISAs and for ISAs in general. I think it’s something we aren’t taught about in school, or at least I wasn’t anyway. It should be taught more in schools.

The LISA is a great product which has helped me buy the type of home I want sooner than I would’ve otherwise been able to.