I put aside £2,500 effortlessly with my microsaving hacks – now I’ve been able to afford to take my daughter to Disneyland TWICE
- Mark Waddington has revealed how he uses small hacks to make big savings
- The magician was forced to reevaluate his spending during the pandemic
- Thrifty father saved £2,500 by rounding up money spent to the closest pound
- Visit Metro.co.uk to read the full version of this article
When the pandemic hit, Mark Waddington’s work as a magician instantly dried up.
Used to bringing home close to six figures a year, the dad-of-one, from Yorkshire, was immediately concerned about what this meant for his finances.
‘I’ll never forget looking at the outgoings in my bank account statement and wondering how I was going to make it all last without anything on the horizon’, Mark tells Metro.co.uk.
Aware that he needed to be more careful with his spending, Mark started micro-saving – and started by rounding up everything he spent to the nearest pound on his banking app.
When the pandemic hit, Mark Waddington’s work as a magician instantly dried up. Used to bringing home close to six figures a year, the dad-of-one (pictured) was immediately concerned about what this meant for his finances
He explained: ‘I came across a tool on Monzo you could use called round-ups. Essentially, if I buy something for £1.60, the banking app will round that number up to £2 and then automatically put aside 40p in a savings pot.
‘For me, I quickly figured out that it works out to be around £50 a month.’
Mark also took on other work, initially as a pizza delivery driver, then as an actor at a local tourist attraction, which is now his full-time job.
He continued: ‘The job is stable, but I’m not earning anywhere near like what I was at the height of my magician career a few years ago – especially now with the cost-of-living crisis coming into play.
Mark (pictured right) had preciously started micro-saving, but now the onus was on to make the most of his money – and he became passionate about using small hacks to make big savings
Mark also took on other work, initially as a pizza delivery driver, then as an actor at a local tourist attraction, which is now his full-time job
Mark has also used other microsaving hacks, like putting away an increasing amount each day of the year, starting at 1p
‘I’m finding I’m a bit more astute when it comes to the shops now – looking at the own-brands on the lower shelves.’
But despite these financial challenges, Mark is continuing to save big sums – having put aside more than £2,000 since he started using round-ups in 2019.
Mark has also used other microsaving hacks, like putting away an increasing amount each day of the year, starting at 1p.
He added: ‘The money put aside builds up every day, so that – if you started on 1 January – on 31 December, you’re moving £3.65 into your savings. All that squirrelling means you have £667.95 in total in a savings pot for the whole year.’
Within a few months, Mark had amassed £518 in his savings pot – which means he could afford to take his daughter to Disneyland for her birthday.
‘After years of struggling financially, being able to do this for her felt so amazing,’ he said. ‘Her gorgeous smiling face made it all worth it. That whole day, we felt like two kids just having fun without a care in the world.’
What’s more, Mark’s microsaving methods means he was able to afford to buy his daughter another trip to Disneyland for her birthday last month – meaning the father-daughter duo will be heading back to the park in the new year.
Visit Metro.co.uk to read the full version of this article.