Instagram story viewer> @thenatsuska> Posts

Nat • Personal Finance & Investing

@thenatsuska

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

I spent years thinking I just needed to earn more money or get better at budgeting.

But earning more didn’t automatically mean I was getting ahead.

And knowing where I’d spent my money didn’t necessarily help me decide what to do next.

What made the difference was learning how money actually works, understanding my own behaviour and planning for the life I wanted.

I still budget. I still make questionable purchases sometimes 😂

But I no longer expect a budgeting rule to make my financial decisions for me.

Because your salary, goals, responsibilities and priorities won’t look exactly like mine.

And your financial plan shouldn’t have to either.

💬 What’s one money rule you’ve realised doesn’t work for your life?

#personalfinanceuk #moneymanagement #financialliteracy #buildingwealth #financialindependence by @thenatsuska

7

2

2 days ago

A little proper introduction, because if you’re going to take money advice from someone on the internet, you probably want to know who they are 😂

I’m Nat. I moved to the UK in 2015 with £300, started on a £16k salary and have since built my career, paid off £41k of debt and grown my net worth to £170k.

Somewhere along the way, I became slightly obsessed with how we make decisions with money — not just the numbers, but the habits, emotions and behaviour behind them.

That’s what you’ll find here: how I manage and plan my money, what I’ve learned along the way, and how I’m using behavioural economics to understand our money decisions better.

And hopefully, I can help you feel a little more in charge of your money too.

If you want to see the simple MAP Method I use to plan my money forward, comment ‘MAP’ and I’ll send it to you 🗺️

#personalfinance #budgetingtips #financialindependence #moneybehaviour #moneypsychology by @thenatsuska

23

10

13 days ago

Everyone tells you to split your money 50/30/20. Needs, wants, savings. I don’t do that, and here’s what I do instead.

1️⃣ Every pound gets a job on payday, not a percentage bracket.

50/30/20 assumes your life fits neatly into three boxes. Mine doesn’t, and yours probably doesn’t either. On payday, every pound gets assigned somewhere specific before it can slip away unnoticed.

2️⃣ Forecast forward, don’t track backward.

Tracking what you already spent tells you where it went wrong after the damage is done. I plan the month before it happens instead. By the time you’re “reviewing,” it’s too late to change anything.

3️⃣ Your emergency fund and your investments are not the same pot.

I keep cash separate from anything invested. Mixing them means you either can’t get to money when you actually need it, or you’re too scared to invest at all.

4️⃣ Debt isn’t automatically the enemy.

I use 0% cards on purpose and redirect what I’d have spent into my ISA instead. I refinanced one loan from 12% down to 5.4% just by asking. Debt with a plan behaves completely differently to debt with no plan.

I can only imagine where I’d be if I’d worked this out sooner. Since building this system, I’ve paid off £41k in under two years and I’m still going.

Save this if the 50/30/20 rule has never actually worked for you.

📩 I prepared my budgeting method free guide, comment “free” and I’ll send you the link.

Follow @thenatsuska for more content on building financial independence with real numbers 💰

This information is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to be professional financial advice, and should not be relied upon for making financial decisions. I am not a licensed financial advisor. Capital is at risk. Any actions taken based on this content are at your own risk.

#ukpersonalfinance #zerobasedbudgeting #moneymanagement #financialliteracy by @thenatsuska

6

0

a month ago

If you’ve never invested, this is how I’d start with £50.

1. Pick an app, download it,
2. Follow the sign-up steps
3. Deposit your first money (doesn’t have to be £50, you can start with £1)
4. Pick the fund or stocks (depends on your strategy)
5. Invest in it!

Starting is simpler than it looks.

💸 Want the Trading 212 FREE shares? Comment “212”, and I’ll send it over.

Disclaimer:
Not financial advice. Capital at risk. I’m demonstrating Trading 212, not recommending it or a paid collab. I may get a reward if you sign up through my link.

#investingforbeginners #ukpersonalfinance #startinvesting #womenandmoney #personalfinancetips by @thenatsuska

12

5

3 days ago

We cut our dating budget to focus on paying off debt… but apparently that doesn’t mean we have to become permanent sofa people 😂

We’ve been pretty aggressive with our debt overpayments this year, and eating out was one of the easiest things for us to cut back on.

But I also don’t believe managing your money well means cutting out everything you enjoy.

That’s where @eatclubuk came in. It’s a dining discovery app that lets you find restaurants near you with offers of up to 50% savings on your total bill, including drinks.

So we picked somewhere we wanted to try, dressed up and had our first proper dinner date in months 🥹

Paying off debt AND bringing date nights back? I’ll take it 😂

📩 Comment “EATCLUB”, and I’ll send you the link to the app + £10 in Dining Credit 💸

#ad | @eatclubuk @eatclubapp

#eatclubuk #moneysavingtips #moneymindset #personalfinanceuk taken in Manchester, United Kingdom by @thenatsuska

18

9

4 days ago

My salary grew, but my definition of “normal” didn’t have to grow with it.

And I think that’s one of the easiest traps to fall into when you start earning more.

I’m definitely not against spending money or enjoying a higher income (you’ll see proof of that in tomorrow’s post 😂).

But I want my lifestyle upgrades to be intentional, not an automatic side effect of earning more.

Because one of the reasons I want to earn more is to create more freedom, and that only works if every pay rise doesn’t immediately get absorbed by a more expensive life.

What’s one thing you could afford to upgrade now, but just… haven’t?

#personalFinanceuk #lifestyleinflation #financialindependence #moneyhabits #millennialmoney by @thenatsuska

34

3

5 days ago

Why am I still investing while carrying debt? Because personal finance isn’t just maths, behaviour matters too.

I’ve built a strategy that works with how my brain responds to debt, long-term goals and motivation. The “best” strategy is the one you understand, choose intentionally and can actually stick to.

My personal strategy, not financial advice. Investments can fall as well as rise and your capital is at risk.

#personalfinanceuk #moneypsychology #behaviouralfinance #debtfreejourney #investingforbeginners by @thenatsuska

9

5

6 days ago

For years my savings plan was “save whatever’s left at the end of the month.” Something else always got there first.

In 2019 I was about to start my Master’s on 80% hours, on a £23k salary. I estimated I’d need £800 a month for uni, so I did some maths. I couldn’t save all of it, so I saved my max and cut what I didn’t need.

📩 Comment ‘SAVE’ and I’ll send you the maths for every saving goal.

#ukpersonalfinance #budgeting #moneytips #investingforbeginners #moneymanaging by @thenatsuska

11

2

8 days ago

Come and check our September debt update!

We managed to get our total debt down by £2393, which gets us to £34661 total debt.

I wish we could put more into the loans, but Christmas is coming and we have to redirect some money towards that sinking fund. We are visiting my family in Poland, so dog care, flights and gifts will need some good budget.

How is your debt paying off journey going on?

📩 Comment “debt” and I’ll send you free debt help resource.

#personalfinance #budgetingtips #debtfreegoals #managemoneybetter #financialfreedom💰 by @thenatsuska

12

0

10 days ago

If you’re in debt right now and it feels heavy, this is for you.

Before anything else: you are not the first person to feel this way, and asking for help isn’t weakness, it’s the actual first step.

1. StepChange — free debt advice charity. They’ll look at your full situation and build you an actual plan, not just tell you to „budget better.”
2. National Debtline — free and confidential, by phone or webchat.
3. Citizens Advice — free debt help, plus support if debt is tangled up with other things going on.
4. MoneyHelper — government-backed, completely free and impartial.
5. Breathing Space scheme — this can pause interest, charges, and enforcement action for 60 days while you get proper advice sorted. A lot of people don’t know this exists.
6. Samaritans — if the stress of this is affecting you emotionally, not just financially, they’re free, confidential, and available 24/7. You don’t need to be in crisis to call.

I paid off £41k in debt myself. It didn’t happen by ignoring it, it happened by actually looking at the numbers and getting a plan.

📩 Get the full list of 11 resources with links, comment „debt” and I’ll send it over.

Follow @thenatsuska for more content on building financial independence with real numbers 💰

Not financial advise, for education only.

#ukpersonalfinance #debtfreeuk #debtsupport #moneyhelp #moneytips by @thenatsuska

8

0

15 days ago

My September payday routine.

I’m showing you my process so you can understand how “boring” and repeatable it is in order to achieve my financial goals.

I do adjust the numbers each month, but it isn’t the on a whim decision, I created my own method (MAP) to adjust my money for my goals.

📩 Comment “map”, and I’ll send you free intro to my method.

#paydayroutine #personalfinance #moneybudgeting #moneybehaviour #moneytips by @thenatsuska

13

11

11 days ago