I’m mortgage-free at 42 after paying off £225k – my top money-saving tricks, including boiling the kettle once a day

UNABLE to sleep, I stared at the ceiling in my mum’s spare room and began to sob.

I was in a state of shock and utter disbelief, because just days earlier, my 10-year marriage had ended – and it hadn’t been my decision.

James Rudland

I hadn’t seen it coming at all, and straight after he told me, he was just gone.

My life changed overnight – I lost my husband, our joint friends, the future I’d imagined, along with my sanity.

Alone at 29, I was convinced I’d never meet anybody again and never get the chance to have children. I was absolutely broken. 

Unable to afford to stay in our house alone, I moved in with my mum.

I couldn’t eat, sleep or think straight, yet somehow, I summoned the strength to keep doing my job as a consultant at a bank.

I eventually became ill with depression and anxiety, for which a doctor prescribed medication. 

Eight months on from the split, after Mum gave me a pep talk, I realised I couldn’t cry any more.

I had to pick myself up and start over. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I began dating again.

Just before I turned 30, I met Adam, now 49, on Match.com.

Immediately, I liked his profile and sent him lots of “winks”.

A month later, I moved in with him – it was so surreal, I couldn’t quite believe it was happening.

The following year, in 2012, our son Brody was born, and in 2014 we got married. Five years later, our daughter Bronte, now five, came along.

Our marriage works because Adam, a stay-at-home dad, and I share the same core values, including being good with money.

I’d always been financially savvy, largely thanks to my parents Jayne, now 66, who was a stay-at-home mum when I was growing up in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, and Steve, 71, who worked in the bus industry.

When I was 16-18, they used to give me £50 a month pocket money and once it was gone, that was it. It got me into a great mindset and also made me determined to be independent and earn my own money. 

Aged 14, I got paid for picking mushrooms before school, and by 18 I was working full-time as an estate agent. I saved 80% of my salary every month while living at home with my parents, and the rest I’d spend. 

Aged 14, I got paid for picking mushrooms before school, and by 18 I was working full-time as an estate agent. I saved 80% of my salary every month while living at home with my parents, and the rest I’d spend

Gemma Bird

My then-husband and I were able to save £30,000 between us, and in 2004 we bought a two-bedroom terrace house.

Three years later, with some leftover savings, Dad and I went halves, investing £7,000 on two buy-to-let properties.

It was stressful, as sometimes the tenants didn’t pay their rent, and we didn’t make a profit for 10 years. But we sold the properties in 2017, making £125,000 each.

With that, plus the £66,000 I’d received from the sale of mine and my ex-husband’s home, it allowed me to pay off the £225,000 mortgage on our current house.

I also always worked overtime in my various jobs, including evenings and weekends, and I’d always take packed lunches to avoid buying food.

To make extra money, I’d sell unwanted clothes at car-boot sales. Those small savings have paid off over time, allowing my family and I to live a comfortable lifestyle.

By December 2019, I’d launched a small online business with a friend selling underwear. I then decided to start my Instagram @Moneymumofficial to share my money-making and saving tips. It took a year of posting daily for it to become a success.

In December 2020, I started “Gemma’s No Spend Days”, which massively took off. 

I was offered a book deal, which was a pinch-me moment.

My Sunday Times bestseller, Money Mum Official: Save Yourself Happy, came out in January 2022, and my first TV appearance came shortly after on Lorraine.

The government needs to step up to make sure young people are taught basic money skills – what to do with their first wages, how to budget and invest

Gemma Bird

I then decided to do social media full-time.

I’ve written columns for The Sun and I’m now a regular on Lorraine as part of her Saver Squad, and I have an incredible 450k followers.  

Although we are financially secure and have no mortgage, I’m determined to follow in my parents’ footsteps and teach my children the value of money.

Brody gets £2 a week, and if he spends it, he doesn’t get more.

Recently, he went to the newsagent and bought a bottle of Prime.

After, he was stressed about having spent his allowance, which was a valuable lesson. 

As a society, we need to talk more openly and honestly about money – we need to understand it.

The government needs to step up to make sure young people are taught basic money skills – what to do with their first wages, how to budget and invest.

Money has a huge impact on mental health, and debt is one of the main reasons people call the Samaritans. 

Anybody can be a success if you have the tools and mindset. If I can hit rock bottom and come out on top, anybody can. 

• Follow Gemma on Instagram @Moneymumofficial.