An avid party girl who spent more than £10,000 a year on nights out has now completely changed her lifestyle in a bid to save money.
Lynsey White, 25, would consistently go out drinking and partying twice a week in London - spending a gastly £800 per month.
But now the young woman has revealed the simple hacks that have helped her to save £6,000 a year.
Originally from Yorkshire, Lynsey moved to the capital city in 2019 and regularly hit the town to the "make the most of life in the capital".
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But her casual nights out quickly began to spiral out of control and within a few months, she realised just how much she was spending.
“When I moved to London in 2019 I had got my first job and I was no longer living at home or on a student budget, " Lynsey told YorkshireLive.
“I was in a new city, keen to meet new people and looking back I got carried away with the freedom of it all. It wasn’t until one particularly hungover morning last summer that I suddenly felt the need to check my spending.
Lynsey's bank statement revealed her nights out were costing up to £800 per month - the equivalent of £10,000 a year.
“I felt sick to my stomach when I realised how much of my salary was going towards partying. All that money and I had literally nothing to show for it,” she added. “I knew it had to stop.”
In a bid to save money, Lynsey avoided nights out and swapped them for nights-in with her friends at her flat.
What would be £30 spent on Ubers, £10 club entry fees and £14 cocktails was now a £6 bottle of wine from the supermarket, a Spotify playlist and dancing in the kitchen.
"Although I still love a night out I reserve it for special occasions now," said Lynsey.
"I’ve realised that bringing the party to your home beats queuing for twenty minutes for a drink at a bar or waiting in the cold for a cab.”
Lynsey’s party savings prompted her to look at the rest of her finances in more detail, something she admits she’d never considered before.
“I think people my age can be quite blase about money. We think about the here-and-now and instant fun rather than long-term planning," she said.
Lynsey analysed her household bills and realised she was paying £42.99 per month on a broadband and TV bundle deal - with many channels she never watched.
After a quick online search, she decided to ditch the bundle deal she was on for a cheaper one.
By switching to a mobile sim-only plan and broadband with Plusnet, she now pays just £6 for unlimited calls and texts and £22.99 for unlimited fibre broadband, saving her £408 a year in total.
She said: “I don’t need any bells or whistles, and switching to Plusnet took me about fifteen minutes, but will save me nearly a grand a year in the long run.
“I’m from Yorkshire, so naturally I always like finding a good deal. Doing a few minutes of research shows if you’re overpaying on your broadband, insurance or energy supplier.”
Living in a flatshare and going out all the time meant Lynsey was used to living off food delivery apps and meal deals costing £140 a month - nearly £1,700 a year.
In a bid to save further, Lynsey deleted the apps and started cooking from scratch.
“I batch cook big dishes of things like curries and stews at the weekend then freeze them so I always have something tasty to eat when I get in," she said.
"It’s such a small change but I reckon it will save me around £1,300 a year.”
She also used store-specific vouchers and promo codes for all her Christmas shopping, shaving £180 off the cost of gifts for family and friends.
“It can be as simple as typing the name of the store you’re shopping in and the words ‘promo code’ to see what’s available," said Lynsey.
“I think it’s all about changing the way you think about money. Now if I’m out and I see something I fancy, I spend a couple of minutes on my phone to make sure there are any better deals available."
She added: “All of these switches aren’t massive by any means, but they have definitely been life-changing for me, particularly as a young person juggling rising bills as well as student loan payments and rent.
"I’d urge anyone my age to do the same.”
