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Spending Ban | January Edit

One of the goals I've set for 2015 is to save as much as possible after a very expensive 2014. We bought our first home and spent a considerable amount to make it into our dream home. We also took a trip to Hong Kong in December, so January needed to be a month of recuperation as far as finances were concerned. 

A spending ban was implemented; I set myself some rules and documented my daily spend in a spreadsheet to keep track.

After a month, I am pleased to see that the majority of my outgoings are the usual household bills, grocery and travel costs. However, I did buy a few birthday presents (this is never the time to skimp!) and I couldn't resist a few skincare products that were on sale in Superdrug.


The Rules:
1) Document daily spending on a spreadsheet and use it to keep track of everything
2) No spending on clothes/beauty products/unnecessary items
3) Weekly budget of £50 on grocery bill for our household (there are 3 of us)
4) Limit buying lunch to once a week and no more than £10
5) Limit dinner/takeouts to once a week, with a £20 budget
6) Limit 'pocket money' to £10 a week. This includes coffees, snacks, and miscellaneous items

The Outcome:
- I broke rule number 2 and spent £14.96 on 4 skincare products. If I were not on a spending ban, this is actually quite a bargain!
- Did not quite manage to keep grocery bills down to £50 a week and overspent by £47.74 in the month. My grocery bills do include things like laundry powder and loo roll though, so I guess I need to make some provisions for this.
- My other food limits ended up in a table like this. Most of the areas are green and well within budget. I think it counteracts the 3 in red! 



Snack £10/wk
Dine out £20/wk
Lunch £10/wk
Wk 1
£4.79
£0.00
£0.00
Wk 2
£3.05
£23.66
£0.00
Wk 3
£5.79
£0.00
£0.00
Wk 4
£5.35
£14.55
£18.89
Wk 5
£9.94
£0.00
£12.05


Conclusion:
This month made me realise just how much money I usually spend on coffees/breakfast/lunch/eating out, and if I start treating them as indulgences rather than daily occurrences, it can make a difference to my savings. On the downside though, I have to admit it made me super stingy on myself, and that can't be right! I will relax this a little in February, but this spending ban is here to stay for the next few months.

I will share tips on how to save soon. My friend Mandy has some great tips from when she did her spending ban back in October. 

Are any of you guys on a spending ban and are there any tips you can share with me? I'd love to hear.


10 comments

  1. Hi Lucy, I really like this post! It's not until we make a note of what we spend (every single penny) then we realise how much money we waste! The fact that your conscious of saving really helps too.

    Some of my money saving tips is to bring my own lunch to work, only buy beauty essentials when they're on sale, when I get paid I take out a big chunk for savings before I get a chance to over spend!

    Good luck :)

    Hanh x | hanhabelle

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    1. Thanks so much for your lovely comment Hanh! Yes I'm bringing lunch to work too, easiest way to save some pennies there :)

      Oh! I've never thought of taking out a chunk for saving first, it's usually the other way round, I just save what I haven't spent. I need to take a leaf out of your book Hanh! x

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  2. Good Luck! I have been doing loads of my mystery jobs to keep the incoming coming in last month. I've even managed to accept a job that will offer me £15 spend for lunch at Gatwick! HI FIVE!!!

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    1. Thanks Mandy and blooming hell! I'm so envious! =D

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  3. Go you, Lucy :) It's funny how getting coffee or lunch here and there adds up to a lot of money, it's definitely what I spend most on as well and something I rarely acknowledge. I always do my best to have a lunch box to work rather than eating out and bring my own teabags to make all the tea I want. But I'm absolutely all for treating yourself every now and then!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Kie! Yes I agree, being overly stingy was a bit miserable! Coffee and lunch once a week is perfectly acceptable =P

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  4. this is a great idea! good luck!

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  5. aww you did well to stick to a spending ban, I could never stick to a spending ban, I would probably buy ice in Antarctica if someone tried to sell it to me haha!


    http://wonderfulandweirdbeautyandlife.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh that made me LMAO! =D
      Making small changes is easier than sticking to a ban, I'll agree to that. Buying 1 coffee instead of 2 is do-able though, thanks for stopping by!

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