How I saved £60k in 3 years | How to save money in 2021
The principle of saving money is simple. You need to find ways to spend less money and to make more money. Only then will you end up with surplus which you can direct to your savings account. If the concept is so simple, why do some many people, including me in the past, struggle to save money?
The answer is simple: Life is expensive. Alongside this, companies spend millions on assembling teams and using sophisticated technology and psychology to encourage consumers to part with their money. In order to save, you really have to make a conscious effort to cut back on your spending - to the level where it becomes uncomfortable and almost feels like you are depriving yourself. The reason it feels so hard is unlikely to be because you are actually being deprived of your basic needs. It is more likely because you are being made to feel like you need “things” in order to be happy- this is especially true with the rise of social media which makes us feel like we are the only person who doesn’t have the latest Gucci belt. Once you push past the initial discomfort and have a clear “why” in your mind to help you to stay focused on your saving goals, it becomes a lot easier.
This is the story of how I managed to save over £60k in 3 years to save for my apartment. If you prefer watching videos to reading, I have also recorded a YouTube video covering the same topic which you can find at the bottom of this article.
How I saved money
When I left university and started working full time, I knew that my number one priority was saving enough money to put down a deposit on a flat. Being a self-employed contractor and a sole buyer meant that I needed to save a £60k deposit to purchase a £266k apartment, a much higher figure than 10% of the property price I initially thought I would need to save.
To achieve my financial goals I began to live a frugal life and cut back on spending in all areas of my life.
Housing
I saved £18k on rent by sharing a one-bedroom apartment with my sister. Instead of doing what most sane people would do and rent a 2 bedroom flat for 2 people, which probably would have cost at least 1k each per month, we decided to convert the living room into a bedroom. Our rent was 450 each per month and we were living in Zone 2 in London which meant our travel to work was also very cheap (£30 a week for a Zone 1-2 TFL travel card - bargain!).
Car
I declared my car off road as I did not need to use it in London and so the cost of insurance, tax, petrol and everything else just seemed like a waste of money. I probably saved around £4k over three years by doing this.
Online shopping and Direct Debits
I went through my direct debits and cancelled anything which was unnecessary. I unsubscribed to all of the email lists I was signed up to. Every other hour it seemed like I was being emailed by sites like ASOS, PrettyLittleThing, Boohoo, TopShop - all of these fast fashion sites which previously made me part with my money so easily. By unsubscribing to mailing lists I prevented the constant temptation in the shape of flash sales and Molly Mae’s latest collection being paraded in front of me.
I even cancelled Amazon Prime when I wanted to take my savings to the next level - this one hurt the most as I was used to conveniently using the “one click” purchase feature and ordering things to arrive for the next day. 99% of the time I didn’t need the things I was ordering. Companies try to make it as easy as possible for you to spend money with them. I was fighting against this by making it as hard as I possibly could for them to sell to me, or tempt me to visit their websites. Avoidance was my secret weapon. I knew that if I saw something that I liked there was a good chance that I could fall victim to their sales tactics. In hindsight, I would probably should have deleted instagram, or at least unfollowed all influencers in order to stop myself from getting tempted.
Food and Drink
Another area of life that I saved money was on food and drink. When I first started working, I began to go to bars/pubs after work on Thursdays and Fridays. I soon realised how expensive drinking in bars in London is. I swapped bars for barbells and joined the gym. Every day after work I would go to the gym with friends rather than drink in bars. This had a tremendously positive effect on me as I saved money and was in the best shape of my life.
I noticed that many of my colleagues spent between at least 10 pounds per day on breakfast and lunch from Pret A Manger. To be honest, 10 is being generous as many people often spend in excess of 10 if they are buying lunch, dinner, snacks and hot drinks. This adds up to at least 50 a week and at least 2,400 a year. I understand that you can’t put a price on convenience and great taste - and I get it - I am sure that their food was much tastier than mine and they also saved time by not having to prepare their own food. But with convenience comes a much higher price. I stayed away from “fast food” and instead kept a bag of oats at work and made my porridge in the microwave at work every morning. I also made my lunch every day at home and brought it in, and this probably saved me at least 6k over three years.
Entertainment
Before I started consciously saving, dinner and drinks was the “go to” activity for the weekends when I was meeting up with friends. When you’re going out often, especially in London, the expense of socialising can really add up. Instead of dinner and drinks, meeting up for walks in the park and a coffee and pastry, or doing things like exploring free museums, can work out much cheaper and be just as fun.
How I made more money
I was in a fortunate position whilst I was saving for my deposit. Being a contractor meant that I was able to take on more work for more pay. I took on as much work as the company would provide to me and so I ended up working 7 days for three years. This may sound excessive and I agree that it probably wouldn’t work for everyone. I found the work quite enjoyable and I also enjoy earning money, so I think it actually had a positive effect on my mental health rather than detrimental. I also organised my day so that I would start work at 6am and finish around lunchtime on Saturday and Sunday, so I was able to maintain a social life.
If I was working a results 9-5 with no overtime availability I would probably have looked to get a part-time job, or start a blog or a YouTube channel to try and build a second stream of income to help me reach my goals faster.
I hope this post gave you some tips of how to save money - I am sure that most of them are pretty obvious but sometimes it helps to hear someone else’s story - and sometimes you need that extra little push to change your spending habits.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other savings tips as I am always looking for ways to be more thrifty.
I hope you have a wonderful day and I hope to see you soon.
Camilla x
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A video about how I saved over 60k in 3 years and how I saved for an apartment.
