I'm frugal with my money but live a luxury life – I still manage to shop at M&S but using a simple hack

The Sun

19-07-2025

WE all love a bit of luxury, but let's be real, our wallets don't always agree.
WIth the cost of living still high in the UK, many families will be struggling to make ends meet.
However, there are lots of ways to get financial freedom.
Enter Monica, who is known as ' themonicaway ' on TikTok.
She revealed her top tips on how she lives a lavish life without breaking the bank.
In her recent TikTok video, which has gained 31.9k views after two days of being posted, Monica shared her top five "frugal things I do to live a luxurious lifestyle," proving that high-end living is more about smart choices than endless spending.
Monica kicks off her tips with a bold move that might make your hairdresser gasp: DIY hair trims.
For regular trims and maintaining layers and fringes, she grabs the scissors herself in the comfort of her home.
The ultimate luxury for her? Not having to leave the house.
She still gets an annual professional trim, but her at-home snips save her "a couple of hundred pounds a year."
Next up, Monica champions what she believes is the ultimate luxury in life: your health.
For her, "health is wealth," and that means prioritising high-quality food.
I bought huge swimming pool in Aldi Ireland at bargain price - it's perfect for heatwave and best money I've ever spent
Her secret weapon? Marks and Spencer.
She debunks the myth that M&S is always pricier, noting their basic range is comparable to budget supermarkets.
The real game-changer, though, is their "yellow sticker sales."
Monica has even cracked the code for her local store, finding mass reductions between 5:30 and 6:00 PM and on Saturday mornings.
High quality food
This allows her to enjoy "high quality, high grade food, finding bargains and on a budget."
For those of us who love a chic workout, Monica has a "little bit cheeky" trick: ClassPass free trials.
If you're looking to try a new bougie workout class, she advises taking advantage of their trials, like a current offer for "14 days of credits" for just one pound.
The key? Just make sure to set a reminder in your calendar to cancel the trial so that you don't get charged.
Boujee meetups
She loves using this for "boujee" meetups with friends, enjoying a free Pilates class before heading out for a smoothie or breakfast.
Monica's passion for secondhand fashion is no secret, and she's got a brilliant Vinted hack.
Instead of withdrawing the money she makes from selling clothes, she keeps it in her Vinted account.
This becomes her "spend allowance for buying new clothing," which she says feels "a little bit like free money."
This ingenious method not only motivates her to declutter and sell items she no longer wears, but also helps her "fine tune what you have in your wardrobe," creating a truly luxurious feeling of curated style and space.
Home decor
Finally, Monica advises against mass-produced home decor.
She finds the quality lacking and prefers to seek out unique, more special pieces.
Her go-to spots are charity shops, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, and eBay for "secondhand or antique" finds.
She emphasises that you don't need to spend a fortune to find high-quality antique items, and that your home will look "so much more luxurious if you have unique pieces that really demonstrate your personality and your style."
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Monica's video gained 38 comments, as many people rushed to share their thoughts.
One wrote: 'Love this can't believe you cut your own hair though.'
A second added: 'Finally someone who loves to live bougie but also save money.'
A third commented: 'M&S is the best by far all the way there.
'It's better quality and there is not much price difference. Don't mind a few extra pennies for good food that doesn't get wasted.'
Money saving challenges
Here's some of our favourite money saving challenges.
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