I'm frugal with my money but live a luxury life – I still manage to shop at M&S but using a simple hack
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."
2
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Why TV dance star made last-minute withdrawal from live show
Janette Manrara, a former Strictly Come Dancing professional, was forced to pull out of a live performance of the musical Chicago on Wednesday, 23 July. Manrara is currently starring as Roxie Hart in the UK tour of Chicago, which is performing at Blackpool's Winter Gardens. She announced on Instagram that she was "unwell" and needed to rest to recover quickly, expressing deep apologies to the audience. Manrara reassured fans that she is "on the mend" and hopes to return to the stage soon, praising the rest of the cast for their performance. Since leaving her professional dancing role on Strictly in 2021, Manrara has co-presented the spin-off show It Takes Two.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Spacey told actor ‘don't worry about it' after alleged assault, documents claim
Kevin Spacey allegedly sexually assaulted a young actor at a party at The Savoy hotel and then told him 'Don't worry about it', court documents for the High Court legal claim suggest. Ruari Cannon is suing Mr Spacey as well as two organisations connected to the Old Vic Theatre in London, claiming he suffered psychiatric damage as a result of sexual and emotional abuse. The 33-year-old has waived his anonymity in the claim. In court documents seen by the PA news agency, Mr Cannon alleges that Mr Spacey, who was a 'powerful figure and a world-famous actor and celebrity' at the time, assaulted him in about June 2013, when he was 'a very vulnerable young man'. Oscar-winning actor Mr Spacey has previously denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour and wrongdoing, and details of his defence are not yet available. According to the documents, filed in June, Mr Spacey was working as artistic director at the Old Vic Theatre at the time of the alleged assaults on a production of a play by Tennessee Williams known as Sweet Bird Of Youth, and Mr Cannon was a member of the cast in this production. They claim that Mr Spacey 'took a particular interest' in Mr Cannon for 'reasons of sexual interest' and sent him a 'lavish' gift of a framed poster of the 1985 production of the play directed by Harold Pinter. After the press preview of the show on June 12 2013, Mr Cannon attended a party at The Savoy in London organised by The Old Vic Theatre Company (The Cut) and The Old Vic Theatre Trust 2000. It is claimed that one of the alleged assaults took place at the event. Setting out the allegations, Elizabeth-Anne Gumbel KC, for Mr Cannon, said: 'Kevin Spacey pulled the claimant towards him, turned him around through 45 degrees and placed his left hand on the claimant's buttocks and lifted up the recess material of his suit.' It is alleged that Mr Spacey then pushed Mr Cannon's underwear 'as far up' into his bottom as possible, 'so as to cause pain and distress'. Ms Gumbel added: 'Mr Kevin Spacey pulled the claimant closer to him and whispered into the claimant's ear 'Don't worry about it'. 'Mr Spacey made more uncalled for and unwelcome advances to the claimant during the evening.' The following day, Mr Cannon reported the alleged assaults to his stage manager at the Old Vic Theatre, but no action was taken. According to the documents, it is accepted that Mr Cannon did not ask for any action to be taken, and was scared about how any further action might affect his career. Later that year, during the run of the show, Mr Cannon saw Mr Spacey at the Old Vic bar. Mr Spacey allegedly said to him, 'I hear you have a dirty secret', and then said: 'Open up.' Ms Gumbel said: 'Kevin Spacey then forced open the claimant's mouth with his fingers and thumbs and commented 'quite a bad boy' before the claimant could pull away. 'The claimant then left the bar. The forcing open of the claimant's mouth was another assault for which Kevin Spacey was responsible and for which the second and/or third defendants were vicariously liable. 'Further in 2017 when the Old Vic set up a confidential complaints email on October 31 2017 the claimant reported the above complaint again to the Old Vic.' She added that the alleged assaults were carried out by Mr Spacey in the course of his work for the organisations connected to the Old Vic, and they are 'vicariously liable' for the alleged assaults carried out in the context of a theatre production.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
'I'm a French expat in Britain and I was left amazed by one element of UK culture'
Stéphane Jouin, who moved to the UK nine years ago, shared the revelation in a video for his YouTube channel, 'A French guy in England', which showcases the two nations' "cultural quirks" A French expat living in the UK has named a particular aspect of British culture that's left him "amazed". Stéphane Jouin, who swapped France for the UK nine years ago, divulged his findings on his YouTube channel ' A French guy in England ', which delves into the "cultural quirks" of both countries. In his video, '6 Things I Really Appreciate as a French Guy in England', Stéphane shared his observations from nearly a decade in Britain, touching on aspects such as our politeness and tendency to be "merciful". Among these UK insights, he highlighted his admiration for the British propensity for kindness, a trait he finds "amazing" and notes is even promoted by companies and organisations here. Stéphane expressed: "Number two is that people tend to be kind." He elaborated: "I'm actually amazed that people are generally ready to help. For example, if you're stranded with your car on the road, and your bonnet is open - they call it 'hood' in the USA - they will come to ask you if you are okay, if you need any help. I find this amazing." Stéphane added that acts of kindness are "part of everyday life here." He also pointed out that the UK is home to many charities that support people suffering from health issues. He pointed out that British firms and groups are known for rallying people to join events they organise to raise money for charitable causes. On the flip side, in May, a Brit living in France took to TikTok to share five reasons why life across the Channel is "better." The expat, known as Alex or "It's moi" on the platform, presented her "household edition" of insights. First up was the revelation that people in France tend not to have their washing machines in the kitchen, instead opting for the bathroom or elsewhere, meaning you "don't have the eyesore or the noise" in the kitchen. But there's more; Alex also highlighted the convenience of having plug sockets in the bathroom, "square-shaped" pillows for extra headroom, and shutters on every window. Alex said: "You don't have to worry about blackout blinds or blackout curtains if you want to make the room dark. You just close the shutters, which is absolutely fantastic when you have children." Finally, Alex claimed that a "lot of the houses around here" tended to be detached rather than semi-detached. She said they didn't have to worry about any "potential noise problems" from neighbours. However, not everyone saw things the same way, with one commenting: "I'd hate to have a washing machine in my bathroom." Some did agree with the TikToker, with one claiming that once you try using a square pillow, there's "no going back".
