6 Months of No Spending!

I have successfully completed 6 months of my no spend year. Whilst my plan is to spend as little money as possible, I have set myself allowances for certain items.

To recap, my rules are:

• 1: Small amount of spend allowed for trips/activities with my son (when covid rules allow).
• 2: Only allowed to buy makeup when i run out (this is my core selection worn daily).
• 3: Meal plan – do an inventory of freezer and cupboards and plan from this – stick to shopping list when out buying weekly food shop.
• 4: Declutter my home by using up things that I have (e.g. candles, reading my extensive ‘to read’ pile).
• 5: Wait 30 days before making a purchase. I have begun doing this already (i.e. creating an amazon wishlist and leaving things there – I often forget that I had added them.
• 6: Use up cleaning products (under sink cupboard is full – maybe I should clean more often 😉 !!)
• 7: I will allow any gift cards etc to be spent as mini treats during the year if received.
• 8: Reduce how often I get my hair cut. (Planning a cut tomorrow and then going to wait maybe 6 to 9 months before getting it cut again – it helps that my hairdresser is having a baby!)
• 9: Try using a laundry egg to reduce detergent costs.
• 10: Hang washing rather than tumble dry. (I only tumble dry a little in the winter usually).
• 11: Try to make gifts or be resourceful/thoughtful when giving gifts to friends/family. Only give to essential people in my life.
• 12: Small spend amount allocated – maximum of x 1 eating out a month.
• 13: Plan lunches for work and make these in advance.
• 14: Only go to the shop once per week (no additional ‘popping’ to the shop).

Looking back at my rules, I am pretty happy that they have been successful. I have achieved most of these things.

Challenges?

One thing to note is my thoughts on the laundry egg. I have been using this for 6 months solidly. And I am sorry to report that I just don’t think it cleans my clothes well enough. I have persevered, used a range of settings on the washing machine, but it just isn’t up to the job. My clothes don’t get particularly dirty, but they weren’t smelling clean at the end of the cycle. This even includes me changing the pellets inside the egg more frequently than recommended. I tried. I really did. But it is back to standard detergent for me at present. I may look at trying more eco friendly versions down the line.

Tracking my spend.

I have been tracking all of my spend since January. With each purchase I have put it into a category, such as house, car, food and drink, gifts, etc. So let’s see what you think…

• Food and Drink – £168.63
• Gifts – £162.22
• Parking – £5.70
• School – £3.25
• Toiletries – £10.00
• Electronics – £35.00
• Treats – £27.40
• House – £7.00
• Car – £29.00
• Makeup – £35.50
• Clothing – £54.20
• Postage – £5.95

I think it would be fair to say that I have spent far too much on gifts. There were a lot of birthdays to accommodate, but I think the amount I was spending on each person was too much. I think I need a limit moving forward.

I am completely ok with the food and drinks out. I think this past year has been tough enough without depriving myself of social gatherings.

Makeup is definitely an area that looks like an expense – but this was genuinely purchases of my core makeup that I had run out of. However I have found a dupe for my mineral foundation which has saved me around £15 which I am pretty pleased with.

Clothing was all for my son, which he definitely needed. He is shooting up right now and his trousers had become pedal pushers!

I am hoping to keep some costs down over the coming months. August is going to be an expensive month for me, but afterwards it will be back to the grindstone!

Rachel, That 30 Something Life X

For little acts… https://declutteryourlife.co.uk/minimalism/little-acts-of-decluttering/

For more ideas, check out my youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/RachelNoakes