Like I said, I feel like what Iām paid is currently matching what my role is! Not that I wouldnāt mind a bump, but I work four days a week, and Iām objectively the happiest Iāve ever been in my career. Not that this stops me from thinking about the future, of course!
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(Letās stay on topic, shall we? After all, this thread is mean to help everyone who wants tips on how to save for a crib of their own 
)
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This! I love my giffgaff account 
I feel like I have so much control over it. Only downside? Realised the other day my credit rating is poo because I always pay bills through other people. Have now just set up a direct debit for utility to make it better 
And looking to get a credit card so I can make my credit rating super-duper.
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With low/non existent credit I would recommend Capital Oneā¦ I mean, if they accepted me theyād accept anyone 
For a legacy bank theyāre not actually that bad, their recently redesigned web interface is actually modern and uses a standard email/password combination as credentials; the iOS app is decent as well.
They also give you access to āCredit Wiseā which allows you to see your credit rating with the CRAs they deal with.
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Haha! Iām sure itās because youāre an upstanding citizen and you always pay back your debts 
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Of course I am* 
*terms & conditions apply.
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Also worth looking at the Barclay card initial and a Tesco bank credit card. Donāt know rates off the top of my head but I have used them in the past when I was working on my credit rating.
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Given that itās only to build credit, the rate doesnāt really matter. I am not sure how good Tescoās or Barclayās systems & customer service is so I would be cautious. I know Capital Oneās web interface is actually a pleasure to use so Iād recommend that.
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Iām sure I had a capital one card a while ago to, but canāt remember what the web interface was like. Youāve made me want to try it now, just canāt help myself!
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Itās harder to go it alone - donāt sew up every last penny and become a hermit, find someone who also doesnāt mind saving a few pounds. Lots of house bills get massive cuts when itās two of you working together.
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Couldnāt have said it better myself, I can say for sure if I had a second person to split bills with Iād be living quite comfortably and Iād be able to put some money away!
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Hereās what it looks like. Notice the lack of BS like āmemorable wordā or āenter the 1st, 3rd and 5th characterā on the login screen, and an actually secure (randomly generated) password being used. It almost doesnāt feel like a bank. 
Behind the scenes itās an React single-page app, powered by a JSON API (so you can actually reverse-engineer it with just your browserās developer console and then build custom stuff on top). 
Screenshots
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I hear Aqua Card are good for building credit. Not sure what their support is like though.
Thereās also a company which takes your rent and uses that to improve your credit rating as itās essentially keeping up with payments: Credit Ladder
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Try setting up one of the government backed home buyers ISAās. They will give you a certain amount, canāt remember how much but itās actually decent (000ās) and as an ISA, itās tax free
You could also try the rent credit builder, if youāre paying rent, it allows that to be recognised in your credit score
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Definitely do the Lifetime ISA. You can save Ā£4k/year and the government will add Ā£1k when you use it to buy your first home below Ā£450k in London. My fiancee and I are doing it and it will add thousands to our deposit for free.
There are hardly any Cash LISAās but you can setup a Nutmeg LISA on the most cautious outlook which will do much the same thing.
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LISAs seem to be a good idea (and I have one) is the only thing Iām relatively confident about.
Even in spite of that though, despite thinking that owning a house/apartment at some point would be worthwhile thing, I canāt see myself doing until Iām around 30 (currently 24), and I donāt expect that Iād want a house where I currently live or could even afford a reasonable one where I am even if I did (which is nowhere near London).
I think thatās a bit of a sweeping statement. Rent goes up because the mortgage and cost of maintenance increases for them, i.e. building insurance or they get lumped with a bill to contribute to fixing a communal or common parts like painting the hall or fixing a leak in the roof. I just had no choice but to spend nearly Ā£2000 on refurbishments because of three years hard living by tenants, ranging from a burnt kitchen counter because somebody had thoughtlessly taken a hot pan off the stove and placed it on the side (Shrugs. Why do I care? Itās not my house?), to threadbare carpet on the stairs and two inches of wax from candles needing to be sanded off the mantlepiece. Iād rather have a long term tenant that treat the place like their own home. But most tenants seem to only want to stay one or two years maximum because they want to āshopā around or they have a change in circumstances, e.g. move in with girl/boyfriend.
Could always do some non-conflicting social media consultancy on that fifth day and something at the weekend. After I graduated from University in Hertfordshire for at least two years I worked seven days a week. I used to work at a call centre as a part-time and summer job when studying and was lucky enough to be allowed to come and go as I pleased when I graduated, in order to go to job interviews, etc. Even after I got my first full-time job, I took a massive hit in salary and increased costs, e.g. peak-rate trains to London as I was living in St. Albans. So I still worked most weekends about seven or eight hours a day, for over 18 months, before things like work travel got in the way. It did help me save a chunk of money towards my deposit. As I spent three years flat hunting to buy something in London.
Sure, I know itās a sweeping statement and I am sure as youāve pointed out there are often genuine reasons for raising rent.
The landlords iāve experienced (bear in mind I donāt rent but see what the landlords in my street are doing) are putting the price up just because they can. We are advertised as a London commuter town now and so just because of that they put the rent up Ā£400pm just because they know people in London can afford it and itās cheaper than what commuters further down the trainline were paying and didnāt care local people wouldnāt be able to pay it.
Im sure most Landlords are good people but there does seem to be a hell of a lot of bad/dodgy ones
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