How one woman lives off only $5,000 per year

British pensioner Ilona Richards has been dubbed the world’s thriftiest woman.

She skimps and saves on every aspect of her life – living off an equivalent of $5,000 per year and a maximum $2 budget for every meal.

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“I started getting fed up with my job when I was in my mid-50s and wanted to slow down so I realised that if I didn’t spend any money, then I wouldn’t have to earn it,” Richards said.

“This is my lifestyle and I think everybody should have a frugal, thrifty lifestyle because its exciting and means I get to spend my money on what I want to spend it on.”

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In fact, Richards is so frugal that she makes people bring their own teabags when they come to visit.

And it’s not just buying cheap groceries or only having one light on at a time that allows the British pensioner to live on such a tight budget, there are also a few more unusual ways she saves money.

“I reuse and dilute things – from reusing water to diluting fruit juices and anything else I can add water to so I can stretch it that little bit further, like shampoo and cleaning products,” she said.

Richards also said she cuts her own hair and goes food shopping at around 8pm when they start marking down food that is about to go out of date.

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“The later you go, the cheaper it is… I base my diet around what I can buy cheap,” she said.

In terms of other living expenses, Richards still had a mortgage when she retired at 60 years old so she went on the state pension, but was still able to save money to pay lump sums off her mortgage, paying it off entirely within three years.

“If you haven’t got any money, then you haven’t got anything to worry about – if I had a lot of money stashed away somewhere, I’d be forever worrying about whether it was safe or what I should spend it on,” she said.

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Instead she has a small sum for emergencies in a bank account for if she ever needed quick access to money.