Emma Smith has three sons and lives in a two-bedroom flat in Glasgow – however, due to saving money on her mortgage and bills the mum is able to afford numerous holidays a year
A single mum-of-three manages to save £1,000 each month despite working just 20 hours weekly by living in a two-bedroom flat.
The mum says she uses her hard earned cash to enjoy a stagger 10 holidays a year. Emma Smith, 34, says her combined mortgage and bills total pretty small £557 a month – half what she’d need to fork out for a four-bedroom house in her neighbourhood.
This allows the Glasgow mum-of-three to spend more precious time with her children, and means she can whisk them away on regular getaways to places like Rome, Copenhagen, and Brussels. Emma, who works in finance, said her three lads – aged three, four, and six – share one room, while she occupies the other bedroom.
When her children grow older, Emma has said she’ll take on additional hours and relocate to a bigger home. But currently Emma is satisfied with the financial freedom she relishes in.
Emma said: “I’m a single parent, so we’ve just got my income coming in, but because I save so much money by living in a small flat, my kids still have so many opportunities.”
“If you count caravan weekends, we went away 10 times last year. I took the boys to Brussels, Rome and Copenhagen. I also only have to work 20 hours a week, and because my two youngest aren’t in school yet, I get to spend so much time with them.
“It saves me so much on childcare as well. I don’t need to stress about money, and I can spend more on fun things. The boys love sharing a room as they’re all so close in age, and all of their toys are shared. I’d like to stay here as long as we can, but when they’re older and want their own space, we will move to a bigger place.”
When Emma initially purchased her compact flat just outside Glasgow it featured only one bedroom. However Emma redesigned the kitchen into a kitchen diner and converted the lounge into a second bedroom. Her three sons’ room contains a set of bunk beds and a single bed.
Residing in the two-bedroom flat enables Emma to make substantial savings, with her mortgage costing merely £322 a month, compared to the £1,000 a month she claims it would cost to live in a four-bedroom house in her area.
She also spends £130 a month on gas and electricity, which she claims would increase to around £400 a month in a larger home, and £105 on council tax, which would nearly double to around £200 should she relocate to a bigger property. In total, this means Emma saves a remarkable £1,043 per month by residing in her modest flat. She channels the extra cash towards swimming lessons, Taekwondo, and gymnastics for her children – and takes them on 10 holidays a year.
The additional funds also mean that Emma only needs to work 20 hours a week, giving her more time to spend with her young children. Another benefit of residing in the smaller flat is that the family can afford to be situated in a prime location, near to shops, restaurants, buses and train stations.
Emma said: “We’d have to be much further out if we were in a house. The flat also benefits from a vast communal garden, complete with swings and trampolines for the boys to enjoy. It’s huge, and if we lived in a house, we wouldn’t have a garden even half the size of that.”