How to save for a deposit whilst you are renting according to the press

I've noticed that newspaper articles about how to save for a deposit whilst you are renting seem to involve some rather dubious maths.

The Metro had a report this Friday entitled 'Renting is the new buiyng.'  In it they say that the average rent for a 1 bedroom flat including bills is £19 140 in London whereas the average rent for a room in a flat share and bills come to £7 914.  So that's a saving of £11 227.  With such a big saving you could get a 15% deposit on a £282 00 flat in three years only.

Well firstly dear Metro, not everyone earns £19 140 once we've paid our taxes.  And secondly, just saying that something is expensive so therefore not buying it SAVES you money is very bad maths.  By that token I could say that a bottle of Moet and Chandon costs £197 at Tesco and by not buying myself one for my daily champers bath I save a massive £72 000.