A mum has revealed how her family of three live frugally on a single income and save £10.7k by never spending on hair cuts and streaming services.

Teiana Grace, 25, decided to stay home after having her daughter, now 18 months.

The new mum and her partner, Hamish Westwater, 27, had to carefully work out a budget to be able to live on one salary.

They now have a budget of £445 a week ($1,000 New Zealand dollars) - for rent, food, utility bills, savings, and spending.

To live within their means Teiana cooks from scratch, thrifts their clothes and furniture and mends clothing instead of buying new.

She never spends on any beauty appointments - such as getting her hair, nails or eyebrows done - and cuts her husband's hair.

By doing this and not spending on any subscription services such as Netflix and Disney+, she estimates she saves $1,000 a year and Teiana says their frugal habits keep them debt-free.

Teiana, who previously worked as a gardener, from South Island, New Zealand, said: "We have to be careful but we're not limited to no treats."

"You can still do nice things - it just depends on your values."

"We find value in just having a coffee."

"We don't have to have a nice meal and spend $100."

"We're content with less."

Teiana and Hamish moved back to New Zealand from the Scottish Highlands after falling pregnant.

The couple decided it felt "right" for Teiana to stay home after welcoming their daughter. "

The pair have always been quite mindful of money but had to be ever more stringent.

They budget weekly - as Hamish, an office worker, is paid every two weeks - sticking to £445 a week.

Teiana saves her cash by home cooking most of the time and says their strict £89 ($200) budget sees them save £2.3k

($5,200) in comparison to the average family of three.

She said: "We used to spend $30 to $40 for one meal or a takeaway."

"We'd be buying that two to three times a week."

"Now it's once a fortnight."

"It's quite a big saving."

"I cook with staple ingredients to not overcomplicate it."

The mum also taught herself how to sew so she can mend clothes instead of buying new.

She said: "I save money sewing my husband's clothes."

She also loves thrifting - and found clothes and furniture and her daughter in odd shops.

Teiana said: "Most of our furniture and clothing is thrifted."

"We try to avoid buying new."

"I use Facebook Marketplace for my daughter's toys."

"We saved $1,000 on a cot."

"Lots of her clothes are handed down from friends. I think we only spent $100 on her clothing as a newborn."

Tieana doesn't take out any finance plans - such as with a phone or car.

The family do a lot of free or cheap activities and are happy to just go and get a coffee on a weekend and head to the park.

But she says their biggest saving is childcare - which she says saves them £7.9k ($18,000) a year.

She budgets by just noting down her finances each week in her iPhone notes app. She doesn't track her spending exactly but finds she often sticks to the costs she has set out.

She said: "All that spreadsheet is stuff is very intense and puts me off."

"I over budget a bit."

"Every dollar of money is allocated to a cost."

"We're completely debt free."

Weekly budget -
Rent - £213 ($480 NZ)
Groceries - £89 ($200)
Utility bills - £22 a week - £89 a month ($200)
Internet - £9 a week - £35 a month ($80)
Savings - £45 - £88 ($100/ 200 - a fortnight)
Spending - £66 ($150)
Total budget - £445 ($1,000)

Tieana's tips -
- Budget using your notes app in your phone - just listing your outgoings and cost allocations
- Thrift what you can - furniture, clothes, toys
- Mend clothes instead of buying new
- Cook from scratch
- Do free / cheap activities