How I Saved Every Penny Of My Income

During my three years at university, I worked multiple jobs on top of my studies, and I saved every single penny I earned. Sounds crazy right?!? But it became second nature to me, and I would do it automatically without even thinking.

You might have already called bullshit because like duh obviously you have to spend some money to live so this must be false. So let me start with a little disclaimer…

Fortunately, I was eligible for almost the maximum student maintenance loan (around £9k) each year. This was more than enough to comfortably live on; hence this stream of income became the only one I would budget with. I didn’t need to work to live but chose to so I could save more money.

In regards to this post, I am not classing the student loan income as money earned because technically I will be paying it back until I turn 50 – although I’m betting on not paying much of it back 😜. Therefore, no this is not bullshit or clickbaity, I did in fact, during my three years at uni, save or invest every single penny I earned!

Now let me share a few things that made this possible…

I knew my basics were covered

As previously mentioned, I qualified for a decent student loan amount. This was more than enough to live on comfortably in my university city. I primarily have this to thank for being able to save so much as it would have been a completely different story had I only qualified for the minimum. Having this money to live on meant I could take the risk of investing the majority of my savings because I wasn’t going to have to scramble to pay rent.

I set myself a realistic budget

This would have been a completely different story if I had enforced a restrictive budget. I would have found myself dipping into my extra income for x y and z. But I worked hard to set a realistic budget for my lifestyle. Reminder – what works for me will probably not work for you. Everyone lives a different reality with different needs!

I ignored my other income streams and only budgeted with the student loan. It took a while to get it right but by my third year it took little to no thought. I knew exactly how much I needed week to week. Plus by making sinking funds for everything, I was covered from unexpected costs.

Loved seeing that number get bigger

Watching your net worth grow is a tad bit addicting and it’s very easy to get obsessed with it. This was definitely the case for me and worked to my benefit. I was never tempted to spend my income because I wanted to watch that number grow and grow. Hitting milestones I never thought would be possible.

Gave my savings a purpose

Saving money just for the sake of saving money will begin to feel like a chore. This will probably lead to a fuck it moment. When you begin to think its not worth it and blow the money on useless crap. To avoid this becoming your reality, give the money a purpose, a job. Envision how it will be used, because let’s be honest most savings will be eventually spent, and use this vision to motivate yourself.

Have a goal of spending a week in Mexico? When you go to withdraw money from your savings for a new top, imagine yourself using that same £10 on a cocktail on the beach in Mexico. Guarantee you will be putting that top back.

For about a year, my number one goal was investing £20k, to max out the ISA allowance. This money will eventually be used for an early retirement. Therefore, every-time I got paid I would invest the every penny and picture Jess in 10 years time using that money to cash flow a month without the need to work 🤑. It worked a charm!

Those things combined meant I got very comfortable saving every penny I earned. Obviously this is quite extreme but these tips can be used to save any percentage of your income!