A single mum has explained how she saved £5,000 for a house deposit by slashing her outgoings by more than half, salvaging furniture from the streets and shopping in charity shops.
Some of the ways Jasmine Storm Williamson, 27, has been able to cut her bills include swapping a £55 phone contract to a £12 sim-only deal and paying just £15 for streaming services compared to £60 for a TV package.
The money-savvy mum has also reduced her weekly food bill, going from paying around £65 to £70 per week for groceries to just £15 to £25.
The housing officer, who lives in London, has always been a fan of saving money, but committed herself to putting away even more cash after having her son Kian, now aged six.
"I think I began thrifting more when I became a parent," Jasmine told Media Drum World.
"When I was younger, I don't really think I knew the value of money. A lot of people are just not educated and I want to make sure I teach my son how to be savvy with money.
"I am saving money for the future - long-term I would like to buy a house and I am putting money away for my son's future. So far I have saved up about £5,000."
Have you saved £1,000s for a house deposit and want to share your story? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
Some of Jasmine's most surprising money-saving finds come from the streets of London.
She says one of her best things she has come across is a dining table that had been abandoned.
"It seems that in London people just leave things outside and they are in fine condition," she said.
"For other things I get ex-samples or ex-display, like my sofa is probably my best find - I got it from DFS, and it is ex-display so I got it for a quarter of the price it would have been."
When it comes to her supermarket shop, Jasmine says she uses the food waste app Too Good To Go and hunts for the best yellow sticker deals.
Too Good To Go partners up with retailers and smaller, independent shops to sell “magic bags” of food that would otherwise be thrown out at the end of the day.
Prices start from around £2 for a bag. The only downside is you can’t choose what food you get in your Too Good To Go bag - it depends on what is available that day.
"You don't know what you're going to get but you're guaranteed cookies and chocolate and stuff like that, and some have fruit, vegetables and rice," she said.
"I also go to Sainsbury's and if there's loads of yellow ticket stuff I will get as much as I can."
Jasmine is sharing her tips for those who have been hit by the cost of living crisis, in a bid to help other families make their money stretch further.
"I'd just say to sit down, work out your outgoings and decide what things you need," she said.
"For instance, I've never had a TV package - we have Netflix which has everything we need."
"My main big tip would be to always shop out of season, or shop in reverse," Jasmine added, sharing her biggest shopping rule.
"So when Easter finishes, anything for Easter is reduced, and it's the same with any other holiday or seasonal thing.
"I've already got everything sorted for Christmas this year because I shopped for it all after Christmas last year.
"I'd say probably in the last two and half years the majority of my wardrobe is from charity shops and it's mostly the same in my house.
"My day to day life is thrifted. The other day I got a Zara top from Barnado's for £2 but new it would've been £22.
"It's just being consciously aware, you can save so much just by looking for bargains."
