Stanley Fulker

I opened my lifetime ISA in 2021 and it’s really helping me build up savings for our first home, I think it’s a fantastic way to save for a house. It offers a beacon of hope to getting on the property ladder, especially with the 25% bonus, which can mean up to an extra £1,000 a year.

When I was renting, I felt like I was giving someone else all my money. So, we decided we didn’t want to rent forever and would buy our own home. I want to have our own place where we can put pictures up, paint the walls and make it ours.

Abbie and I were previously living in a flat together, but the landlord said they needed the property back and we had two months to move out. We now live with Abbie’s family and, although we are paying for rent, bills and food, we’re still able to save much more than if we were renting privately. We’re each putting aside about £333 per month, which will help us reach the maximum limit of £4,000 for the year and get the free bonus of £1,000 each.

We don’t know exactly what type of property we want yet but I want it to have a garage. Abbie wants a disco floor, so if we had a spare room we’d put in some Saturday Night Fever style lights in.

Ideally, we’d like to buy a house within the next five years, but we’ll have to see what happens and how much everything costs.