I tried viral TikTok trend to save £696 with easy lifestyle changes – the easiest part cut bills by £116 in just a week

IMAGINE retiring by the time you're 40, just by giving up some takeaway coffees and a manicure or two?

Followers of a new TikTok trend to stamp out so-called "lifestyle creep" are aiming to do just that.

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This creep is how you can gradually slip into living beyond your means and enjoying a lifestyle that's more suited to someone on a higher salary than your own.

By reining in expensive habits, some social media champions of the trend say they've saved more than £75,000 by their mid-twenties and are on track to retire by the time they reach middle age.

Impressed by their efforts, I decide to give it a try.

I'm in my late 30s and married with a two-and-a-half year old daughter and another baby on the way, so life is about to get even more expensive.

I’m currently working full-time as we've got a mortgage and hefty nursery fees to pay, meaning any savings I make now will put us in a better position for when the baby arrives.

After watching TikTok videos from those who've managed to reverse their lifestyle creep, I pick out seven strict rules to follow for a month and see how much I can save:

1. No holidays or unnecessary travel
2. No beauty treatments
3. No new clothes – buy secondhand if needed
4. No gym memberships or classes
5. No takeaway coffees
6. No meals out – cook from scratch and pack food from home
7. Start a side hustle

When I tell my editor, she says: "I bet you don’t last a week!"

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence", I reply, resolving to prove her wrong.

It's not going to be easy as I get my fair share of beauty treatments including nails and brows.

I go to the gym, love buying new clothes and I’m a takeaway coffee addict.

Surely giving up these small joys won’t save me THAT much?

And here is how I got on…

WEEK 1 – Saving £161.76

I wake up on day one and I’m almost instantly in money-saving mode.

Instead of my usual three-egg omelette with chorizo, cheese, pepper and tomato, I scramble a single egg to eat with half a bagel.

That works out at around 50p per breakfast instead of £2.98.

While it looks a little sad, it's perfectly tasty and filling and takes me half the time to make, which is a bonus.

So far, so good.

After dropping my toddler at nursery (thank God there aren’t any rules on paying for childcare…), I pass my local coffee shop.

Every day I pop in and pick up a £3.10 flat white, but I walk right past.

I’m gagging for the caffeine and little chat with the barista, but rules are rules, so I go home and settle for an instant.

I work from home most days so my morning isn't much different to normal.

When lunchtime arrives, I'd normally go to a gym class on a Monday.

I love getting out of the house for exercise and this £20 class is 45 minutes of cardio and strength.

Today, however, there will be no such luxury.

So I jump online and find a 40-minute workout on YouTube.

It's not bad. I sweat, it's hard and it's free. 

But I miss my usual chat with the girls and my £7 protein shake after class.

Still, that's £27 I've saved in only an hour, so I'm starting to see the financial benefits.

After picking up my daughter from nursery, I head home and start thinking about dinner.

I do cook from scratch almost every night, but with my money-saving head on, I decided to make a lentil bolognese rather than using beef to save £3 on the cost of dinner.

The rest of the working week goes in a very similar pattern, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at home and exercising in my living room.

By the weekend I'm desperate for a change of scenery. 

The weather has been nice so we'd usually go on a family day out.

My husband suggests Murton Park, just outside York, a nearby farm with play areas and lots to do, but it costs £18 for each of us and £15 for my daughter.

So instead I pack up a picnic and we head to our local park.

We enjoy a morning running around and luckily the weather holds up.

But the lure of the coffee truck is almost unbearable. 

I hear the buzz of the coffee grinder and see people wandering around with their takeaway cups and it takes all my strength to resist. 

Lesson learned – next time bring a flask of coffee from home.

WEEK 2 – saving: £139.56

By now I’m well in the swing of the same 50p breakfast everyday.

I’m getting a bit bored with it and very much wish I could add a little cheese, but it's quick and easy.

I’ve trained myself to – reluctantly –  walk past the coffee shop after nursery drop off and I've swapped my twice-weekly gym classes for home workouts.

So now it’s time to up my savings game.

Financial influencers talk about not buying clothes new and where possible, shopping second hand.

My two-year-old is in need of summery clothing and so am I.

Usually I'd hop online and order a few bits to the house for ease and speed. 

But instead, on my lunch break, I take a five-minute walk to the local charity shop.

Buying for my daughter is easy – I immediately find a Next dress for £1, that would have cost £15 new and a couple of M&S t-shirts for 50p each, which is an absolute steal considering these are usually £8-10 a pop.

Finding clothes for myself is much harder.

As I'm pregnant, I'm limited in what I can wear and I can’t find any suitable trousers with elasticated waists, but I do find a nice t-shirt, again M&S, 100% cotton, usually £20, for £3.50.

And I see a nice short-sleeved All Saints shirt, which my husband will love and would normally cost £65.

It’s in his size and only a fiver so I feel pretty good when I snap it up. 

That’s a total clothes saving of £46.50.

WEEK 3 – saving: £115.91

Week three of one egg and half a bagel for breakfast and I’m struggling.

Plus, work throws a curveball – I have to go to Manchester for two days to help with a photo shoot.

On Tuesday I head to the train station and not being able to get a Pret breakfast (usually £8.20) with a coffee is killing me.

I walk past all the coffee shops and think - is this torture worth it to save a few quid?

I’ve got a packed breakfast in my bag and once onboard, I unwrap my lukewarm bagel and egg and eat it with resentment.

When it's time to break for lunch with colleagues, usually I'd be excited to order a Deliveroo but today I'm tucking into a homemade wrap while everyone else gets their phones out to order.

I ask how much my colleague spent on her lunch.

"£19.60" she replies. "Sushi bowl, drink and chocolate bar".

My homemade wrap came in at £1.97 so I'm pretty chuffed. 

Although when she offers me half her chocolate bar, I gladly accept the freebie.

WEEK 4 – saving: £278.56

After nearly a month of no beauty treatments, I'm suffering.

My finger and toenails are in need of some serious TLC and now the weather is warmer, I can’t hide my feet in winter boots.

It's embarrassing and I just don't feel myself.

As a working mum I don't have a lot of time to take care of my appearance, so getting my nails done takes the edge off.

But a gel manicure is £39 and pedicure is £42, so I suck it up and stick to the rules.

My brows are due a wax and tint, but I don’t book it this month, saving £39.

Most side hustles aren't really feasible with a toddler, so I sign up to sell unwanted bits and bobs on Vinted and Facebook Marketplace.

I take the bag of clutter waiting to go to the charity shop and spend an evening taking pictures and listing the items for sale instead.

I surprise myself – It doesn’t actually take that long and I sell most of it, making £27.

I flog a bedside table for £2, baby rocker for £2, gym top for £5, beach bag for £12 and a never-used phone case for £6.

At the weekend, my parents come to visit and we’d usually go out to a restaurant or order a takeaway, but I cook us a curry at home instead.

It went down a treat and cost me £36 for four people instead of £68 for our normal takeaway.

The next day we are out for a walk and mum wants to stop for a coffee.

While my parents enjoy a coffee and cake, I have a glass of tap water, feeling incredibly virtuous.

VERDICT

I’ve reached the end of a month of reversing my lifestyle creep and it’s incredible how much the little splurges every day add up.

I’m amazed at how much I've saved, a whopping £695.79.

But I’m not going to be keeping all the changes up.

My coffee shop visit and chat with the staff is my daily dose of happiness, which is so important when you work from home – to me that's worth £3.10.

I can’t wait to see the back of that bagel and egg, but my three-egg chorizo omelette feels extravagant now.

I’ll strip it back to a two-egg scramble with feta.

I can't wait to get back to the salon to get my gross nails painted, but I've really come to enjoy my home workouts, so I'm ditching the pricey classes, protein shakes and occasional takeaway lunch.

I’ve also uploaded lots more items to sell online and I'm making a fair amount.

Overall, it's been great to have a reset, look at my spending and see where I can save.

I'm just not sure I'm going to save £75,000 unless anyone can tell me a way of getting free childcare.

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