Martin Lewis urges people to put £1 towards buying their first house
Martin Lewis has told people not yet on the property ladder to invest £1 toward their first home even if they can't afford to save yet.
In a new TikTok video on his official @martinlewismse channel, the Money Saving Expert founder explains how a lifetime ISA can add £1,000 a year to your savings.
He says: "If you've never owned a house put £1 in a lifetime ISA. Why? Because it gets the clock ticking.
"The lifetime ISA is a savings product you can put up to £4,000 a year in but when you do the state puts 25% on top.
"If you put £4,000 in, they will give you £1,000 toward your first home."
Martin then explains the "simple" reason you should put £1 in an account right now – even if you aren't ready to seriously invest.
He says: "You have to have had it [the account] open before you get the bonus so if you put the £1 in now, even if you're not thinking of buying a house yet, once you are ready to buy you'll be able to get the bonus instantly.
"It's only available to be opened by those between the ages of 18 and 39 though."
The video was watched more than 3.5 million times and thousands of people "liked" it and left comments.
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One user said: "I opened a Money Box account when Martin recommended it and now I have £3,000 in interest alone."
A second commented: "I started this last August in lockdown and have £3,000 so far."
Someone else wrote: "Best thing I ever did! Me and my partner opened one each and the boost really helped us achieve our goal.
"We've been in our house nine months now."
A few other people seemed to have missed the point, arguing that there wasn't much point in just getting 25p from the state.
There are two times of Lifetime ISAs – cash and stocks and shares.
Moneybox and Paragon Bank are two examples of cash LISA providers that only require you to have £1 to open an account.
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