A woman has developed a completely different outlook on life after going on holiday.
She has shared the story on how exactly she has managed to save £500 every month, and what pushed her to do it.
25-year-old Chrissie Milan started to rethink how she spends her money following a trip to Thailand, where she realised the stark contrast in the cost of living in the Southeast Asian country compared to back home in London.
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Chrissie, who is a video producer, decided it was time to make a change after returning from the trip, joining the 'no spend year' trend, meaning she would start saying 'no' to unnecessary spending.
Originally from West London, Chrissie said: "It's not something I ever thought I would do really.
"A smoothie cost me £1 in Thailand compared to £6 in the UK and it was much nicer, so it made me think about what I actually need to spend money on at home and also what I am getting in return.
"So in January, I decided to only spend on essentials, which are things like my rent and food and I can really feel the difference," she explained.
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Chrissie cut her £150 per month budget for clothes shopping completely, and stopped going out for evening meals with friends that would often be budget-free.
By simply cutting out daily coffees and buying lunch, she saved £240 a month, with everything altogether saving her an average of £500 a month, which works out to around £6,000 for the year if she sticks to her method.
Amidst all the big changes and the rewards that come with it, Chrissie admits that it doesn't feel natural to cut out the things that she likes doing.
She elaborated: "We spend lots of out of convenience and the first few weeks I found easy as it felt like a new challenge.
"In the middle it dipped a bit and it was easy to slip into old habits.
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"Things like meal prep and planning ahead gets harder. I had a few weeks in the middle where I regressed slightly," the 25-year-old revealed.
The video producer admitted that she was quite a big spender in the past, falling victim to impulse and boredom buying certain items, but that committing to this 'no spend' method has helped her combat these bad habits.
She revealed: "It helps you realise what you like spending your money on.
"I've found that going out to eat really isn't for me but I love trying new coffee or going out to breakfast instead.
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"Everyone has different essentials too so people can decide what they want to class as essential."
Chrissie highlights that it's about finding what's important, as taking everything away and starting from zero makes you realise what you really miss.
She also said that saving money for a rainy day gives her a piece of mind: "The aim is to challenge my spending, so I think the money I save will be best put away for a rainy day or invested.
"I want to build a comfortable financial future, I don't feel the need to blow it on something huge."
Joshua Nair