I saved nearly £6k by limiting my budget on non-essentials, it was easier than you’d think – here’s what you need to do
A WOMAN has opened up on how she was able to save a huge amount of money in just six months by making simple changes to her monthly budget.
Alexis took to her social media account to share her journey after taking on the challenge of spending just under £40 on non-essentials.
“I’m officially six months into my $50 (£38) monthly spending challenge and the numbers are in,” she told viewers.
“I’ve spent a total of $426.39 (£326) on non-essentials and I’ve saved $7,500 (£5,730) over the past six months.”
She added that the “crazy” part of this challenge for her is that she managed to do it completely alone while living in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the US.
Alexis said she would’ve managed to have saved £7,640, but due to the unfortunate passing of her grandmother early in the year and some “miscellaneous personal and pet expenses” she wasn’t able to stick to her budget the entire time.
The raven-haired beauty went on: “I also want to point out that I wasn’t able to stick to my $50 (£38) limit each month.”
Over this, she wrote: “Non-essential spending for: January: $50 (£38), February: $93.86 (£71.70), March: $41.46 (£31.67), April $75.64 (£57.78), May: $55.95 (£42.74), June $109.38 (£14.81)”.
“I measure my success by persistence and not my perfection,” she said, adding that it’s ok that she didn’t always stick to the budget.
She then spoke on the different things she stopped herself from spending money on, including, takeout and shopping for clothes or shoes.
Other wins for her included only taking public transport to and from work, not paying for any manicures and pedicures and instead DIY them and not getting her hair done from a salon.
“I still managed to spend quality time with my family, take a trip to LA to celebrate my best friend’s birthday, attend two concerts, enjoy local nightlife for several weekends throughout the year and so much more,” she continued.
Alexis recalled how nervous she felt at the start of the challenge, but has since realised how easy it has been.
People were left inspired by her perseverance and took to the comments section to praise her.
“So proud of you! I’m inspired!” one person wrote, to which she replied: “Thank you so much!”
Another person posted: “I’m going to try this but start easy with $100 (£76) monthly on non essentials”.
TikTok user @financiallybrave responded: “That’s a great place to start!”
Another asked: “So inspiring! Did you have to increase other parts of your budget like groceries since you limit eating out?”
Alexis explained: “I more so had to switch what I bought for groceries in order to limit eating out”.
While another person added: “Yes queen! Your amazing! I’ve been challenging myself since Christmas and your inspiring me so much”.