Jump Start January 2017: Week 1: Day 1
Hello. Welcome to the thrifty, life-enhancing Jump Start January Challenge for 2017. Happy New Year!
Week One is the Money-Saving Powerhouse Week, so we’re going to be tackling the big wins this week that can save you lots of cash right now, and also in the medium and long term too. The full week-by-week running order is here if you missed it, by the way.
Week One Schedule
- Day 1: Start a spending diary (today, see below)
- Day 2: Shop around like a boss
- Day 3: Invest in something thrifty
- Day 4: Make a budget
- Day 5: Debts / savings day
- Day 6: Lists and priorities
- Day 7: Looking for leaks
Today’s activity
As always, the first day of our January Jump Start is nice and easy, just in case you’re feeling a wee bit delicate after the festivities and celebrations on New Year’s Eve.
All you have to do today is start keeping a spending diary. This is a very powerful thrifty tool that lets you keep a better eye on your outgoings, and keeps you generally mindful of your spending.
There’s a free Penny Golightly printable spending diary here if you’d like one of those. If you’re already on the mailing list and you want another one then reply to the weekly email with ‘new spending diary please’ in the subject line to get a new one.
Alternatively, you can:
- keep notes on a smartphone
- use an app for your spending (Spending Tracker, Money Monitor etc)
- treat yourself to a nice new notebook
All you need to do is note down everything you spend this week, including:
- the date for each purchase
- what you bought
- how much you spent
If you want an extra level of insight, try adding a note about your general circumstances or mood as well. For example you might be ‘rushed’, ‘celebrating’, ‘tired’, or ‘grumpy’ – or you might have ‘overslept’ or had to ‘work late’.
That’s it for today, just start keeping that spending diary and we’ll come back to it in a few days. For extra information, you might like to keep yours for the whole of January (it can be quite an eye-opener), but that isn’t compulsory.
Good luck with today’s activity. Let us know how you get on, and see you tomorrow for the next day’s tasks.
Notebook at the ready, I’m off to church!
Happy new year Penny! I’ve got a relatively clear head this morning (only 2 glasses of fizzy stuff last night!) and will be using the notes app on my phone to start my spending diary.
Good luck to all! X
I’ve loaded a debit card with £550 that I’m going to use for petrol and food throughout January. I’ve started to keep a record of when I use it and how much I spend on what? I’m going to try to save all receipts this months shopping so that I can work towards a monthly shop in Feb or March.