'I saved £4,000 in six months by giving up these three things - I haven’t missed anything'

A woman from Southampton has saved £4,000 in just six months by cutting out three key expenses from her day-to-day—subscriptions, alcohol, and dining out.

Mia Westrap, 26, decided to take control of her finances after realising she couldn’t afford to maintain a long-distance relationship with her Australian partner. When he flew home after six months of dating, they cut off communication because she couldn’t afford the flights to see him.

As a health and social care worker earning £2,100 a month, Ms Westrap noticed she was spending too much on socialising, including £200 a month on eating out and £100 a month on drinking.

To save money, she committed to a “no-spend” year, cancelling her Hulu and Amazon Prime subscriptions, quitting alcohol, and cutting out meals at restaurants. Her goal was to save £4,000 for an emergency fund and to gain "peace of mind."

After hitting her £4,000 target in June, she increased her savings goal to £7,000.

Ms Westrap said: "My goal for 2024 was to save £4,000 as that would be three months worth of living expenses. I hit that in just six months and have now set my target to £7,000

"I look back and wonder how I was spending £500 a month on nothing material. I had nothing to show for the money I spent - my money went on food, drinks and maybe on clothes but I already had plenty.

“I was living paycheck to paycheck, and every month I ended up in my overdraft.”

Initially, Ms Westrap had heard of people doing no spend years but it wasn't something she was interested in or found relevant. However, a major abdominal surgery in January gave her the push she needed.

She said: “I realised that I was going to be housebound for the first month of the year, so I thought why not give it a go?”

While Ms Westrap said she didn’t live an extravagant lifestyle, small everyday purchases added up over time—coffees, meal deals, and her daily Pepsi Max habit. She said: “I didn’t have many holidays really, I grew up incredibly poor.

"Going on holiday was something I was not used to. I was addicted to Pepsi Max, I was spending £3 to £4 every day, which amounts to £1,424. When I took a step back to see where my money was going, I realised that it was these little costs that I couldn’t account for.”

Ms Westrap said she and her friends would go to beer gardens or out for meals during the summer. This year, however, they have been having picnics and dinners at home to save money.

She said: "My friends have been really supportive, we have been having a lot of dinners in or going for picnics. Usually, we would go for meals out every time the sun came out or go to beer gardens. My summer has been really good and I haven't felt like I have missed out on anything."

According to Ms Westrap, her monthly outgoings before going no spend included:

• Rent: £850
• Bills: £262
• Subscriptions: £50
• Eating out: £200
• Drinking: £100.

Monthly outgoings after going no spend -

• Rent: £850
• Bills: £262
• Subscriptions: £12.99 (just Netflix)
• Eating out: £0
• Drinking: £0.

Ms Westrap is sharing her no-spend journey on TikTok: @miawestrap