This is how much you need to save at a minimum per year to ever buy a house

Well, saving is quite boring. Let's be honest. Because I would much rather buy that beautiful bag or that way too expensive but oh so chic winter coat. But okay, saving is smart. Especially if you ever want to buy a house.

Then you'd better have a buffer in your account, right?

Believe me: you always need that when you're going to buy a house. Because even if you can borrow so much from the bank, your own contribution is also a must. Buying a house requires a significant own contribution, as you have to finance the additional costs yourself in addition to the mortgage. These additional costs, often referred to as ‘costs for the buyer’, include notary fees, appraisal fees, and advice and closing costs. On average, these costs amount to between 4% and 6% of the purchase price of the property.

So let's say you're going to buy a house for 300,000 euros. Together with your partner, or alone, either way. Then you already need quite a bit of your own money. Calculate, calculate, calculate... This means that, in addition to the mortgage, you need between €12,000 and €18,000 in your own funds to cover the additional costs. But how much do you need to save diligently each month? Suppose you want to buy a property worth €300,000 within five years and you're aiming for 5% in additional costs (€15,000). This means you need to set aside €250 each month to have enough of your own money for the purchase of a property worth €300,000 within five years.

Well, that's quite manageable, right? What always works smart for me is that I open a new savings account. And you really name it: ‘house’. You deposit that 250 euros into it every month and you don't look at it anymore. Because that savings account has its own name, you're less likely to dip into it for other things. You know it really belongs to your new house. And that way, saving gets better and better.

Now it may all seem very boring to do, but when you plop down on your soft couch in your beautiful casa in five years... You'll have long forgotten that one winter coat you didn't buy.