This week we reached out to Leah whose TikTok post about spending £7k on Just Eat went viral. Leah’s post generated nearly 200k views and received hundreds of comments with people admitting to spending up to £22k on their favourite food delivery apps.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m Leah, I’m 28 years old and from Manchester. I’m a corporate girlie who loves doom scrolling on TikTok.
How would you describe your relationship with money?
My relationship with money is very up and down. Some months I can be really good and save money and then other months I can become easily influenced and end up using Clearpay or apps like that etc which I’m trying to get out of.
You recently went viral on TikTok for sharing how much you spent on Just Eat. What prompted you to take a look at it and how did you feel about it when you saw the total?
I was having a conversation with a work colleague who said that she feels she spent far too much money on takeaways last month. I was aware on my banking app that you can see your spending totals by business so I decided to check Just Eat. When I saw the total I was honestly shell-shocked and then started to think about all of the things I could have spent that amount of money on, instead I had spent £7,000 and had nothing to show for it, which was not ideal at all!
How well would you say you manage your money?
Before looking at the Just Eat total I thought I managed it quite well haha. I think I manage it quite well in terms of my bills are always prioritised and paid on time. However I can sometimes fall for things I see on Instagram or TikTok and spend money on things I don’t particularly need and use buy now pay later apps in order to do so which then ruins my budgets for the following month.
Are you working towards any money goals?
When I was at uni I built up a bit of debt with various credit cards etc. My money goals are to be a completely debt free girlie by the end of this year and to then begin being able to fully save a set amount of money each month without being stressed about it and actually have some savings.
What can Financielle help you achieve with your money in 2026?
Financielle can help me as I believe having all my income and outgoings in one easily accessible place will help me catch up with where I’m at, what’s going out and what’s coming in to help me in my life to be debt free and start saving.
The avocado toast theory
There were some standout comments on Leah’s post but this one specifically stuck with us:
“Don’t let the boomers see that the reason we don’t have house deposits is ACTUALLY because of takeaway and sweet treats. You still have time to delete this before they see”.
The good old avocado and toast debate. In this case, the boomers are correct. There’s treating yourself, but there’s also mindlessly spending on takeaways to the tune of £22k (over 6 years). That could have seen £4k-£15k growth in a Stocks and Shares ISA with some robo-investors (fund dependent).
It could have been a deposit on a first home, it could have paid off crippling consumer debt, it could have been used to go travelling.
Nobody is saying you can’t have a treat from time to time. At Financielle, we believe a budget is permission to spend, that means you examine what brings you joy in your life then budget for it accordingly.
It’s an exercise worth doing
Take a leaf out of Leah’s book and do a spending audit. See where your money’s been spent over the last 6 months. Are you happy with the amounts you see going to everybody else but you?
This content is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. If you need advice tailored to your personal circumstances, please speak to an authorised financial adviser.