Bobbie-Grace and boyfriend Rory, both 23, made some big sacrifices in order to buy their first home in Deeside, Flintshire, such as cutting back on nights out, selling Rory’s car and canceling their dream holiday to the Maldives

A young couple canceled their dream holiday to the Maldives and sold their car in order to buy their very first home.

Bobbie-Grace and boyfriend Rory, both 23, decided to buy a home two years ago and drastically changed their lifestyle, from keeping a strict supermarket budget to cutting back on takeaways and nights out.

The pair even canceled their holiday of a lifetime to the Maldives and sold Rory’s car just to be able to afford a house in Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales Live reports.

Due to the Covid pandemic, the savvy couple found themselves spending less and they were able to raise a deposit in less than two years, allowing them to secure their dream home at Countryside’s Dutton Fields development in Deeside.

Bobbie-Grace, a financial account manager from Denbighshire, said: “We wanted to buy our first home two years ago but realized we were still quite young and not in the right financial situation to do so.

“Instead, we decided to start saving up to go to the Maldives and treat ourselves to our dream holiday.

“But then the pandemic hit and our trip was postponed three times.

“After the third time, we took it as a sign we should be putting our money to more practical use and so we canceled it and it became the basis of a mortgage deposit.

“We were now quite close to the amount we needed and keen to start house hunting, so Rory decided to sell his car and we started curbing our spending – mostly by eating a lot of packet noodles at home instead of having takeaways or eating out!

“We were able to save what we needed in just six months.”

With the average age of first-time homebuyers now at 33, according to Compare the Market, Bobbie-Grace and Rory utilized the Government-backed Help to Buy Wales scheme which gave them a loan of 20% towards the cost of their new build home and meant they only needed a 5% cash deposit.

They have a 75% mortgage to make up the rest.

Bobbie-Grace and Rory, a civil engineer from Manchester, were able to reserve a three-bedroom, semi-detached New Calder home at Dutton Fields, which is exactly halfway between their hometowns.

“Being able to use Help to Buy was brilliant as we only required a 5% deposit and the application process was really straightforward,” Bobbie-Grace said.

“We’re really so excited to move into our new home and thanks to the extra money we’ve saved, we’ll be able to get started on our plans for our home interiors and garden space straight away.”

Mark Hadfield, managing director, Merseyside and Cheshire West, Countryside, said: “It’s been great to hear how Bobbie-Grace and Rory took prudent steps to save and we were able to help them further along their home buying journey.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming them to their new home at Dutton Fields.”