Turns out that if you don't buy anything for a year you end up saving a whole lot of money. So says Michelle McGagh, who wrote an entire article about her thirst for thriftiness in The Telegraph.
On
Black Friday 2015, whilst the rest of you were out splashing out on
shit you never needed or wanted, she committed herself to "jumping off the consumer bandwagon and shaking up my relationship
with money" and pledged not to spend anything for a year.
Before
she was a slave to capitalist consumerism - having spent £400 on
takeaway coffees in one year alone - but from that point she was a
sinner no more. For twelve months, other than
essential bills and a very small food budget, personal finance
journalist Michelle bought nothing new.
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This
'no-spend year' is the subject of her new book titled 'The No Spend
Year: How I Spent Less And Lived More'.
Instead of enjoying life she decided to: "Use the surplus cash to pay off a chunk of my mortgage early. I'm now a step closer to getting rid of our debt instead of being beholden to a bank."
The change in lifestyle meant she limited herself to zero travel budget, meaning she had to cycle everywhere. It also meant: "No cinema trips, no nights in the pub, no takeaways or restaurant meals, no new clothes, no holidays, no gym memberships, not even a KitKat or cheeky cheesecake from the supermarket."
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To each their own I guess. At the end of the year she saved over twenty grand.
The
end result of the experience was that after
a year of no spending she realised that she valued financial security
over material possessions.
Her final thought were: "One year on, I've reassessed my spending
priorities and found a balance. I buy the essentials, put aside a
little for holidays, pub trips and fun, but I've cut back
on the takeaway coffees no end. Ultimately, those longer-term
goals, security and the feeling of contentment with what I
have are important to me and make me far happier than anything I
can buy in the shops."
She also came to understand that she didn't need possessions to make her happy.
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Well done Michelle, although I have mate who spent three days around a drum circle at Glastonbury only to realise the same sort of thing, so maybe the year of self-sacrifice was a little pointless.
There again, at least she got a book deal and saved a lot of money.
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