A self-confessed former “shopaholic” has shared how she saved £15,000 in just eight months.
Lauren Mayers has saved just under £30,000 in the past four years, with half of that being in just the last year.
The 24-year-old is saving to buy a home, and has incorporated six crucial habits into her lifestyle to ensure she can put down a hefty deposit when the time comes.
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Lauren describes herself as an “ex-shopaholic” online, claiming she used to “rack up” large amounts on Klarna and go “overboard” on shopping.
“I used to have a real shopping problem,” the team assistant at a property investment firm, from Surrey, told What’s The Jam.
“One major issue was buying new clothes for every event.
“If I was going on holiday I would buy brand new outfits, shoes and swimwear knowing I already had enough at home.
“I would easily fill an online shopping basket with £300 worth of clothes after cashing out on a holiday.
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“I also used to rack up large amounts on Klarna, telling myself it’s not so bad as I am paying over three months.
“I now know this does not matter and spending is spending whether it is over one month or three.
“I realised I needed to change my behaviour when I found myself repeatedly dipping into my savings, and some months saving nothing at all just because I went overboard on shopping.”
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While Lauren didn’t get into a huge amount of debt due to shopping, she was living “month to month” and could have easily fallen into debt.
She added: “I now understand how easy it is to fall into debt with Pay Later schemes and think there should be more education on it.
“I would estimate that I spent roughly £500-700 a month on shopping.
“I would definitely have months with a couple of hundred on Pay Later schemes like Klarna.
“Over three years that is a lot of money down the drain!”
Lauren was motivated to change her ways as she is looking to buy her first home – and hopes to put down a deposit of more than 10%.
In a recent video, which garnered more than 88,000 views on TikTok, Lauren shared the simple things she does to save money.
DITCH FAST FASHION
Lauren said: “First of all, I stopped shopping on fast fashion websites – no more Shein, no more PLT.
“One day I did a wardrobe clear-out and I got rid of six bags of clothes from these websites.
“Right there and then, I realised that I was looking at over £1,000’s worth of clothes that I was no longer going to wear.
“I now only invest in pieces that I will re-wear and can mix and match with other things, and I’m way more mindful of what clothes I do buy.”
CLEAR DEBTS BEFORE SAVING
Lauren said: “Next, I paid off any debt before trying to save.
“I had a car loan and on that I was paying interest.
“I couldn’t save if I was also paying additional interest on that loan.
“So I paid that off with the savings I did have first and then was able to save much quicker.”
BE REALISTIC WITH YOUR MONEY
Next, Lauren said people should be “realistic” with how much money they leave themselves ‘free’ each month to spend.
She added: “I was realistic with how much money I left myself each month.
“I used to leave myself stupid amounts like £300 a month, inevitably end up dipping into my savings and basically saving nothing every month.
“So now I leave myself a realistic amount every month.
“And because I have changed my spending habits, I’m able to not dip into my savings.
“I set myself a realistic goal, and a time frame so that I could enjoy seeing the figure add up every month.”
BE MINDFUL
Lauren advised others to switch out scrolling through shopping sites for working towards your goals.
She said: “Think about where you wanna be in five years and work towards that instead.
“I was also mindful of not only clothing purchases, but every purchase I want to make.”
AVOID IMPULSE PURCHASES
She also recommends holding off when it comes to making new purchases.
She added: “I practice delayed gratification.
“So for example, I wanted to buy a Braun laser-at-home device yesterday.
“I had it in the basket – it’s £300 down from £600.
“I sat on it, I thought about it and I decided I’m not ready to make that investment yet, so I didn’t buy it.
“Rather than impulse buy, think about what you’re buying.”
DITCH SUBSCRIPTIONS
Lauren also recommends cutting down on subscriptions such as Netflix and Spotify in order to save some money.
She said: “I also cut down on subscriptions where I could.
“Do you need Netflix? Do you need Spotify? Can you share with someone else if possible?
“I cut down any unnecessary subscriptions massively.”
Lauren ditched Disney+, Spotify, AA and even her phone contract, opting to pay SIM only.
And while the young woman has reduced her spending massively, she doesn’t feel she has missed out on having fun because of it.
Lauren said: “I do occasionally still treat myself and when I do, it feels so much better as it is always things I genuinely want.
“And it doesn’t mean I missed out on holidays and fun stuff last year – I still managed to go on two holidays.
“It just means making sacrifices, like re-wearing outfits that you already have.”
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