I love being a cheapskate – I only drink tea at work as it's free and use rain water to flush my loo to save on my bills
A FRUGAL mum has shared the five ways she cuts costs in her day-to-day life.
From stocking up on free food, to never drinking tea at home, the 32-year-old has saved so much money she is now mortgage-free.
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As a self-described 'cheapskate,' she revealed five habits that stop her spending.
Taking to social media, she said: "Here's 5 things I did today as a cheapskate to either save me money or stop me spending money."
She revealed she woke up and headed out straight away to pick up a bag of free food through the Olio app.
The savvy woman managed to pick up some bread, fruit and salad which she used to make an egg sandwich with the eggs her chicken laid.
To add to her income, she also sold items on Vinted but refused to fork out for packaging, instead using boxes or bags she had lying around her home.
She also revealed she bought some period pants to save on buying sanitary products every month.
"It's one of those sustainable swaps I'd been putting off because it costs money to buy them in the first place," she added.
The frugal woman also revealed that her loo was currently broken and wouldn't flush, so she had to use a bucket of rain water to get it working.
"Of course the cheapskate in me loves this because we're not using paid-for water to flush the toilet, we're using rainwater," she added.
And last but not least, the money-saving fanatic revealed that she never buys tea or coffee at home and waits until she is at work to have one as the company pays for it.
I used cheap Temu tiles to get a herringbone bathroom while saving for a reno - they're good as new 4 months later
She added: "Now that I'm at work I'm taking full advantage of the free coffee, I've said before I don't drink tea or coffee or anything other than water when I'm at home but when I'm at work and it's free I might as well."
The clip was shared on her TikTok account @ diaryofacheapskate and went viral with over 435k views and 12k likes.
People were quick to take to the comments and many claimed the mum had gone overboard with her frugal lifestyle.
One person wrote: "You work and you have an extra income. Yes olio is for all but someone might genuinely have nothing and that bag of food could have gone to someone less fortunate than yourself!"
Here's how to cut the cost of your grocery shop
SAVING on your shop can make a big difference to your wallet. Here are some tips from Money.co.uk about how you can cut the cost of your shopping bills:
Write yourself a list – Only buy items that you need. If it isn't on your list, don't put it in the trolley
Create a budget – Work out a weekly budget for your food shopping
Never shop hungry – you are far more likely to buy more food if your tummy is rumbling
Don't buy pre-chopped veggies or fruit – The extra they'll charge for chopping can be eye watering
Use social media – follow your favourite retailers to find out about the latest deals
Be disloyal – You may want to go to different stores to find the best bargains
Check the small print – It's always worth checking the price per kg/lb/litre when comparing offers so you're making a like for like decision as a bigger box won't necessarily mean you get more
Use your loyalty cards – Don't be afraid to sign up to them all. They all work slightly differently – work out what bonus suits you better and remember to trade in your points for additional rewards
Another commented: 'Why won't you drink tea or coffee at home? We're allowed a little treat you know."
"If it involves a water bucket for the toilet, you know you're pushing it too far," penned a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: "May this lifestyle never find me."
"Wowza, this would send me insane,' claimed a fifth.
Someone else added: 'This isn't living."
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