Revealed: What I spend in a day as a 24-year-old residing in London who desires to retire by the point I’m 40

A 24-year-old Londoner determined to retire by 40 has revealed how little she manages to spend in a day in the UK capital.

Mia McGrath, who posts TikTok videos focused on saving, investing and budgeting, has amassed 103,000 followers on the platform.

The finance influencer is a proponent of the F.I.R.E – or ‘financially independent, retire early’ – movement that has become popular with Gen Z in recent years. 

In a clip that will cause a lot of Londoners to rethink their own approach to city living, the savvy young woman demonstrated just how committed she is to that goal by sharing an insight into her thrifty lifestyle – which sees her spend just £13 per day. 

Not only does she avoid buying expensive coffees while out, she takes advantage of freebies advertised on TikTok Shop and always takes her own lunch to work. 

While many Londoners fork out £10 for a midday meal at a high street chain like Pret, Mia, as ‘a financially responsible 24-year-old who is trying to spend as little as possible’, would never consider splashing out on a sandwich. 

Rather, as she explained in the viral video that’s been viewed more than 112,000 times, she packs her lunch and her breakfast everyday, making use of leftovers from the night before and eating eggs in the morning.

Mia also revealed that instead of completely skipping costly health trends like electrolytes, which are used for hydration, she collects free samples from TikTok Shop.

The influencer added that her ‘commute from Zone 2 to Zone 1’ costs £3.40 while her fashion sales job provides free coffee.

For breakfast, her 50p eggs, which she microwaves in the office kitchen, were supplemented by ‘pancakes leftover from Pancake Day’.

So, Mia’s satisfying breakfast of coffee, eggs and pancakes, cost her just 50p.  

At lunchtime, the financial influencer ‘enjoyed a walk with her colleagues’ but, rather than joining them in buying a sandwich, she ate her leftovers – for a cost of only 80p.

Mia added that her journey home was another £3.40, while she spent £4.84 in Sainsbury’s supermarket.

The spaghetti bolognaise that she made for dinner cost just £1 per serving and the airfryer brownies that she made for dessert cost just 40p per serving. 

During a day where she ate three meals and commuted to and from work on public transport, Mia spent no more that £13.34 – less than the price of a salad in some London cafes. 

Fans of Mia’s account were variously shocked, inspired and angered by the small amount she managed to spend in a day living and working in London. 

One person joked: ‘Even my Slavic grandma that saves ever cent eats better’. 

While another wondered: ‘Do you save for holidays or do you not go on holidays that often?’

A third person, however, argued: ‘The reason you have to save so much is YOU LIVE IN ZONE 2’. 

In a previous video, Mia showed she was serious about retiring at 40 when she revealed she eats ‘a 50p breakfast everyday’ consisting of an egg and half a bagel, avoids buying a cup of coffee when she’s out, and never gets her nails done.

In the clip, viewed almost 246,000 times, she said: ‘I eat a 50p breakfast every day so I can retire by 40.

‘It means hustling extra hard in my 20s and cutting back on things like daily coffees and getting my nails done.

‘But it also means at 45, I won’t have to ask my boss for a random Wednesday off, I’ll just take it.’  

Elsewhere, Mia, who saves money on rent by living at home and buys second-hand clothes, explained that her side hustles include making content for social media platforms and modelling. 

Having worked out that she will need £1.25 million to retire at 40 and live a ‘basic life’ on £35,000 a year, however, Mia knows she cannot simply rely on everyday savings.

Rather, she also invests in the stock market with Mia telling her followers that, of her £75,000 in savings, £58,000 is invested in stocks. 

She revealed that most of her money is invested in the S&P 500 – a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 of the largest public companies in the US – which provides on average a return of eight per cent year on year. 

Mia, who is currently investing around £1,500 per month, realises that she will need to invest at least £2,000 per month if she is going to be able to pay herself £35,000 a year from the age of 40.

Her solution is to increase her salary and side hustles so that so that she can up her monthly savings. 

In one of her videos, Mia also explained that she intends only to ‘soft retire’ at 40. In other words, she will still work on projects of her choosing – she just won’t be tied down by a 9-5 job.

While many would agree that Mia’s plans are admirable and her discipline is enviable, not everyone online is supportive of her stringent lifestyle – with a number of social media users suggesting the 24-year-old is missing out on her precious youth. 

One person wrote: ‘I see where you are coming from but you really need to enjoy being young because being old is rubbish. 

‘Also, if you have kids and/or a divorce, any plans you’ve got are burned down.’ 

Another added: ‘I’d rather have the freedom [while] younger if possible. Travelling and experimenting with different jobs is surely easier in your 20s and 30s than 50s and 60s…’

A third person commented in a similar vein: ‘Live [in] the moment… eat, enjoy life now… who knows what will happen tomorrow… 45? You don’t know what really happens at 45… live [in] the moment!’

A fourth TikTok found it hard to accept Mia’s choices, writing: ‘I’d rather live now, I’ll never understand this mindset.’

And a fifth said: ‘Enjoy your youth, when it’s gone it’s gone.’

Yet others were impressed and inspired by Mia’s approach. 

One person commented: ‘Love your vibe and videos’.

Another agreed: ‘This is the goal’.

And a third endorsed Mia’s choice to live frugally, writing: ‘Moderation is key’.