UK's most frugal pensioner lives off £6.50 a day: what's her secret?

Ilona Richards, a 66-year-old pensioner from Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire may well qualify for the title of the most frugal pensioner in the country. She has shared some of her unusual tips that keep each meal under £1, and keep her daily spend to £6.50 a day.

Simple steps

She told the Daily Mirror that she follows some simple steps that we could all easily add to our regime When she's cold, she puts on extra clothes to avoid turning the heating up. She also frequents the charity shops and the discount aisle in the supermarket; and for her monthly booze treat, she prefers to buy her four pear ciders and bottle of wine from Aldi.

However, Ilona is more committed to these habits than most. She tends to go shopping after 7.30pm, for example, because she says that's when more fresh items are marked down. She then tends only to buy discounted items - and will build her menu around what is available. She has got to know her local Tesco, so knows where to wait and when, for the reduced items to be brought out from the back of the shop.
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The Sun reported that she also takes steps some would consider a bit extreme. When she's brewing a cuppa, she heats mugs of hot water in the microwave, because it's cheaper than boiling a kettle. She has also decided not to use washing up liquid, except in extreme circumstances, so washing up liquid can last her almost a year.

Her blog shows that she will often turn her bargain shopping into soups and stews, which she freezes in old margarine pots for bargain ready-meals. To reduce the gas needed for cooking, she will also cut things like carrots into small pieces to reduce the cooking time.

Creative solutions

Ilona thinks outside the box too. In the past she has bought eggs from a local smallholding, and had her hair cut at a local college. For pants, she buys those aimed at teenage boys because they are VAT-free and long-lasting. And when she decided she needed a shed, she built one herself from old pallets and wooden doors. She also collects old fabric and tin cans, which she turns into creative craft works as a hobby.

She took up the lifestyle partly out of necessity. She worked as a lorry driver, and had to take 12 weeks off after an operation. Soon afterwards they announced they were shutting the depot, and as she was almost 60, she decided to retire and live a frugal lifestyle.

Now she enjoys the challenge, and because she saves so much money, it means she can afford things like a car and a holiday. She added: "It doesn't all have to be doom and gloom not having much money. It's all about prioritising what's important. I believe having less gives you freedom."

After telling her story to the papers, Ilona has had a mixed response - many admiring her frugal life, while others criticise the lengths she goes to. She wrote on her blog: "I have no problem with people knowing how I live, I am proud of my frugalness, proud to tread lightly on this earth, proud that I am not wasteful, and proud that I live within my means. Those people who don't get it are either very rich or massively in debt. I just laugh at the blinkered trolls who poke fun and slag me off, for it's me that's winning here, not them."

But what do you think? Will you be trying these money-saving approaches? Let us know in the comments.