Four things I did to have a social life while saving for a house deposit

One of the things I didn't want to happen when I started to save for a house deposit was to be stuck indoors for a year. I love going out, seeing things and eating things and wasn't quite ready to have all that taken away from me. After all, you're only young once right?! So I decided to try and strike a balance between still living life to full and putting away a large chunk of my wages each month. These are a few things that I find helped out a lot...

1. Cineworld unlimited card
This cinema card has been a lifesaver. It costs £17.40 and works out to be a great deal. Cinema tickets are around £9 now in our area and you only have to go twice to get your money back. It also offers 10% off Cineworld snacks and drinks - going up to 25% after the first year - alongside the same discount at Pizza Hut, Chiqutos and Frankie & Bennys. When you're sick of staring at the four walls, it offers great respite and helps you lose yourself for a few hours. We find ourselves seeing films we would never have dreamt of going to see which is a brilliant way to broaden our film knowledge. I really couldn't recommend the card enough.

2. Find free things
We're lucky that we live quite close to London and its filled with endless free museums, exhibitions and just a joy to walk around. I'm sure other big cities in the UK offer free events too. Yes you have to buy a train ticket or pay for petrol to drive there but it doesn't work out much in the grand scheme of things. You get out the house and still have a fun day out with a bit of culture thrown in too. We've spent hours gawking in museums and walked around London admiring the beautiful architecture for hours. When you get peckish, refer to tip number 4!

3. Bring the party to yours (or a friends!)
Instead of going out at the weekend, organise a night in all together. We had a cracking gin night a few weeks ago. Each person bought along a gin, mixer and garnish and when we got a bit peckish we ordered in a cheap pizza. It was one of the best nights I've had for a long time and we were in bed by midnight. You don't have to stay out all hours to have a fun night! Turns out sharing seven bottles of gin makes you sleepy... It wasn't ridiculously cheap but a hell of a lot cheaper than going out for drinks in London. It was great to have a catch up and proved when you're surrounded by good friends, you can really be anyway and it doesn't matter. You don't have to pay through the nose to have a good time.

4. Learn to be savvy when eating out
It's not secret that I love to stuff my face but eating out isn't too purse-friendly. Luckily now there ae endless deals to be had. Keep an eye out for soft launches for new restaurants- this website is great - as they often offer 50% off. Alternatively, many chains now do vouchers. Pizza Express and Prezzo always have pretty decent deals.