I was a £700-a-month shopaholic, but I figured out how to save £15,000 in just 8 months. Lauren, 24, shares her simple rules for saving thousands. Neil Shaw, Assistant Editor (Money and Lifestyle), Mirror.co.uk, January 9, 2026. A self-proclaimed former shopaholic, who used to spend £700 a month online shopping, says she saved £15,000 in 8 months and £30,000 in 4 years by following a few straightforward rules. Lauren Mayers, 24, is saving for a home and has incorporated six habits into her lifestyle to ensure she can put down a substantial deposit when the time comes. Lauren describes herself as an 'ex-shopaholic', saying she used to 'rack up' large amounts on Klarna and go 'overboard' on shopping. One major issue was buying new clothes for every event. If she was going on holiday, she would buy brand new outfits, shoes, and swimwear, even though she already had enough at home. She would easily fill an online shopping basket with £300 worth of clothes after a holiday. She also used to rack up large amounts on Klarna, thinking it was fine because she was paying over three months. But she now knows that spending is spending, regardless of the timeframe. Lauren realized she needed to change her behavior when she found herself repeatedly dipping into her savings and saving nothing in some months due to shopping sprees. She was living 'month to month' and could have easily fallen into debt. She added, 'I now understand how easy it is to fall into debt with Pay Later schemes, and I think there should be more education on it.' She estimated spending around £500-700 a month on shopping and definitely had months with a couple of hundred on Pay Later schemes like Klarna. Over three years, that's a significant amount of money wasted! Lauren is looking to buy her first home and hopes to put down a deposit of more than 10%. In a recent video, Lauren shared the simple things she does to save money. First, she ditched fast fashion websites like Shein and PLT. One day, she did a wardrobe clear-out and got rid of six bags of clothes from these websites, realizing she was looking at over £1,000 worth of clothes she wouldn't wear. She now invests in pieces she will re-wear and can mix and match with other things, being more mindful of her purchases. Next, she paid off any debt before trying to save. She had a car loan with interest, and she couldn't save while paying additional interest. So, she paid that off first and then saved much quicker. People should be realistic with how much money they leave themselves each month to spend. Lauren was unrealistic, leaving herself stupid amounts like £300 a month, which inevitably led to dipping into her savings and saving nothing. So, she set a realistic goal and timeframe, enjoying seeing the figure add up every month. Lauren advised others to switch from scrolling through shopping sites to working towards your goals. She was mindful of not only clothing purchases but every purchase she wanted to make. She recommends holding off on new purchases and practicing delayed gratification. For example, she wanted to buy a Braun laser-at-home device yesterday, but she sat on it, thought about it, and decided she wasn't ready to make that investment yet. She didn't buy it, thinking about what she was buying instead of impulse-buying. Lauren also recommends cutting down on subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify to save money. She ditched Disney+, Spotify, AA, and even her phone contract, opting for SIM only. While she has reduced her spending significantly, she doesn't feel she has missed out on having fun. She occasionally still treats herself, and it feels much better as it's always things she genuinely wants. It doesn't mean she missed out on holidays and fun stuff last year; she still managed to go on two holidays. It just means making sacrifices, like re-wearing outfits she already has.
