With the cost of living continuing to soar, many of us are feeling the pinch, but one mum has said there are things we can do to save more money.
Gemma Bird, better known as Money Mum to her thousands of TikTok and Instagram followers, said while never having earned more than £25,000 a year, she has managed to pay her mortgage off by the age of 40.
The mum-of-two said it is all down to mindset, rather than being about how much you earn.
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For her, it's all about what you do with your money afterwards that counts. She believes this notion should also be passed on to your children, reports Birmingham Live.
Speaking on the Brummie Mummies podcast, Gemma said: "My parents instilled in me that if you want something you’ve got to work and save up for it. I was never bright at school. I always thought I’m not going to ever be a doctor or a lawyer so I knew I was going to have to make whatever money I made go a long way.
"I worked at a pub, I was training to be a driving instructor, I worked at a bank, I've done lots of different jobs. If I wasn't earning enough money, I would go do another job and try to get more money.
"I don't think everyone can pay off their mortgage but I think people can chip away at their mortgage if they’ve got no debt. It's about what choices you want to make - do you want to have a takeaway once a week or do you think that could be £40 a week, or £200 a month, off my mortgage?
"You might be able to reduce it from 25 years to 18 years if you put your mind to it. If you use a mortgage calculator, you might be surprised how paying an extra hundred pounds a month off clears your mortgage because it eats into the interest."
Gemma shared these "top tips" on the podcast:
- Write absolutely everything down that you spend, how much is coming in and see what you’ve got left over.
- I rented out my spare room to students, which was a great source of income. They basically paid all our bills and all we had to find was our mortgage. Now we rent out our drive through a parking app.
- If you’re new to saving, start small, even just a pound a week or month. Set yourself a goal that is realistic to you that you’re going to stick to. Then if that money goes because your car’s broken down, don’t think oh, no savings again. No, you’ve done amazing and you’ve put that money into your savings account so that you have it ready to use and replace.
- Install Honey on your computer browser as it automatically searches the entire internet for discounts.
- Get everyone in the family a hooded, fleecy blanket to keep you warm. Jokes aside, it keeps the heating bills down.
- Turn the radiators off or down in rooms you’re not using all the time.
- Use an air-fryer or microwave rather than heating your oven. And, when you do use the oven, make a double or triple batch and then freeze the leftovers for another day.
- Fill a flask with hot water to save boiling the kettle multiple times.
- Add loads of veg to your meals to make your meat go further.
- Turn off every single switch left on standby and every light off when you leave the room.
- Always clear your debt first, never save while you’ve got debt.
- Write a list before grocery shopping. If you’re going with kids, say they can have something at the end if they don’t ask for things as they go round. Use a supermarket scanner to automatically add up your spending as you go round.
- Use up what you have in the house before you go and buy more. Swap to non-branded products.
- Put £3 - 4 in an envelope every month so you have money to pay for school trips when they come up.
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