A young woman who is ‘hoping to retire early’ has revealed the items she would ‘never’ spend her money on.
Mia Rose McGrath, who is 24 and has £80,000 in savings, hopes to retire by the time she’s 40.
She currently lives in London in a zone 2 flat that she shares with her partner and split the rent and bills equally.
Mia hopes to ‘soft retire’ by the time she’s 40 – meaning she will likely still do part time work or things she’s ‘passionate’ about, but won’t need to work full time to ‘stay alive’.
As well as having ‘side hustles’ which she credits with gaining her £10,000 in the past year, there are certain things Mia doesn’t spend money on to help her save.
She says she will rarely spend cash on things like takeaways and coffees – only having them when she’s with friends.
‘These are the things I just don’t spend money as a financially responsible 24-year-old who wants to retire early,’ she said in her TikTok video, which has racked up more than 500,000 views.
The first thing on her list is takeaways – and she says she doesn’t even have the Deliveroo app on her phone.
Mia Rose McGrath, who is 24 and has £80,000 in savings, hopes to retire by the time she’s 40
However, she makes an exception if she’s hanging out with friends.
She explained: ‘I won’t get a takeaway if I can’t be bothered to cook. If you can cook really good food, you just don’t need to get a takeaway.
‘And also, eating in the actual restaurant is so much nicer.’
In a similar vein, she also doesn’t usually treat herself to a coffee or a pastry – but still gets them with friends.
‘I don’t see the point of buying one every single day. They’re four or five pounds sometimes. That really adds up,’ she added.
The third item on which she’s unwilling to splash the cash is home decor and trinkets, instead collecting them over time when she’s given them as gifts.
Mia referenced the viral ‘labubu’ trend – ‘monster toys’ that have grown popular on social media – and said she would never be caught buying one.
She also doesn’t buy ‘extra’ make-up and skincare beyond the ‘capsule’ collection she sticks to.
As well as having ‘side hustles’ which she credits with gaining her £10,000 in the past year, there are certain things Mia doesn’t spend money on to help her save
She said: ‘I couldn’t tell you the last time I tried out a new product. I really just stick to the same routine of the same essential products and I just top up when they run out.’
When it comes to alcohol, Mia said the maximum she’ll spend at a time is around £15.
‘I’m just not a big drinker. If I’m out with friends, I’ll probably just have one or two,’ she explained.
While some people praised her for her ‘sensible’ financial decisions, others were worried she’s not having enough ‘fun’ in her 20s.
Taking to the comments, people wrote: ‘No hate, but what do you do for fun? There’s a fine line between being sensible to save money and doing/ buying nothing. You should set some cash aside for treats’;
‘Remember to enjoy life as well, I’m 31 and saved a lot during my 20s and now have £200k+ savings, does it make me happy, not really’;
‘I thought this is normal… I guess I’m just poor lol’;
‘At your age, you’re going to make an incredibly big positive difference to your (early) retirement by investing with the savings you’re making with these choices’;
While some people praised her for her ‘sensible’ financial decisions, others were worried she’s not having enough ‘fun’ in her 20s
‘This is fantastic. I’m exactly the same. Most people love wasting money and they hate seeing others being frugal, because it illustrates their bad spending habits’;
‘The amount of money I’ve wasted on takeaways just to feel awful after eating them anyway is scary.’
In another video, Mia revealed there are some items she will splurge on.
These include experiences, buying whole foods and renting a nice flat.
She also revealed how she’s managed to save £80,000 at just 24 years old, revealing she hopes to increase it to £100,000 this year.
Mia said she always. ‘pays herself first’, paying money into her savings account at the start of each month
She says she will rarely spend cash on things like takeaways and coffees – only having them when she’s with friends
She also credits her savings to becoming ‘financially literate’ and learning about the stock market.
She said that she’s spent time ‘living below her means’ and when she was living at home and had disposable income, saved it towards a home deposit.
The financially savvy TikToker emphasised the importance of her side hustles – which include modelling, UGC, content creation and affiliate marketing.
In addition, she’s done two placements and has been working full-time, saying it took her around five years to reach the savings goal.
Though she and her partner split their rent and bills equally – due to being the same age and earning a similar salary, she admitted other things have a 70/30 split.
Mia believes the ‘man should be trying to impress a woman a little bit more’ as it keep the romance alive – for example, she will be spoiled by her partner for Valentine’s Day and on birthdays.
