I SAVED £300K BY THE AGE OF 30 – HERE'S WHAT I HAD TO SACRIFICE

A frugal man has revealed the sacrifices he had to make to save £300,000 by 30 – including sleeping on the same pillow for 12 years and never replacing his holey socks.

Airic, 31, said that when he was growing up money “wasn’t always readily available” and, as a result, he learnt to be frugal.

But it was when he started earning a wage, around the age of 21, that he actively started trying to save.

His thrifty ways – and investments into the stock market – meant that Airic had managed to save £100,000 by the time he was 25.

Now Airic, who admits to being embarrassed by some of his money-saving techniques, reckons he saves around £40,000 annually and plans to retire early.

Airic, an auditor who lives in central London, moved to the UK from Canada three years ago and began investing into a stocks and shares ISA.

But he says he has always been conscious of spending and has spent much of his adult life using somewhat extreme measures to cut back his outgoings.

Airic says: “I think being frugal is something that has always been instilled in me.

“My parents were immigrants in Canada [and] money wasn’t always readily available. They taught me how to be more frugal and understand the value of money better as I grew up.

“When I started off working, I wasn’t making life changing money, but I realised I needed to be investing my savings and allocating towards my future.”

Airic says that he relied on YouTube and articles for money-saving tips when he was trying to hit his first £100,000.

He says: “I was aggressively meeting a minimum of 50 per cent of my wage in savings.

“I [then] looked [online] to see how I could get there and see what other people were doing.”

Airic had to sacrifice a number of things in order to save such high amounts year on year – some of which he regrets in hindsight.

“I used the same pillow too long, for many years,” he says.

“One of the side effects is the pillow is too flat and doesn’t support the head very well – I felt like it started giving me headaches.”

Airic also admits to using manual toothbrushes rather than electric ones until he was 23, which contributed to him having many fillings until he switched to electric brushing. 

“With my socks, I would wear them until they had holes in them,” he adds.

“I felt like I was constantly damaging my skin and I had irritating blisters, and I realised I needed to refresh my socks more often.”

Airic says that another money-saving tip that doesn’t often get talked about is having to prioritise the social events you have to go to – and missing out on some you may want to attend.

He explains: “In London something is going on every day and every weekend – you have to pick and choose what’s more important and what you want to prioritise.”

He admits that this can be “isolating” at times but says: “Once you find a better circle of friends who value money and time you can find other things to do that don’t revolve around going for drinks at the pub.

“I lived at home with my parents up until the age of 28 and that helped save a lot of money.”

Airic adds that he tries to “find all kinds of deals” on anything he buys, and that he uses credit card points to travel.

“If something is broken I will try and fix it first before replacing it or buying a new one,” he says.

Airic says after tax he always tries to “max out” his ISA every years.

He says: “I put money into my pension of a similar amount, around £20,000.”

Airic says that, despite his saving, he “balances life more these days” and ensures he does “intentional splurging”.

For example, he recently spent £700 on a five-star hotel stay with his partner for their 10-year anniversary, and tries a new restaurant “every month”.

He says: “It’s just making sure I enjoy part of the money I earn but still managing to save.

“I think figuring out when I want to retire and how much money I need to retire has given me clarity to work backwards and see what I can work with.

“I like doing those splurges and experiences what I deem as a value splurge…rather than going out window shopping and seeing something I like and [just] buying it.”

2026-03-19T10:58:57Z