Day by day and little by little
Written 7th June 2025
I've come away on holiday with one of my oldest friends and our kids. They've grown up together and we've known each other 25+ years.
She retired this year at 60, with only £17k left to pay on her mortgage. She told me the other week she'd started overpaying it every month after I paid off my mortgage early and was explaining to her the savings in interest charges by overpaying as much as you could afford / the mortgage would allow. I was really pleased to think I'd helped her.
She has become thrifty like me over the years (though definitely not as tight as me) and she often jokes she thinks to herself 'What would LF think if I buy this?' when making a purchase and will often talk herself out of mindless spending. She's been able to retire early on a small pension because she's now got low bills and modest spending habits and is careful with what she buys, regularly looks for the best savings rates, uses vouchers at the supermarkets etc etc.
And I really never even bang on about my frugal ways, but they seem to have rubbed off anyway. I'm so pleased for her, but more importantly so is she.
Why am I mentioning a stranger? Because I wanted to mention someone who has adopted some of my ways and just proves that it is possible to live on less and still have a good standard of living, regardless of the money value, to be happy and content without having everything.
Remember small changes will make a difference.
LFxx
