The Things I Said I Wouldn't Spend Money on This Year

My friend made a mood board for her goals for the future. She kept it secret for a while, but seeing it today reminded me of the promises I made to myself this year. Inspired by a wave of frugality and eco-friendly Youtube channels, I set myself a goal of only spending £10 a week on grocery bills a week.

There were weeks where I smashed this goal, but inflation went up. Prices went up so much that the £10 a week on gorcery bills became unsustainable. Sometimes I was spending between £15-£30 a week on food and drink. There were times where this was unhealthy too. I would just be getting stuff based on price and not looking at the nutritional value. Sometimes I forgot to eat or skipped meals on purpose thinking it would help me lose weight and save money. It didn't make a difference.

Then I came across something I wrote this year. Everything's gone up in price. Sometimes even breathing and just trying to be healthy is costing money. But it will be worth it because next year, I am going to Portugal, Amiens, Disney Land Paris, and probally some other places as well.

The first thing I said I wouldn't buy in 2023 was bras. I really didn't like wearing them and I decided to just wear vests. When there was a wedding in the family, I was forced to get a bra fitting. The build up to it was bizarre and I didn't want to go on m own, but I also didn't want anyone with me because it would be embarrassing. I went to the fitting on my own, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I bought three in September. They weren't cheap, but they don't dig in or suffocate me like other bras did.

The next thing on my list was sugar. I think i was quite faithful to thids one. I did take some sugar sachets from hotel rooms in case anyone needed them if they came over, but I ended up using them for baking. I have bought syrups and sweet things that did have sugar in them, but not directly bought sugar.

Salt was next on the list. Again I did take some salt sachets from pub chains. I didn't buy any salt for the house until last month where I got some Chinese salt and MSG. I never really realised until I watched videos from Professional Chefs and anaylizing cookbooks who important salt is for flavouring. Spices and herbs are a nice touch, but a little bit of salt can make or break a dish.

I think the one I was the most faithful towards is Fast Fashion with a few mistakes. It's here, I sometimes think my mum has a secret camera installed in my flat. Every time I do a clear out of my wardrobe, my mum will without fail either get me more. I think the last clothing I got for myself were two swimming costumes from Shien. I also bought a jumper and a cardigan on Temu. Whilst I had no problems with the products, I didn't like the shopping experience on these two sites. I've heard they don't treat their staff very well and they kept trying to throw coupons and freebies in my face. The Temu links got annoying as well. I deleted both of these apps on my phone.

Monthly Subscriptions was a big one. I ended up cancelling my membership for the Writer's Guild. I cancelled my magazine subscriptions. They're great magazines and the guild has done so many wonderful things but I wasn't getting anything out of them anymore. I never renewed my Medium subscription because sites with paywalls are a huge turnoff to me. I downgraded my phone bill, Netflix plan and Apple Cloud services as well. My broadband went up and I swapped gyms as well. I pay £41 a month for the gym now, but even though it costs a lot more, I am getting a lot more value for it because they have two indoor swimming pools, a sauna, bigger gym and a higher range of classes. I do between 5-8 gym classes a week and the classes, if booked seperatly are around £8-£10 a session so it does pay off in the long-run.

Take aways and eating out were things I planned to cut out. It wasn't possinle to stop all together, but it is nice to go to my favourite places. There was one cafe I always went to on a Saturday because they did the best veggie stuff and lovely teas and coffees. It's closed now, sadly. People in the Banbury Facebook groups always complain that there's too many coffee shops, charity shops and salons, then they complain when they close down. There's so many great places out there, it's always nice to try new things from time to time. I have booked a table for myself at an Indian resturant in Oxford called Dehlish Vegan Kitchen. The inside looked amazing and I can't wait to try it soon.

At the end of this year I was hoping to have at least £1000 saved up. I did spend a lot of money on travel, new experiances, cost of living and also paying off the Disney trip. My investment account with Circa500 got closed cause I didn't have enough in it, and they changed their terms to the point that the app was no longer dsuitable for me. I changed one of my saving accounts cause I found one with a better rate. I feel like I could have done better, but when I add all the numbers, it stacked up to £1675.88.

I hope 2024 is a better year for me and for everyone.