As soon as you get paid it might feel like your money quickly dwindles away on expensive bills, household items, food, and any social plans as the cost of living is more expensive than it has been for a long time. However, one savvy woman has shared how she has managed to save £77,000, while owning three properties on a £42,000 salary.

Charlie Louise, who says she has always been frugal, is on a mission to save as much money as she can so that she can retire by the time she reaches age 40. The 27-year-old has set herself a challenge to save £27 a day, which totals £10,000 a year. "When I hit a new £1,000 I think how can I make my next £1,000 faster," she shared in a TikTok video recently.

Charlie gave up her three-bed home in a nice area, which she adored, for a cheap fixer upper. Now she has three properties, which she bought by age 25, and is able to make more money by renting them out.

Charlie explained: "People often say 'you're on a 42,000 salary and that's the house that you've got. The way I see it is that I could have one big house rather than three little houses, but that one big house wouldn't be really making me any money because I'd be living in it."

Charlie, who says she will never buy more extravagant items to impress people, has detailed how she manages to save so much and not fall off track with her financial goals.

In the month of September she earned £2599 from her full time job and £1,050 from income on her rental properties.

She made £10,000 in one month on her side incomes. She earned £550 from a brand partnership, £690 from digital products, £170 for market research, she also got £476 from TikTok Creator Rewards Programme, from mystery shopping she earned £68.07, from TikTok shop she earned £52.57, plus from website testing she made £25.

On top of this, she finds easy ways to cut back on expensives.

Charlie says eating out is a rarity for her. She insists that enjoying a meal out should only be for a special occasions and socialising. She added: "Takeaways are a very rare occasion! Max three times a year and not just because it's the weekend."

Plus, if she does eat out she is likely to go for an affordable options or find good deals.

Charlie also swears by putting her savings into a stocks and shares ISA in a bid to grow her money. She is currently 25% of the way towards her £100,000 goal.

Charlie insists that utilising your time well is super important if you want to earn extra money, invest or make plans to cut back.

The money-savvy woman spends her time off from her full time job doing things like mystery shopping, market research and product testing. While this can be time consuming, it can make a huge difference.

She said: "My 20s are for making my money so that I have more freedom in my 30s and can barista style retire by 40."

Charlie said she gives herself £200 a month for non essentials. She explained she also does not buy anything on finance and only uses her credit card for rewards, "not because I can't buy something outright", she noted.

The money-saver said she is brutal when it comes to her plans, and won't go off budget to please people. "I say no to going out with friends if it would take me over my £200 monthly fun budget," she noted.

"Living below my means is not just saving money but making more money," she added.

Charlie also says that every month she plans out her monthly budget. "I allocate amounts to my sinking funds, I buy gifts and cards for everything where I can earn cashback to overpay my mortgage."

She also swears my a method called the ostrich effect. She explained: "People tend to avoid budgeting because they know they have overspent. I don't bury my head in the sand regardless of whether it's good or bad because ignoring a problem will most likely compound and worsen the problem."

'I'm 27 with £77K saved and plan to retire by 40 thanks to 5 thrifty rules' - The Mirror