Living at home does not feel like a financial advantage. But for most young Australians, it is one of the best they will ever have. With rising property prices and the challenge of saving a home deposit, your 20s can be a powerful time to build financial foundations. Yet the embarrassment of living at home can make many young Australians feel like they are falling behind.
There is a specific kind of shame that goes with being in your early 20s and still at home. You scroll past people your age in new apartments. You hear about mates who have moved out. You feel like you are behind. Like you are not quite a proper adult yet. Like the arrangement you have is something to get through rather than something to use.
I want to name that feeling clearly, because it is real and it is common. And then I want to challenge it.
Because the truth is, living at home is one of the most financially powerful positions a young person in Australia can be in. The problem is almost nobody frames it that way. It gets talked about as a stopgap. As something slightly embarrassing. As arrested development wrapped in a free washing machine.
It is not. It is a rare window. And the people who use it deliberately leave it with a deposit. The people who drift through it leave it and start from scratch.
The question is not “when can I move out?” The question is “what will I have when I do?”
What This Season of Life Actually Gives You
Let us be specific about what living at home actually means financially.
If you are paying minimal rent or none at all, and you are working, you have something most Australians in their 20s and 30s are actively trying to manufacture: a significant gap between what comes in and what goes out.
The average renter in Melbourne pays somewhere between $350 and $550 a week depending on location. That is between $18,000 and $28,000 a year that, if you are at home, you are either saving or spending on other things. That is a deposit in 3 to 4 years if you treat it like one. That is nothing if you do not.
The people who leave home with a deposit in hand are not earning more than you. They are not smarter than you. They just decided, at some point during this season, to be intentional about what they were building.
The numbers, plainly
Median rent saved per week (if living at home): $400
Per year: $20,800
Over 3 years with additional savings: $60,000 to $80,000+
That is a deposit on a $400,000 to $600,000 property, depending on your loan structure and whether you use a government scheme.
These are not optimistic projections. They are what disciplined savings from a low-expense base actually produce.
What Most People Do Instead
I am not going to lecture you about lattes. That is not what this is.
What I will say is that the most common pattern I see is this: someone lives at home from 20 to 24, earns well, has minimal expenses, and ends up with something between $8,000 and $15,000 to show for it.
When I ask where it went, the answer is usually not dramatic. It went on a car. On travel. On a wardrobe that felt important at the time. On nights out and weekends that are now just a blurry memory of being young and unencumbered.
None of those things are wrong. Some of them are genuinely important. But they are choices, and most people make them passively rather than intentionally. They are not deciding to spend the deposit window on experiences. They are just not deciding not to.
The difference between leaving home with $70,000 and leaving with $12,000 is usually not income. It is intention.
A Simple Structure That Actually Works
I am not going to tell you to track every coffee. I am going to tell you the one habit that changes everything for people in this season.
On the day your pay lands, move a fixed amount to a savings account you cannot easily access. Not what is left over after spending. A fixed amount, moved first.
That is it. That is the whole strategy.
The number matters less than the consistency. $300 a week every week is worth more than $800 one week and nothing the next three. Lenders look at savings patterns when they assess your loan application. Regular, consistent saving tells a story. Irregular, guilt-driven saving does not.
Set up a high-interest savings account (a serious one, not a transaction account with a savings feature). Name it something that makes it real to you. “Property deposit” works fine. Move money into it automatically. Leave it there.
| Weekly saving | Annual total | After 2 years | After 3 years | After 4 years |
| $300/week | $15,600 | $31,200 | $46,800 | $62,400 |
| $400/week | $20,800 | $41,600 | $62,400 | $83,200 |
| $500/week | $26,000 | $52,000 | $78,000 | $104,000 |
| $600/week | $31,200 | $62,400 | $93,600 | $124,800 |
Note: figures exclude interest on savings. With a high-interest savings account, actual totals will be higher. Use this as a floor, not a ceiling.
What to Be Doing Alongside the Saving
Money in the bank is not enough. Here is what else to use this season for.
Understand what you can actually borrow
Book a conversation with a broker. Not to apply for anything. Just to understand what your current position looks like and what it could look like in two years if you stay on track. This conversation is free and it will give you a target to build toward rather than a vague idea of “enough.”
Keep your credit clean
Do not open a credit card you do not need. Do not take out a car loan on a car you cannot buy outright. Every debt you carry reduces what you can borrow. Your borrowing capacity is something you build over this period, not something that just happens to you.
Start learning the market
You do not need to be ready to buy to start paying attention. Set up alerts on realestate.com.au or Domain for suburbs that are in the range you are aiming for. Follow the prices. Watch what sells and for how much. By the time you are ready to move, you will have a year or two of market knowledge behind you that most first buyers lack completely.
Get clear on where you want to buy
This sounds obvious. It is not. Most people leave the “where” question until they feel ready, and then they make rushed decisions. This season is the time to think clearly about it without pressure. What matters more: proximity to work, or a suburb with better growth fundamentals? Do you want to live in it first or rent it out? These decisions shape everything, and thinking them through now makes the eventual purchase so much cleaner.
You are not behind. You are early. The question is whether you use this window or look back on it in five years wondering where it went.
The Version of You Who Leaves Home with a Deposit
I want you to have a very concrete picture of what this looks like.
You are 25 or 26. You have $65,000 to $80,000 saved. You have had two conversations with a broker and you know exactly what you can borrow and what your serviceability looks like. You know which suburbs you are targeting and why. You have been watching the market for eighteen months.
You are not scrambling. You are ready.
That version of you is not a fantasy. That is what three or four years of intentional saving from a low-expense base looks like. It is what this season of your life can produce if you treat it like the opportunity it actually is.
You will move out eventually regardless. The only question is what you take with you when you do.
The First Conversation Worth Having
If there is one thing I would ask you to do this week, it is this: book a conversation with a broker. Tell them where you are at. Ask them what your borrowing capacity looks like now and what it would look like if you saved consistently for the next two years.
That conversation will make everything more concrete. It turns a vague intention into an actual plan.
The brokers I refer my clients to are below. They are good with people at exactly this stage, the beginning, where you are figuring out what is possible and what to do next. Book a call. It costs nothing except the time.
Irshad Hatami
Mortgage broker, Melbourne
Why Aimee works with them:
Irshad is meticulous. He does not just find a rate, he maps the full picture: serviceability, structure, what the bank actually looks at. My clients who go to him come back better informed about their own financial position than they were before the first appointment. That is rare.
Connect with Irshad on LinkedIn
Rielle Berglund — Matilda Tree Finance
Mortgage broker, Melbourne
Why Aimee works with them:
Rielle is exceptionally good with first-time buyers and people who feel intimidated by the finance process. She makes the complex feel manageable without dumbing it down. She explains everything, she is patient, and she genuinely celebrates her clients wins.
Instagram: @matildatreefinance
Dean Freda — Brokerage & Co
Mortgage broker, Melbourne (specialist in trades and self-employed)
Why Aimee works with them:
Dean works primarily with tradies and self-employed clients, people whose income structure makes standard broker conversations frustrating. He understands how that income is assessed and how to present it properly.
Instagram: @deanfreda_thetradiebroker
These are professionals I trust with my clients. If you choose to contact them, I may receive a referral fee if you proceed. That does not change what I tell you.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I be saving each week while living at home?
There is no single correct number. The principle is to save as much as your situation allows while still living your life. If you are paying minimal or no rent, a meaningful target might be $400 to $600 a week depending on your income and expenses. The more important thing is consistency. A lower amount every single week beats a higher amount when you remember to do it
What type of savings account should I use?
Look for a high-interest savings account from a bank separate to your everyday transaction account. Having the money in a different place reduces the temptation to dip into it. Some people use accounts that require notice before withdrawals, which creates a useful friction. Compare rates at a comparison site and look for accounts with no ongoing fees. Interest rates on savings accounts change frequently, so it is worth reviewing yours every six months.
Should I be saving for 10% or 20% deposit?
It depends on your timeline and the property value you are targeting. A 10% deposit gets you into the market sooner but you will pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) unless you qualify for the First Home Guarantee, which allows 5% with no LMI for eligible buyers. A 20% deposit avoids LMI but takes longer to accumulate. There is no universal right answer. A broker can show you the actual cost difference for your specific scenario, which makes the decision much easier.
Can I buy a property while still living at home?
Yes. Many first buyers purchase an investment property while continuing to live at home, particularly if moving out would push their budget beyond what makes sense. This is what rentvesting looks like in practice: you own a property, it generates rental income, and you continue to live in a low-cost arrangement while you build equity. It is not the right strategy for everyone, but it is a legitimate one worth understanding.
What is the First Home Guarantee and do I qualify?
The First Home Guarantee is a federal government scheme that allows eligible first home buyers to purchase with as little as a 5% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance. There are income and property price caps, and places are limited each financial year. A broker can confirm your eligibility and help you apply. Worth understanding early, because it can significantly affect your deposit target and timeline.
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Disclaimer
This article contains general information only and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Please speak to a licensed financial advisor, solicitor or mortgage broker about your specific circumstances. Aimee Templeman is a licensed real estate agent however approaches property through the lens of learning and empowerment. She has decades of experience coaching and advising everyday Australians and executive decision makers. Book a conversation with Aimee at Contact.