How A Woman Retired At 35 With ₹10 Crore Savings Just By Cutting Expenses & Investing

Isn’t it funny how we are taught so many formulas and definitions in school but we are never taught how to manage our finances? Financial literacy is something that not many of us achieve, but those who do tend to live a stress-free life, more or less.

For example, a woman named Katie Donegan who lives in the UK retired at age 35 with 1 million pounds (10 crore INR approx) and is now travelling the world with her husband. How did she do it, well here’s how.

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According to Mirror UK, Katie always had a habit to save money. Even as a kid, she used to save her pocket money. Basically, her funda was simple – cut down on expenses as much as possible, save money, and invest them to build your wealth.

At 18, she dropped out of the University of Oxford and took a trip to Costa Rica. There she met her now-husband, Alan. The two returned back to the UK and Katie began living with her parents to save the money which she would otherwise spend on rent.

While pursuing a degree in Statistics at University College London, she didn’t buy new clothes and spent less on food. After graduating in 2008, Katie and Alan shifted to the latter’s parents’ house. They took this step so that they could save money for a house deposit.

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“We ate packed lunches, drove a second-hand Skoda and invited friends over instead of going for expensive nights out,” Katie said.

Even when Katie and Alan got married, they tried to cut down costs as much as possible. They rented a community hall, sent invites via email and asked everyone to bring their own booze.

Even when Katie got promotions at work which increased her salary significantly, she still wouldn’t spend money on expensive night-outs. Later, she used her savings to invest in the stock market. However, she also did tonnes of research on which stocks to invest in to keep risks as low as possible. Alan, on the other hand, was self-employed and had variable income.

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“It wasn’t because we didn’t enjoy our jobs – it was about financial freedom and quality of life. To bring in more money, I quit my job and began working as a contractor. Some friends and family thought we were mad sticking with our modest flat and old car, but we were laser-focused and studied how to invest in the stock market,” Katie said.

In 2018, the two were very close to having a million pounds as savings. But again, their investments were enough for them to sustain comfortably and hence, Katie decided to retire. Alan continued to oversee his business but didn’t participate in day-to-day operations.

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Last year, the two made trips to Thailand, Mexico, and New Orleans. This year, they travelled to Bogota and Colombia.

Let this be a sign from the universe for you to start saving NOW!

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