A 21-YEAR-OLD with over £50,000 in the bank has shared her top tips to save cash quickly.
Stella McCormick, 21, is a McDonald’s manager and is currently “saving for a forever home.”
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She lived with her mother until she was 19 and only had to pay £150 a month in rent.
Whilst she acknowledged that she was very “very lucky” and “privileged” to do this, thanks to her advice, she has been able to pocket pounds and is on a mission to help others do the same.
Posting on social media, Stella shared her top five money-saving tips as a 21-year-old with £54,000 in savings.
The brunette beauty, who works a “normal hospitality job and drives a 2008 Corsa,” stressed the importance not only of planning meals, but also revealed why wishlists are key.
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As well as this, planning outgoings, making financial goals and investing are other ways Stella has been able to save so much in such a short space of time.
Know where your money goes
First things first, Stella explained why keeping track of “essential outgoings” is key.
She stressed: “This is a non-negotiable – if you don’t know exactly what you spend on bills etc, your personal finances need organising.”
As a result, Stella urged people to write down every payment they make each month, to ensure they are aware of their outgoings.
Plan your meals and food shops
Secondly, according to Stella, if you want to ensure you don’t overspend, going into the supermarket with a “plan” is crucial.
She recommended: “Make a meal plan or at least a list of dinners for the week and curate a shopping list based on those meals.”
The youngster confirmed that her mum and step-dad taught her the importance of this and how best to utilise money.
Make wishlists
Additionally, Stella highlighted that she has been creating wishlists since she was 16-years-old, which has helped to boost her savings.
She said: “If you see something you’d like to buy, add it to a wishlist in your notes – go back to it in a months’ time and you will realise you didn’t actually want it.”
I learnt this from my parents but I have money in numerous places that just sit there and earn me money every year
Stella McCormick
As a result of doing this, Stella claimed she “hardly ever” buys items, such as clothes or trainers, she thought she once wanted.
Set financial goals
Not only this, but “goal-orientated” Stella shared the hack that works “really well” for her.
She explained that setting financial goals is a must for those looking to save cash.
But Stella pointed out: “Make sure these are achievable for you so you get some little wins.”
Invest your cash
Finally, as well as keeping money in ISAs and Premium Bonds, Stella got candid on investing.
She stressed the importance of researching before investing money, but acknowledged that investing has been extremely beneficial for her.
“I learnt this from my parents but I have money in numerous places that just sit there and earn me money every year,” she concluded.
Money saving challenges
Here’s some of our favourite money saving challenges to h
Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular schemes:
- Weather saving challenge – Save the amount equal to whatever the highest temperature was that week. £1 = 1C.
- 1p challenge – save 1p a day for everyday of the year, but it increase the amount by 1p each day. So day one you save 1p, 2p on day two and 3p on day three. When you reach 100 days you start adding a £1 coin each day too, while this increases to a £2 coin each day plus pennies at 200 days, and £3 each day on top of pennies at day 300.
- 20p a day challenge – Start by putting 20p in savings, then increase the amount by 20p every day. For example, the first week will look like this: 20p, 40p, 60p, 80p, £1, £1.20, £1.40.
- £5 a week challenge – Like the 20p challenge, put aside £5 a week and increase it by a fiver each week. Eg £5, £10, £15, £20
- Round-up challenge – Every time you buy something, round up the purchase to the nearest £1 and put the difference in a savings account. Eg. You pay £2.60, so you put 40p in savings. You can use an app such as Monzo or Starling to do this.
- Bingo challenge – Here you have a bingo card with different numbers on it and you tick them off when you’ve put that amount in your savings account. It can be ad hoc but you have to tick them all off by the end of the month.
- Monday to Sunday challenge – With this challenge, you simply save £1 on Monday, £2 on Tuesday and so on until the weekend where you don’t save on Saturday or Sunday.
- 365 day challenge – Every Sunday you put aside £1, followed by £2 on Monday, £3 on Wednesday and so on. On Saturday you’ll put away £7, and then the process repeats and you’ll put aside £1 on Sunday as the new week begins.
Social media users react
Stella’s TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @stellamccormick6, has clearly left many open-mouthed as it has quickly racked up 39,600 views, 1,132 likes and 51 comments.
Social media users were gobsmacked by Stella’s impressive savings hacks and many eagerly raced to the comments to express this.
One person said: “Wow amazing, well done girl.”
The wishlist thing is genius!
TikTok user
Another added: “With this mindset and action you are going to be a millionaire in your lifetime, congratulations.”
A third commented: “Great tips!! I do exactly the same things and have £110k saved at 28.”
Whilst one user wrote: “The wishlist thing is genius! Most of us would wait a month but actually not want it by then!”
Meanwhile, someone else asked: “Well done on the savings, if you don’t mind me asking what age have you worked from?”
To this, Stella responded and confirmed: “Got my first job at 16 working after college.”
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