I paid off my £17k debt in 18 months – my savings strategy is different but a food inventory is ALWAYS key
A MONEY-SAVING pro has revealed the unique strategy that helped her pay off her £17k debt and save more than £20k.
Sarah revealed that instead of having one savings account, she has multiple, which helps her keep track of how close she is to meeting certain targets.
Known online as @youneedabudget, Sarah – who lives in the US -regularly shares money-saving and budgeting tips with her 589,500 followers.
In a new TikTok video, she said: “So the way I do an emergency fund might be a little different than what you have in mind so let’s talk about it.”
During the 41-second video, Sarah explained that rather than having one lump sum that she can draw from when needed, instead, she has separate smaller accounts decided for different possible emergencies.
She continued: “So instead of having one general emergency fund, I have a section in my budget for things that I think of as emergency type of events.
“I have a category for car repairs, home repairs, medical bills, things like that.
“And for each one, I’ve chosen an amount that I would like to set aside every month to build that category, kind of like mini savings accounts.
“When I’m choosing these amounts I like to keep things in mind, like car repairs on average cost $600, an average trip to the emergency room in the US costs $2200.
“So the amount that I would recommend for an emergency fund would change from person to person, so I recommend adding your own emergency section to your budget and starting there.”
Fans loved her simple idea, with the video gaining more than 208 likes and 4,000 views.
In the comments, other TikTok users shared their tips, with one writing: “I do my best to stay on top of maintaining things like car repairs and health with regular checkups.”
In another video, the savvy saver shared how she cut the cost of her grocery shopping in half, which also helped her when trying to pay off her debt.
She said: “A lot of you have been asking me how I went from spending $1300 on groceries to under $700, so here are some of my best tips.
“Number one is to delay shopping trips as long as you can.
“Any time I start to feel like I need to go grocery shopping, I clean out my fridge and pantry first and do a food inventory.
“Then I make as many meals as I can with the food I have on hand. Sometimes I have to get pretty creative with what I make.
“Tip number two is to make what I call, ‘three-purpose meals’. To do this I cook a huge batch of food and eat some for dinner that night, save some for lunch the next day, and freeze some for the future.
“It’s kind of like a gift for my future self, and cooking in large quantities helps me use up the ingredients I have in the fridge.”
Fans loved her thrifty tips, with the video gaining more than 5,190 likes and 68,400 views.