My no-spend month, end of week one
It’s been seven days since I started doing my impromptu no-spend month, and so far it’s going okay… in spite of the woeful lack of planning.
Because there was no time to plan ahead or stock up, I had to make a few allowances. These included keeping existing social commitments, allowing myself a drink whenever I go out so I don’t make it awkward for people, buying fresh foods to keep up with my healthy eating, and purchasing basic toiletries and cleaning products so I can still go out into polite society without having to ring a bell and shout ‘unclean, unclean’ at regular intervals to warn the unsuspecting townsfolk.
It was a bit difficult when I was sent some really, really impressive deals and discounts, because I saw a few items on offer that would save me quite a lot of money in the long run, but I resisted the temptation and didn’t cheat. Bah! Pangs of regret! I suspect this will continue to worsen as the month progresses, but for now I’m managing to keep myself distracted.
Speaking of which, I’m continuing with the spring cleaning, and I’m also getting the kitchen garden ready for the growing season. There’s plenty to do. As part of the spring cleaning I’m about to clean out and inventory the food store cupboard so expect a new Empty the Storecupboard Challenge soon (ish).
Meanwhile, we’ve been eating well with lots of home cooking, going to free movie screenings and things we bought tickets for a while back, and generally having a pretty good time. Avoiding window shopping is helping a lot, but I have no idea how to keep that up for a whole month.
If anyone’s done a no-spend or zero spend month before, please let me know how you got through it. Any advice would be very helpful as I blunder along / improvise brilliantly / plod carefully through*.
Dear Penny,
For the shopping, I usually go to the Charity Shop for a whole afternoon. It keeps me busy because you have to look around for what you want. I pay very little and this doesn’t affect my budget. Usually for 10£ you have plenty of new things (I only buy brand new clothes), shoes, scarfs and others stuffs. Give it a try and let me know. To keep social, I go to the local library and on the week ends I go walking with a local group. It is free and enjoyable. I attend free movies and theatre sessions. I also invite friends, neighbours and family at home. I also go for wild camping on the week-end sometimes. I also do some exchange cosmetics sessions between girlfriends (we exchange only new, non-opened and non-used stuffs, samples of perfumes etc…), doing some make-up sessions…I attend some interesting free courses at university and free individual sessions to learn how to collect wild plants. Voila, let me know if it help you, love Pat
Hi Pat, lots of lovely ideas, thank you.
Penny x