‘I cleared £20k debt and built £5k emergency fund using £150 rule’ | Personal Finance | Finance

A shrewd woman sets aside £150 a month to keep her “f*** you fund” well stocked – ensuring she has emergency cash should she wish to leave her job or move home. Lauren Johnston, 42, hasn’t always been financially savvy and found herself £20,000 in debt at the end of her degree, owing to easy access to credit cards during her first year as a student.

The holiday let manager and TikTok money influencer spent 20 years cycling in and out of debt before clearing it by drastically cutting her expenditure and repaying it gradually through monthly instalments. After discovering she was unexpectedly pregnant at 38, she resolved to begin building an emergency fund – ensuring she had money set aside for unforeseen circumstances.

She began putting away £150 a month until she had amassed a £5,000 pot, keeping the money tucked away in a high-interest savings account. Lauren dipped into £1,000 of the fund when she walked away from a job that “wasn’t serving her” – and a further £3,000 to assist with moving to a new property. She tops it back up with regular monthly payments, ensuring she always has £5,000 on hand for any unexpected situation.

Lauren, from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, said: “I couldn’t imagine life without this fund; it makes unpredictable situations much less complicated. At least half the UK could say that they would be in debt if they had to pay a month of rent upfront – so it just goes to show – if you start this fund you won’t have that issue.”

Having fallen into debt following university, Lauren admitted she grew up with little understanding of financial management.

She said: “My credit card bills were so bad that when I left university the bank banned me from the account and put me on a loan instead. I never learned about money – my father was arrested for gambling when I was young and our house was repossessed because of the debt we were in.

“The first thing I did when I left home was dive into debt – I wasn’t privileged enough to have that knowledge about finances. I got out of my debt by simply cutting down on everything – only having the essentials – but I also sell things on Etsy on the side, have my TikTok and my full-time job.”

Lauren first embarked on her ‘f*** you fund’ at the age of 38, finding herself single and unexpectedly pregnant in April 2021, while still struggling with debt.

She said: “I found myself in this really low moment – a month before my son was born I was moved into emergency housing by the council – a single mum with post-natal depression. Having children is expensive, especially when unprepared, in debt, or raising them alone.

“On my maternity leave, I just kept reading and reading all these finance books and self-help books, I was so interested in it all and started posting about finance as I learnt, a lot of people related to me. I started with as much as I could put in, until that was £150, and then I just kept growing it.”

Lauren’s most memorable use of her fund came in January 2026, when she was finally able to move herself and her son out of a council flat and into private accommodation. The move required £3,000 from her emergency fund to cover removal costs, deposits and new purchases for their home.

Lauren typically transfers £150 a month into her fund until it reaches her target of £5,000, keeping it in a high-interest savings account.

Once it hits her target, her savings are directed towards other accounts, including her pension. She has even opened her four-year-old son his own savings accounts, so that he can develop an understanding of finances as he grows up.

Lauren said: “My boy – he loves to be outside, and my emergency housing had no garden, it made things very difficult. Now I have a house with a huge garden, and I love watching him run around.

“I have made sure to open him a young person’s pension and ISA – he has had these since a baby. When anyone gives him birthday money I split them between the two.”

Lauren also drew on £1,000 from her ‘f*** you fund’ to escape a job she felt was no longer working for her.

She said: “I have complex PTSD and autism, so sometimes I struggle in an office environment. I was struggling there and needed to change jobs. The fund allowed me to hand in my notice without fear and work on getting a job lined up – which I managed to do pretty fast.”

Lauren suggested that when building a ‘f*** you’ fund, the average person would need between three to six months’ worth of expenses set aside. She also believes the best-kept secret to finding the money to save lies in monthly budgeting.

She said: “Saving up depends on your own expenses, so it’s more of a proportion thing, but there are ways you can find this money. People think budgets are restrictive, but I think they help allow yourself to spend money on things that have value to you, rather than random things.

“A budget shows you where money leaks are – so for example – spending on coffee or random snacks. People also have no clue how many things they are subscribed to – if you look at what is being taken out of your bank each month, you will be surprised. At first this may feel like cutting back, but soon you’ll look back and see it was actually overspending.”

Lauren further advocates that people should routinely check bank interest offers and compare providers for their household bills.

She said: “It is important to constantly renegotiate your bills to check you are paying the lowest possible. My savings account, for example, that changes quite frequently because I am constantly finding better deals for interest elsewhere. I also have signed onto a cashback scheme where I get 1% back every time I spend.”

While Lauren’s earnings may vary owing to her online work, she contributes £150 into the account until she reaches £5,000. She said: “I have a financial meeting with myself at the end of the month to check expenses and work out how much I will put in my fund. I don’t get stressed about finance any more – I have to say it was the best thing I ever did, it turned my life around, and now I can teach my son to do the same.”

Lauren’s tips

– The fund needs three to six months of expenses saved up

– Check your bank statements for unknown subscriptions

– Regularly check bank interest offers

– Constantly renegotiate your bills to ensure you are paying the lowest possible

– Consider using cashback schemes

– Have a financial meeting with yourself at the end of the month to check expenses and work out how much to put in your fund

– Shop around for savings accounts with good interest rates