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At home with: Clare Seal
“TAKE TIME AND LIVE IN THE SPACE BEFORE YOU GO OUT AND BUY A BIG PURCHASE”
Clare is the creator of the @myfrugalyear Instagram account and is author of Real Life Money and Five Steps to Financial Wellbeing . She is also a financial coach working with brands and individuals to address financial wellbeing and bring a new perspective to what sometimes can be a stale conversation. She chats to Lynda Clark about how it all began, her plans for the future and gives her top tips to help first time buyers save to get on the property ladder
bedroom terraced house with a lovely garden and garage and is the perfect design for family living, plus it’s near the school where my son goes, so it ticks all the boxes! FTB : You struggled with personal debt – can you tell us about that? CS: In 2019 I had a big wake-up call as things had been tight for a while but I kept telling myself it was all ok, but it really wasn’t. I am sure my story resonates with a lot of people especially since the cost-of -living crisis – we were very young when we started a family and we also got married
FTB : Tell us about your first step on the property ladder? CS: We bought the house we now live in, which is a new build, in 2022. My husband was initially keener than I was on a new build but we have two young children and apart from the fact we are not very “handy” when it comes to DIY, we don’t have a great deal of time. It was the right choice as it was ready to move into and we didn’t have to do anything to it. We saw the development and really liked it and reserved off-plan, so we were able to choose the flooring and kitchen, which was great. It is a three
12 First Time Buyer October/November 2024
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