Mia Westrap, 26, from Southampton, managed to squirrel away £4k in just six months by embarking on a 'no-spend' drive, cutting out non-essentials like alcohol and meals out. Determined to overhaul her finances to afford a long-distance relationship with an Australian she dated, Mia faced a communication freeze when he returned home because she couldn't pay for flights down under. The health and social care worker, pulling in £2.
1k a month, realised her social habits were costly, easily spending £200 monthly on dining out and £100 on drinks without much thought. At the outset of her frugal year, Mia aimed to pocket £4k over 12 months but achieved her goal by June, prompting her to raise the bar to £7k savings. She reflected on her past spending, saying: "My goal for 2024 was to save £4k as that would be three months' worth of living expenses.
" Achieving this milestone ahead of schedule, Mia increased her ambition: "I hit that in just six months and have now set my target to £7k." Questioning her previous expenditure, she added: "I look back and wonder how I was spending £500 a month on nothing material." Commenting on the lack of lasting value from her former expenditures, she said: "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.
" Although she initially didn't consider a no-spend year relevant or interesting, after undergoing significant abdominal surgery in January, Mia felt it was the prime .