How to save up for an apartment, even if you have a small salary

Invest hello friends! Today we will talk about how to solve the housing problem. It is urgent for most young families, but for me, fortunately, it has already been resolved. And I will share with you the secrets of how to save up for an apartment as quickly and efficiently as possible.

First you need to choose what you will save money for. There are two options here:

buying an apartment for cash (the way of the samurai);
the purchase of housing in a mortgage, and you only need to save up for a down payment (15-20% of the price of the apartment).

Both options are real, it all depends on your wallet size and patience. It is clear that with a small salary, saving up for an apartment without a mortgage is almost unrealistic. Especially when it comes to a couple of million. But if you need to save literally 300-400 thousand rubles, this is already a more realistic task.

First, determine what will be more profitable for you: to apply for a mortgage or to withdraw and save at the same time. Most often, the first option is more profitable:

the cost of rent may increase, but mortgages may not;
you can pay off your mortgage early and reduce your debt;
inflation will work for you;
Psychologically, living in your own apartment is easier than renting.

But mortgages also have their drawbacks. So, your apartment will be pledged to the bank and, if the debt is not paid, it can be taken away, moreover, it cannot be sold, donated or rented to tenants.

But be that as it may, choose. Mortgage or cash.

Determine the amount you need

After that, start figuring out how much you need.

It's clear. that a mortgage from scratch requires less money than an entire apartment. But if you are exchanging an old one-room apartment for a new two-room apartment or a three-ruble note, it’s easier to save up here than to take out a loan.

Many people ask if it is possible to save up for an apartment with our salary. Answer: Yes, if you know where you are going and have a plan. Determining the required amount is the first step towards this.

Determine the average cost of an apartment in your region and figure out whether it is realistic to save up for an apartment or still take a loan.

In principle, the methods of accumulating funds in both cases will be approximately the same, the only difference will be the terms and amounts - and the set of tools is absolutely identical.

Adjust for inflation

When calculating how to quickly save up for an apartment, be prepared for the fact that you will have to race against inflation. Every year it will reduce the purchasing power of money and at the same time move the price of real estate up.

It may be objected to me that in 2014-2018, housing prices fell due to the crisis. Yes it is. Real estate can either rise in price in 10 years or skyrocket in price. But if you're planning to really save up for an apartment, you need to be prepared for the most likely scenario. And it is such that housing becomes more expensive by an average of 4% per year.

Consequently, your apartment for 1.5 million rubles in 20 years will cost about 3.2 million rubles (including compound interest). So if you plan to save for an apartment for 20 years, you will need an end goal not of 1.5 million rubles - but at least 3. That is. the amount of monthly investments already at the initial stage should be doubled.

Make a financial plan

The next step is to draw up a specific plan for exactly how you are going to save up for an apartment. It will depend on the amount and term of savings. Be realistic: it is impossible to save up for real estate worth 5 million rubles in a year with a small salary.

First, determine exactly how much money you can save. If this is 50 thousand rubles, then it is unlikely that it will be possible to save up for an apartment in a year - at least 150-200 thousand rubles are needed here. Try it like with a mortgage - calculate for 10 years and with a payment of 50% of your income. Most likely, the obtained figures will be closer to reality.

For example, if you can save 50 thousand rubles for 10 years and at the same time invest them in financial instruments with a yield of 10% per annum, then after this period you will accumulate about 11.5 million rubles. An impressive amount.

If, however, to double the payments, the amount of savings will be 23.3 million rubles. Already enough for a single, and a three-ruble note, and a mediocre mansion.

Important: inflation must be taken into account, so in fact the purchasing power of this money may be lower.

It is clear that it is more difficult to save up for an apartment with a small salary, and it is more realistic to save 10-20 thousand rubles each (and it’s good if you can save such amounts). We consider. By the end of the 10-year term, you will have accumulated as much as 2.3 million rubles. Even taking into account inflation, this is enough for a modest odnoshku somewhere in the province.

Define the tools

So, our most important task is not even to save money for an apartment, but to invest it wisely so that their purchasing power does not decrease. For example, if real estate prices grow by 4-5% per year, and your income is 10-12%, then you will win.

The second point is the absence of risks. It is tempting to invest at 10% per month in a forex firm or binary options, but most likely you will be left with no pants. You will be deceived.

Take risks by investing in structured products, futures or the stock market, i.e. tools you don't understand shouldn't either. You will not be deceived - you yourself will lose money due to inexperience and ignorance.

In general, choose only proven risk-free instruments with above market returns. And there are a lot of them.

Deposit

Using only a deposit, saving up for an apartment with a salary of 20,000 rubles is very difficult, since you can save 5-6 thousand rubles maximum. 10 years, of course, will be enough to collect 1 million rubles. But where will you find decent housing for that kind of money in a decade?

Of course, if you save up for a mortgage - that's it.

Deposits up to 1.4 million rubles are insured with the DIA, so you can safely invest in those banks that are members of this agency.

Federal loan bonds

OFZ yields are much higher than the deposit. If, on average, banks offer 5-6% per annum in rubles and 2-3% in foreign currency, then for OFZs the average yield is at the level of 7-8%. OFZ is issued by the Ministry of Finance, they are protected by the state. No risks at all.

If you are thinking about how to save up money for an apartment, then you can use a bunch of OFZ + IIS. Its essence is as follows:

you open a brokerage account, for example, with a Tinkoff broker (it's convenient that there is no monthly service fee, you pay only a commission of 0.3%);
buy for 10 thousand monthly OFZ;
for the year you get about OFZ for 120 thousand rubles - depending on the issue, you will have 120-140 bonds in your hands;
receive a coupon income of 70 rubles for each bond;
at the end of the year, apply a tax deduction - 13% of the funds invested in the IIS account (in this case, it is 13% of 120 thousand rubles, i.e. 15,600 rubles).

As a result, profit for the year: 70 * 120 + 15600 = 24000 rubles. This is 20% per annum. Calculate for yourself how many years you will accumulate the first million.

And here's an added bonus. Due to sanctions, foreign investors cannot hold Russian securities, so they dump them on the market. What happens to an asset when it is sold? That's right, it's getting more expensive. Now OFZ issues can be bought for 950, 900 and even 880 rubles.

As soon as their maturity comes to an end, the state will redeem them at face value. Imagine that you bought 1,000 10-year bonds for 950 rubles, received a coupon income of 75 rubles per one per year, and then sold them back to the Ministry of Finance for 1,000 rubles, earning 50 rubles on top. I leave the calculations to you.

In general, save up money for an apartment. It seems to me that this is the surest option.

ETFs and mutual funds

This is a passive way of saving and multiplying funds, which will allow you to save up for an apartment with a small salary. Funds invest in various market instruments, i.e. adhere to the principle of the widest possible diversification of funds. Due to this, they make a profit even when the market is falling - if some stocks fall, others continue to rise.

You can make money on mutual funds and ETFs in one way. You buy a mutual fund unit or an ETF share and wait for them to rise in price. And then you sell. If you buy such an asset for 10 years, it will rise in price in any case. Your task is to choose those funds that will definitely not fall in price.

I offer a balanced portfolio:

3 bond funds;
1 mixed investment fund;
1 branch fund;
3 equity funds.

You will receive both conservative and speculative instruments in one package.

Plus funds - the minimum entry threshold. Units of mutual funds cost an average of 1,000 rubles, investments start at 5,000 rubles, depending on the management company. , the average cost of an exchange-traded fund share in 2018 is 2000-2500 rubles.

If you are thinking about how to save up for an apartment with a salary of 30,000 rubles, then funds are your choice.

Personally, I recommend preferring ETFs, because - fees for the purchase and redemption of a share of 1-2% + an annual fee of 1%. It is enough to buy and hold ETFs - there are only two commissions - for buying and selling, and they are exchange-based (0.005-0.3%). And in general, index investing is more profitable than active management.

Cumulative insurance

Another option on how to quickly save up for an apartment is to take out an endowment insurance policy. It can be bought at VTB, Alfa-Bank, Rosgosstrakh or Tinkoff. The essence of the NSJ:

you determine the amount you want to save;
choose a program that will allow you to do this;
you get a payment schedule that you pay.

Almost like a loan, but the money accumulates in your account. The profitability of the housing insurance is quite low - usually 4-5% per annum, but you get insurance coverage for the entire duration of the policy. For example, for 10 years. And if something happens to you, you will immediately receive the full amount. And yes, you can buy an apartment.

Conclusion

So, in front of you is a ready-made algorithm on how to save up for an apartment, with all the layouts and reviews. First, calculate the amount you need, then figure out how much you can save, then make a plan and choose one of the tools I have indicated. To get a predictable income, I recommend OFZ with a deduction from IIS. If you want to make crazy profits, try ETFs. For example, the shares of the FinEx MSCI USA UCITS ETF fund have grown by 65.7% since 2012, and this is taking into account the 2014 oil crisis. The main thing - do not get caught by scammers, do not risk "apartment" money in vain. Good luck, and may the square meters be with you!