No Spend Year Rules: 2022!

I have successfully complete one whole year of no spending. I am so pleased with myself!

I honestly couldn’t tell you what I used to spend my money on.

The last year has really taught me a lot about how I spend my money. I have learnt to manage it more explicitly and have now worked out how I can improve my spending further.

So it’s time to create a new set of rules.

First, let’s look at the some of the rules I set last year that didn’t really work out.

Number’s 9 and 11 from last year.

• 9: Try using a laundry egg to reduce detergent costs.
• 11: Try to make gifts or be resourceful/thoughtful when giving gifts to friends/family. Only give to essential people in my life.

I really didn’t get on well with the laundry egg. I used it for 6 months solid. Which I feel is a really good long-term test. However, I was bitterly disappointed. Within 6 months I found that my clothes weren’t washing very well and they were beginning to smell. I tried many things to improve this, I changed the pellets inside the egg more regularly than I needed to (according to their instructions) and even added in fabric conditioner at one point. Nothing would change it. I have sensitive skin so for me it really impacted how the clothes felt against my skin. Enough was enough. They had to go!

Making and being more thoughtful with gifts for friends and family was tricky this year. I got busy at one point and I think this meant I went for the easier option of buying something. It then meant I spent too much. I ended up giving gifts to people that I wasn’t that close to, just because I felt guilty about not buying. This is definitely something I can work on for this coming year though.

2022 Rules:

• Small amount of spend allowed for trips/activities with my son (when covid rules allow).
• Only allowed to buy makeup when i run out (this is my core selection worn daily).
• Meal plan – do an inventory of freezer and cupboards and plan from this – stick to shopping list when out buying weekly food shop.
• Batch cook meals.
• Declutter my home by using up things that I have (e.g. candles, reading my extensive ‘to read’ pile).
• 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).
• Use up cleaning products
• I will allow any gift cards etc to be spent as mini treats during the year if received.
• Reduce how often I get my hair cut.
• Hang washing rather than tumble dry.
• Try to make gifts or be resourceful/thoughtful when giving gifts to friends/family.
• Only give gifts to essential people in my life.
• Small spend amount allocated – maximum of x 1 eating out a month.
• Plan lunches for work and make these in advance.
• Only go to the shop once per week (no additional ‘popping’ to the shop).
• Reduce subscription packages
• Pay for as many things as possible in advance/for the year.
• Not allowed to buy books, home goods (unless replacements) or craft supplies.
• Think about how I spend my time – be more resourceful in coming up with activities to do at weekends.

This should be enough to keep me on track!

Wish me luck on my next no spend year!

Rachel, Declutter Your 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