Latest news with #saving
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Through plague, scurvy and heat, lemonade has always been there for us
When life hands you lemons, it's not necessarily trying to destroy whatever scant fibers of sanity you have left. On the contrary, lemons may very well be the thing that ends up saving you! On some level, lemons have always been looking out for us, even if we insist on making them the sourpuss in our sayings.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Boy, 8, sets up stall in Market Harborough to save for house deposit
"If you get to like 18 or 20, and you haven't started saving any money, it takes a while to get there so I wanted to start early."Archie is just eight years old, but he is already planning for his future and saving money for a deposit on his first he is not just putting his pocket money aside, the entrepreneurial schoolboy set up a market stall selling jewellery, fidget toys, sweets and other items a year efforts have paid off and Archie, from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, said he had already saved £3,000 towards his future. Property prices in the area are growing faster than in neighbouring districts in the East Midlands. Provisional data from the Office for National Statistics shows the average house price in Harborough in April 2025 was £355,000, while the average for first-time buyers in the area stood at £286, mum Jodie said: "He was always driven by wanting a shop and then interested in looking for premises and locations so he could live above it.""Whenever he saw empty shops in town he wanted to know how much they're worth."She said his passion for trading began when they were on a holiday."He collected loads of stones and shells and then washed them, lined them up meticulously on a tray outside the house and made £6.50," she explained."After that, he wanted to be somewhere busier and went on and on and on."He pestered and pestered and pestered and set about it happening." Archie buys old and new stock at car boot sales or from other traders to sell on his stall at Harborough Indoor Market in Northampton Road, run by the other traders, he has to pay rent for his stall and have market traders' insurance, which was taken out by once a month, Archie gets to the market hall for about 06:00, and sets up alongside other stallholders, carefully arranging his stock in colour co-ordinated rows."I absolutely love trading and the other traders like having me there too," he said. "They come and talk to me and some of them come and buy things from me too." Andy Friess and his wife Katrina run a stall called PictureMyPast, which aims to help people trace their ancestors. Mr Friess said: "As soon as I met Archie, I could see he was a livewire. "He was insistent that mum and dad didn't help him arrange his stock. He's a little superstar."He added: "I advised him about the height of his displays and about clear pricing."I even advised him about how to present himself so you look like you mean business.""His mum would say 'listen to the advice, because it won't always be free'."Jodie said: "He's so organised, he knows how much he's bought things for and how much he's selling for."Archie's dad Lee added: "They like having him there, it's like the next generation."There are very few young people, so getting them in this young to carry it on, it's all good and good for the town."
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Woman who has saved over $100,000 reveals the five habits holding you back financially
A woman who prioritizes saving and investing over spending in the hope that she can retire by 40 has warned people that five popular habits are keeping them 'broke'. Mia Rose McGrath, 24, has over $100,000 in savings and investments and lives a thrifty lifestyle so she can 'soft retire' 26 years before her peers. With more than 143,000 followers on TikTok, Mia, who lives in London, England, and works in fashion, frequently posts about the stringent approach she takes to managing her own finances. 'Trying to be cool or aesthetic is making you broke,' Mia said in a TikTok video posted this week. She explained that buying a completely new outfit or spending $50 on a Rhode phone case in a bid to look 'aesthetically pleasing' on Instagram was a waste of money. Reflecting on her own experience, Mia admitted that she used to fritter away cash on exactly the exact behavior before she made a change. She said: 'I realized I was doing it for other people, not for myself.' The second mistake that people make, according to Mia, is allowing themselves to be swept up in trends and fads that turn out to be very expensive. She warned: 'You don't need the latest trending item - a Labubu, a Coach bag. It's not essential.' While she approved of saving up for something 'you really like,' Mia encouraged her fans to be really honest with themselves before making a purchase. She added: 'I guarantee if you waited 30 days to buy it, you wouldn't want it anymore.' The third financial mistake Mia identified is 'not saving because you think it's pointless'. Telling those who are saving none of their income to 'please change that,' she argued that 'no matter how small it is,' it's worth doing. 'I guarantee, if it's $10, $50, no matter how small it is, you're probably not doing it because of that reason,' she reminded viewers. Mia revealed that she also started small, even putting money aside when she was relying on a student maintenance grant. She continued: 'I wouldn't have been able to do that if I had that mindset that saving $50 is pointless.' Fourthly, Mia advocated for starting a side hustle, telling fellow TikTokers that they're 'not too busy'. Taking a tough love approach, she said: 'Stop using the excuse that you don't have enough time, you just don't want to enough.' She insisted: 'Whatever it is, creating content, creating a personal brand, making extra money - I've done all those things while at a nine to five job that I have to be in the office five days a week for.' Mia added that, providing someone wants to improve their finances, they can - it just takes discipline. Finally, Mia warned that it's irresponsible to think a 'man is going to sweep in' and facilitate the 'soft life' that some people crave. 'Soft life' is shorthand for a life lived on a person's own terms, usually free from the constraints of a fulltime job. Gratitude: Mia's viral video attracted plenty of comments, with most people thanking her for her stark advice She added: 'There is so much bad advice on TikTok saying you need to appear in your "soft feminine energy" and go sit at a bar where a rich man will find you...' In a bid to do away with this myth, Mia said: 'You have to work hard and have your own money. 'Sure, if you meet someone who earns more than you, that's a bonus. Make sure you have your own finances sorted first.' Despite having issued the disclaimer 'you're not going to like this' at the beginning of her video, Mia's advice was generally well received on TikTok. One fan said: 'No lies told! "If you want to do it, you can - it just requires discipline".' A second person added: 'The waiting 30 days is such a brilliant and helpful thing to do!' While a third said: 'Great points! It is so important to stay mindful of spending and focus on saving in the long run.' Someone else pointed out: 'The amount of overconsumption I see is wild, it's so wasteful (not just of money but resources).'
The Sun
05-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
The 5 habits making you broke according to savings whizz who has £100k in the bank AND plans to retire at 40
A YOUNG woman has shared five ways you're making yourself broke every month. Mia McGrath is just 24 but already has £100k in savings and plans to retire at 40. 2 2 Thanks to her thrifty lifestyle, Mia is planning to stop working 26 years before her peers. The Londoner who works in fashion regularly shares how she achieves her saving goals, and this time, she shared the habits to give up if you want to start saving. "Trying to be cool or aesthetic is making you broke," Mia said in a TikTok video posted this week. She went on to say that buying a new outfit or a £38 Rhode phone case to look 'aesthetically pleasing' on Instagram was a waste of money. Mia admitted she used to do this before making a change. She said: "I realised I was doing it for other people, not for myself." The second mistake people make is following trends and fads that turn out to be very expensive. The savvy saver warned: "You don't need the latest trending item - a Labubu, a Coach bag. It's not essential." She added: "I guarantee if you waited 30 days to buy it, you wouldn't want it anymore." The third financial mistake Mia identified is 'not saving because you think it's pointless'. Paychecks set to change for millions of Americans as new July law starts – see if switch is happening in your state She argued that no matter how small the amount, it was always worth doing. "I guarantee, if it's £10, £50, no matter how small it is, you're probably not doing it because of that reason," she reminded viewers. Mia, who has accumulated 'almost £100,000 in savings and investments' in recent years, revealed that she also started small, even putting money aside when she was relying on a student maintenance grant. She continued: "I wouldn't have been able to do that if I had that mindset that saving £50 is pointless." Fourthly, Mia advocated for starting a side hustle, telling fellow TikTokers that they're 'not too busy' She said: "Stop using the excuse that you don't have enough time, you just don't want to enough." She insisted: "Whatever it is, creating content, creating a personal brand, making extra money - I've done all those things while at a nine to five job that I have to be in the office five days a week for." Mia added that, providing someone wants to improve their finances, they can - it just takes discipline. Finally, Mia warned that it's irresponsible to think a 'man is going to sweep in' and facilitate the 'soft life' that some people crave. Mia said: "There is so much bad advice on TikTok saying you need to appear in your "soft feminine energy" and go sit at a bar where a rich man will find you..." In a bid to do away with this myth, Mia said: 'You have to work hard and have your own money." Money saving challenges Here's some of our favourite money saving challenges. Weather saving challenge - Save the amount equal to whatever the highest temperature was that week. £1 = 1C. 1p challenge - save 1p a day for everyday of the year, but it increase the amount by 1p each day. So day one you save 1p, 2p on day two and 3p on day three. When you reach 100 days you start adding a £1 coin each day too, while this increases to a £2 coin each day plus pennies at 200 days, and £3 each day on top of pennies at day 300. 20p a day challenge - Start by putting 20p in savings, then increase the amount by 20p every day. For example, the first week will look like this: 20p, 40p, 60p, 80p, £1, £1.20, £1.40. £5 a week challenge - Like the 20p challenge, put aside £5 a week and increase it by a fiver each week. Eg £5, £10, £15, £20 Round-up challenge - Every time you buy something, round up the purchase to the nearest £1 and put the difference in a savings account. Eg. You pay £2.60, so you put 40p in savings. You can use an app such as Monzo or Starling to do this. Bingo challenge - Here you have a bingo card with different numbers on it and you tick them off when you've put that amount in your savings account. It can be ad hoc but you have to tick them all off by the end of the month. Monday to Sunday challenge - With this challenge, you simply save £1 on Monday, £2 on Tuesday and so on until the weekend where you don't save on Saturday or Sunday. 365 day challenge - Every Sunday you put aside £1, followed by £2 on Monday, £3 on Wednesday and so on. On Saturday you'll put away £7, and then the process repeats and you'll put aside £1 on Sunday as the new week begins The clip went viral on her TikTok account @ miarosemcgrath with over 62k views and 6,100 likes. One person wrote: "The waiting 30 days is such a brilliant and helpful thing to do!" Another commented: "You're really genuine and I love you for that." "Great points! It's so important to stay mindful of spending and focus on saving in the long run," penned a third. Meanwhile, a fourth said: "You're such good advice for the younger women out there." "Very wise words,' claimed a fifth Someone else added: "Couldn't agree more."
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
I have £100,000 in savings and investments and plan to retire by 40 - these FIVE habits are keeping you broke
A young woman who prioritises saving and investing over spending in the hope that she will be able to retire by 40 has warned people that five popular habits are keeping them 'broke'. Mia Rose McGrath, 24, has 'almost £100,000 in savings and investments' and lives a thrifty lifestyle so she can 'soft retire' 26 years before her peers. With more than 143,000 followers on TikTok, Mia, who lives in London and works in fashion, frequently posts about the stringent approach she takes to managing her own finances. 'Trying to be cool or aesthetic is making you broke,' Mia said in a TikTok video posted this week. She explained that buying a completely new outfit or spending £38 on a Rhode phone case in a bid to look 'aesthetically pleasing' on Instagram was a waste of money. Reflecting on her own experience, Mia admitted that she used to fritter away cash on exactly the exact behaviour before she made a change. She said: 'I realised I was doing it for other people, not for myself.' The second mistake that people make, according to Mia, is allowing themselves to be swept up in trends and fads that turn out to be very expensive. The savvy saver warned: 'You don't need the latest trending item - a Labubu, a Coach bag. It's not essential.' While she approved of saving up for something 'you really like,' Mia encouraged her fans to be really honest with themselves before making a purchase. She added: 'I guarantee if you waited 30 days to buy it, you wouldn't want it anymore.' The third financial mistake Mia identified is 'not saving because you think it's pointless'. Telling those who are saving none of their income to 'please change that,' she argued that 'no matter how small it is,' it's worth doing. 'I guarantee, if it's £10, £50, no matter how small it is, you're probably not doing it because of that reason,' she reminded viewers. Mia, who has accumulated 'almost £100,000 in savings and investments' in recent years, revealed that she also started small, even putting money aside when she was relying on a student maintenance grant. She continued: 'I wouldn't have been able to do that if I had that mindset that saving £50 is pointless.' Fourthly, Mia advocated for starting a side hustle, telling fellow TikTokers that they're 'not too busy'. Mia's advice for saving 1. Trying to be cool is making you broke, don't buy trendy things to look good 2. Wait 30 days to buy something 3. Save money of your income, even if it's only £10 4. Stop using the excuse you don't have enough time. You can have a side hustle while at a 9-5 job 5. You have to build your own soft life. Work hard and have your own money Taking a tough love approach, she said: 'Stop using the excuse that you don't have enough time, you just don't want to enough.' She insisted: 'Whatever it is, creating content, creating a personal brand, making extra money - I've done all those things while at a nine to five job that I have to be in the office five days a week for.' Mia added that, providing someone wants to improve their finances, they can - it just takes discipline. Finally, Mia warned that it's irresponsible to think a 'man is going to sweep in' and facilitate the 'soft life' that some people crave. 'Soft life' is shorthand for a life lived on a person's own terms, usually free from the constraints of a fulltime job. Mia's viral video attracted tens of comments, with most people thanking her for her stark advice She added: 'There is so much bad advice on TikTok saying you need to appear in your "soft feminine energy" and go sit at a bar where a rich man will find you...' In a bid to do away with this myth, Mia said: 'You have to work hard and have your own money. 'Sure, if you meet someone who earns more than you, that's a bonus. Make sure you have your own finances sorted first.' Despite having issued the disclaimer 'you're not going to like this' at the beginning of her video, Mia's advice was generally well received on TikTok. One fan said: 'No lies told! "If you want to do it, you can - it just requires discipline."' A second person added: 'The waiting 30 days is such a brilliant and helpful thing to do!' While a third said: 'Great points! It is so important to stay mindful of spending and focus on saving in the long run.' Someone else pointed out: 'The amount of overconsumption I see is wild, it's so wasteful (not just of money but resources)'. Yet, not everyone was convinced, with one TikToker admitting that financial discipline really isn't her forte. 'What if I still want it after one year?', she asked.
