Meet the woman who saved €90,000 before she turned 30 and learn how she did it

Let's Talk: Savings Tips

Bola Sokunbi, the American-based author of Clever Girl Finance who saved almost €90,000 in three years

Saving money is not easy or fun but it’s important. It’s much easier to spend our hard-earned cash on an impulse, late-night Instagram purchase. However, saving is a very useful tool for planning for the future. We never know when we might need a rainy day fund. 

Figures from the Central Bank show that savings increased by more than 10% last year in Ireland as the pandemic allowed some people to put more money away. However now that society has reopened, so has temptation. Also, there is a widely held view that saving money has become harder with banks slashing deposit rates and some even talking about charging customers for their savings accounts. 

Despite the challenges, it is important to save money.

We tracked down Bola Sokunbi, the American-based author of Clever Girl Finance. She managed to save almost €90,000 in three years before she turned 30. She now helps other women to manage their finances. We asked her for some tips for Consumer Corner and she was happy to oblige. 

Among the tips are investing in your pension early, skipping nights out, living close to where you work and try not to compare yourself to others. All of her tips might not suit everyone but some might. 

Bola did point out however that saving that much money was no walk in the park but even if some of her tips can help people in planning for the future then that is a positive outcome.

Here are Bola’s top tips on how she saved so much in such a short space of time.

• Learn from other people.
• Trial and error. Keep trying ways to save and make money. Something will work out for you.
• Invest in your pension.
• Don’t ever feel the need to spend money to impress anyone. Be happy with what you have and forget about what everyone else thinks.
• Buy things that only make you truly happy.
• Plan for the future first before spending your money.
• Keep your expenses low and live at home if you can to save money.
• If you do move, move close to work to avoid commuting costs.
• Pack a lunch. Eating out for lunch every day during the workweek would have cost me, on average, $10 per meal. So by packing my own meals, I was saving about $2,500 per year.
• Don’t go out every night. It might be hard to skip nights out but it will be worth it.
• Cut your TV costs down and try to keep your online streaming service costs low.
• Negotiate your phone bills to get a good deal. You’ll be surprised by the special deals and offers available.
• Cut down your grocery bill by shopping on a full stomach and make a list. Also use vouchers where you can.
• Get into the habit of cancelling unused memberships and subscriptions.

Bola saved 40 to 50% of what she earned. Challenge yourself to see how much of your income you can save.

She also points out that when she first started earning she was earning $40,000 a year after taxes but managed that money wisely.

If you get a pay rise try to continue to live on your old budget and save your extra money.

She also started a side job as a wedding photographer to make extra money.

The first year of business, she earned around $10,000 and the second year, around $30,000.