A social media user shared how they saved thousands while living in the country’s most expensive city
Saving money and enjoying a busy social life can often feel incompatible. Whether you like to meet your friends for coffee and cake, enjoy a night out, or prefer a mix of activities, socialising is often expensive.
Even if you opt for a walk in the park or another free activity, you might have to drive or catch public transport to get there, and it all adds up. Fortunately, there are tips and tricks you can use to save money next time you see your friends, like shopping around for deals and discounts before picking a restaurant.
You could also take inspiration from a money-savvy social media user who has shared four simple tips that he says helped him to save thousands. Posting on TikTok as JNO (@jno_pwnr), the savvy saver captioned his video: “Four things I did in my 20s to save £45k in London.”
He included several straightforward suggestions that most people could try out, provided you’re willing to give them a try. JNO’s tips received some mixed reactions on TikTok, though many commenters loved the ideas. It certainly sounds like they worked for JNO, who dubbed the suggestions his “top money saving hacks.”
Eating at home before meeting friends
JNO said: “If a group of your friends are getting together at a restaurant to catch up, what I would just do is eat beforehand at home, and then when I get to the restaurant, I wouldn’t order anything, or I would just order sides or maybe chips, something that costs between £5 to £10, that way you’re not spending £30, £40, £50 just to sit at a restaurant and have some food with friends.”
He added that the tip works well when you’re going out with a larger group rather than just one friend. Instead of going for dinner with one friend, JNO suggested inviting them over to cook dinner together at home.
Not paying for rounds at the pub
JNO explained that he’d rather pay for his own drink instead of taking it in turns to buy rounds at the pub. “My personal rule when going out was that I would only buy one drink outside per social occasion,” he shared.
“The moment that you do rounds, you’re at least committing to two, three, four drinks, which immediately turns your little night out into something that costs like £30, which to me was unacceptable.”
JNO also suggested starting your night out at home before heading to a club in order to save on drinks. “It’s a lot cheaper than getting drinks at the club,” he reasoned.
Putting on more clothes before you turn on the heating
“I had a rule where I could only turn on the heating once I was already wearing two layers of socks, two bottom layers, and two top layers,” JNO revealed.
Buying a bike
“I bought a bike about four years ago for £150. I sold it last week for £150. Of course, I had to do a little bit of repairs, and I had to buy a lock and whatever. It maybe cost me an extra £50, so the net total that I spent in those four years is basically £50, and it saved me thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds. I would be that guy that just cycles no matter what. I actually kind of fell in love with it.”
JNO concluded: “One thing worth noting is that for any of these steps, you don’t have to completely change your life around and, for example, completely stop eating out or completely stop buying more than one drink outside; that’s not what I’m saying.
“What I’m saying is if once in a while you start implementing these things, like you know, every other time you go to the restaurant with your friends, you have a little bit of food beforehand and you reduce your restaurant bill, that’s already a great way to start. You don’t have to completely change your life overnight just to save money.”
