MONEY TALKS
Who is Gemma Bird aka Money Mum?
Plus find out Gemma's top five money saving tips
GEMMA Bird aka Money Mum can proudly say she is "debt free at 42".
The thrifty mother-of-two has made a career out of her money-saving tips and is now a popular influencer.
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Born on August 3, 1981, Gemma Bird is a money Influencer, columnist and best-selling author.
After pulling herself out of debt, to build herself a career, while also helping others.
After initially working as an estate agent, she realised she had a gift when it came to making the most of her money and became a content creator.
In 2019, she sent up her Instagram page @Moneymumofficial to share her money-making and saving tips.
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Gemma revealed how it took a year of posting daily on the handle - which boasts over 450k followers as of September 2024 - to become a success.
In 2020, she started her “Gemma’s No Spend Days” on social media, which massively took off.
Following this success she got a book deal, and her Sunday Times bestseller, Money Mum Official: Save Yourself Happy, came out in January 2022.
Shortly after this Gemma was snapped up by ITV's Lorraine, where she regularly dishes out her money saving tips.
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Making money
Now that Gemma is debt free herself, she decided to take on social media as a full-time career.
Thanks to this, she was able to pay off her mortgage by the age of 42.
Gemma Bird's money-saving hacks
She also makes her money through sales of her book.
Gemma is also a popular columnist for The Sun, where readers flock to get her top tips on how they save the pennies.
Speaking about her knack for money, she told The Sun: "I've always been financially savvy, largely thanks to my parents Jayne who was a stay-at-home mum when I was growing up in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, and Steve 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.
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.
Gemma Bird
"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."
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Happy family
Gemma met her second husband Adam on a dating app in 2011, just before she turned 30.
A month after meeting him, they had moved into together, and a year later their son Brody was born.
In 2014 they got married, and five years later, their daughter Bronte, came along.
She said: "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."
Gemma also revealed that she is teaching her children about the value of money.
She said: "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.
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"As a society, we need to talk more openly and honestly about money – we need to understand it.
Gemma’s top five money-saving tips
1. Move the odd amount every day into a savings account. So, if you have £203 in your current account, transfer the £3.
2. When shopping online, add everything to your basket but don’t buy it. Come back two days later – you’ll find you remove things you don’t actually want or need.
3. To save around £300 a year on your energy bills, boil your kettle once a day. Fill it up using six cups of water, boil, then pour into a Thermos. You then have water to use throughout the day instead of boiling multiple times.
4. Make money on your old clothes in minutes by taking a bag of any size clothing into an H&M store. Simply hand it over and they will recycle the items and give you a £5 voucher to use in store. You need to download the app, which is free, and you build points to get money off.
5. The heavier your car, the more fuel it will use, so take off the roof rack and unload the boot. Google petrol prices in your area, and arrange to do your trip to the cheapest garage when you are driving nearby, so that you won’t be wasting fuel in order to refuel.
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