A 23-year-old with over £60,000 in savings has shared the list of rules she has set for herself to avoid falling into the trap of unnecessary spending.
Mia McGrath has had an “entrepreneurial spirit” since her teenage years, but started to focus on her personal finance journey while at university.
The London-based young woman set her sights on being able to buy a home and, with a £30,000 salary, she estimates she will need to put down a deposit of £120,000 in order to purchase a £300,000 home.
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Having now saved £63,000, which she has put into investments, Mia has gone viral on TikTok, with a video detailing the things she does to “live below her means” racking up over one million views.
“As a woman on social media, it’s so tempting to over-consume,” Mia, who works in sales in the fashion industry as an account manager, told Absolutely Business.
“We have so many temptations now like overpriced skincare, makeup, and clothes.
“Buy now pay later services are the credit cards of my generation and they’re making it easier for people to live beyond their means.
“[In order to save money], I cut back and started to live below my means.
“This meant bringing my lunch to work every day, making coffee at work instead of buying it out, shopping sparingly and avoiding takeaways and Ubers.”
While Mia is fortunate enough to live at home, which she says is a major contributing factor to how she has been able to save so much money, she says there are five key things she doesn’t spend money on to help cut her spending.
The things she refuses to buy are accessories like jewellery and sunglasses, insisting you need just one staple item of each, which helps her save a “ton” of money as it eliminates another thing to buy.
Other things she won’t buy include bottled water – she instead carries her own bottle with her – and “overpriced” skincare, instead opting for basics from the likes of Aldi.
Mia also won’t buy “little décor pieces or trinkets” for her home, which she says can be “such a waste of money”.
Unlike other people in her generation, Mia refuses to buy expensive juices, smoothies or health shots.
She said: “I feel you could definitely make them at home.
“I feel like they are such a waste of money.
“You could just literally eat the fruit and get the same health benefits.
“I know it might be extreme, but it’s because I have very clear long-term goals, like buying my own home.
“A lot of people do say that buying a £5 coffee is not going to make a difference, but it’s these little changes that you make over time that are going to add up.
“Not getting my nails done and little things like that, I’ve noticed I do have a lot more money to invest and save.
“The things that you do in life that take extra time and extra effort are going to be the ones that are rewarding.
“It’s the convenient options that are always going to cost you more.”
As well as being able to save on rent by living at home, Mia says the small cut backs have led to drastic savings and are helping her reach her goal of “financial freedom”.
She said: “I try very hard to put at least 50-70% of my income aside due to my living situation.
“This is also because after learning about investing and compound interest, I knew that if I put it aside when I was young it would compound and grow over time, basically setting me up for life.”
Mia says she has been focused on personal finance since her younger years, particularly as a student when she would spend her maintenance loan “carefully”, purchased all her clothes from charity shops, walked instead of using public transport, cooked meals, drank alcohol “sparingly” and washed her clothes by hand.
She taught herself how to start investing by watching YouTube videos and reading books on the subject, and now shares TikToks about her efforts to live a budget-friendly life.
But while she is focused on cutting costs wherever she can, Mia acknowledges the role not having to pay the steep London rental prices plays.
She said: “When you live at home you can save what you’d otherwise spend on rent and bills.
“There is no doubt that it’s a huge privilege that very few can do.
“I think for anyone supporting themselves financially it is very tough at the moment for people to put anything aside.
“I am coming from a very privileged point of view.
“It is never about making anyone feel bad for not saving, and it’s also not saying that saving is easy – it’s not.
“However, for anyone in a similar situation to me, living at home can give you a false sense of security.
“I started out inflating my lifestyle to match my new job out of university, which many people call ‘lifestyle creep’.
“I joined a luxury gym and would get my nails done for £79 a month and buy lunch out every day.
“I quickly realised that this was not staying true to my current financial situation – if I moved out, I certainly wouldn’t be able to spend like this.”
Now, Mia saves between 50-70% of her income, but says she isn’t “cheap” in other aspects of life.
She added: “I value other things like experiences and travel which I’ll happily splurge on.
“I do buy clothes but when I they tend to be timeless staple pieces.
“I try to reduce everyday luxuries because of the way these can stack up.
“But if anyone enjoys them they should feel free to spend on them, it’s just my personal preference to save here.”