How should I save for my first home?
You have many alternative ways of saving, such as an ASP account, various funds or a traditional savings account. To reach your savings target, you will be assisted by Our Money Box, which is like an online piggy bank. When you use it, it’s almost like the money does the saving by itself.
Saving is also beneficial in the sense that when you get used to investing systematically, repaying your loan will be routine to you.
The ASP account and saving for your first home
The ASP or home saver’s bonus scheme makes it easier for you to buy your first home. You save 10 per cent of the price of your future home and deposit it to the ASP account during a minimum of eight quarters. You can start saving with an ASP account when you are between the ages of 15 and 44. When you have reached your savings target, the bank may grant you the remaining 90 per cent as an ASP loan. The maximum loan term for an ASP interest-subsidy loan is 25 years.
In addition to the 1% deposit rate of the ASP account, we will pay a 4%* bonus interest rate for the first year of making deposits and thereafter for up to the five following calendar years provided that the ASP terms and conditions are fulfilled and that you buy your home using the ASP scheme. Interest and the bonus interest are exceptionally not subject to tax. Opening an ASP account does not obligate you to take out an ASP loan.
*For accounts opened before 1 October 2019, the bonus interest rate is at least 2–4%, depending on the OP cooperative bank.
Mutual funds and saving for your first home
You can also save for your home by regularly transferring a specific sum into a mutual fund. Your monthly investment can be, for example, EUR 30, 50, 100 or 200 or, if you cannot invest monthly, you can buy units of the fund with a larger lump sum. Mutual fund assets are invested in bond and equity markets, which have a higher expected return than bank accounts in the long term.
Be aware that mutual fund investing is never entirely without risk. If the stock and fixed income markets fall, the value of your fund units may also go down. However, we offer funds with different levels of risk which you can compare by using our savings calculator. In addition to investing in funds, you can also save with a bank account. This method of saving has no risk but also generates very low returns because of the low interest rate.
Compare mutual funds with the savings calculator
Money Box and saving for your first home
OP’s Money Box is an online piggy bank. It is excellent for saving for your everyday dreams and life’s surprises. Money Box is a savings account to which you can set savings targets. You can easily manage your savings and see how they are growing via OP-mobile or the op.fi service. If your savings plans change, you can easily change your targets.
Saving in Money Box is easy and effortless. You can build up savings through one-off deposits or define the amount that will be automatically transferred to Money Box every time you pay with your card.
Money Box also offers a no-fuss way to start investing in mutual funds and, in the long run, gives higher returns on your extra savings than a bank account.