A STUDENT bought a £180k three-bed home without any help – after successfully saving up from tutoring and setting up her own business.
Sujaana Jeyaratanam, 20, from Coventry, purchased her dream house in Nuneaton, Warwickshire in August this year.
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The second-year biomedical science student at Coventry University has revealed how she managed to save up the deposit with no help.
Sujaana earned extra cash by working as a part-time tutor and selling home-made skincare products.
She started her business on online marketplace Etsy selling herbal face masks and toners, which were made by herself using all natural ingredients.
The 20-year-old, who worked up to 30 hours five days a week, said: “There are a lot of things you can do from home to make money, and tutoring is a really easy thing to do as a student.
“It doesn’t cost a lot to set up and there is a demand for private tutors.
“Sometimes people get scared of starting their own business and they think they need a lot of money to do it, but that isn’t the case.
“University students think it’s impossible to buy your home. But this is the time in your life where it is possible to gain income and buy a home early.”
Sujaana lives at home with her parents and has used the bulk of her student maintenance loan towards her deposit.
She said: “I stayed at home and saved up the maintenance money I got.
“If you save up two years of your maintenance money, you would have enough for a whole house deposit.
“You can buy a house with just maintenance money and you don’t have to work full-time.
“I also saved my tuition money and my side Etsy business.
“My parents were a big support for my business and always motivated me since I was a child.
“They never said my dreams were too big when others said it was unrealistic.”
Sujaana always had a passion for real estate and set a goal of buying her first house by the age of 21.
Her late uncle, Alexander Lawrence, was a successful businessman in Sri Lanka and he taught her the ropes when it came to investing.
She said: “I always wanted to get into real estate since I was young, I was inspired by my uncle.
“He started businesses in Sri Lanka at a young age with just a bicycle to get around.
“He became really big in the region, and I always wanted to become like him.
“I had the goal to buy a house at the age of 21 no matter what. I did whatever I could and thought of different ways to achieve it, and I did.”
Sujaana said students should take full advantage of discounts available to them, such as Uni Days and Student Beans.
She also advised others to stay away from takeaways and cook for themselves instead.
She added: “There are so many student discounts that students don’t use such as Student Beans and Uni Days.
“People don’t tend to use them because they can’t be bothered to look for the discount codes, you save so much on clothes and shoes – and get freebies sometimes.
“Try and cook yourself rather than buying takeouts.
“Also, I tend to shop in markets for groceries because they are so much cheaper than big supermarkets like Asda.”
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