A woman who challenged herself to a 'no spend' year is on track on save nearly £6K by cutting out lavish clothes shopping and expensive meals out.
Chrissie Milan, 25, began to rethink what she deems as essential spending after a trip to Thailand. On her trip, Chrissie was shocked to see the drastic difference in the cost of existing in Thailand compared with London. So when she came back, she decided join the 'no spend year' trend
She cut her £150 per month budget for clothes shopping entirely and stopped her unbudgeted evening meal meet-ups with friends. Chrissie, who works as a video producer, also cut out daily coffees and stopped buying lunch - saving a total of £240 a month.
She now saves an average of £500 a month and is on track to save £6K by the end of the year. Chrissie, who is from West London, said: "It's not something I ever thought I would do really. A smoothie cost me £1 in Thailand compared to £6 in the UK and it was much nicer. So it made me think about what I actually need to spend money on at home and also what I am getting in return. So in January, I decided to only spend on essentials, which are things like my rent and food and I can really feel the difference."
Chrissie challenged herself to a 'no-spend' year after a trip to Thailand (Chrissie Milan/SWNS)Chrissie admits that although she can see the difference, it doesn't feel natural to cut out all of the things that she is so used to doing. She said: "We spend lots of out of convenience and the first few weeks I found easy as it felt like a new challenge. In the middle it dipped a bit and it was easy to slip into old habits.
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"Things like meal prep and planning ahead gets harder. I had a few weeks in the middle where I regressed slightly." Chrissie has been quite a frivolous spender in the past - being prone to impulse and boredom buying. But committing to a no spend year has really helped her get on top of that.
She said: "It helps you realise what you like spending your money on. I've found that going out to eat really isn't for me but I love trying new coffee or going out to breakfast instead. Everyone has different essentials too so people can decide what they want to class as essential. It is about getting to the root of what's important. Stripping everything away and starting from zero helps you realise what you miss and what you don't."
Chrissie says saving money gives her peace of mind as she can save it away for a very rainy day. She said: "The aim is to challenge my spending, so I think the money I save will be best put away for a rainy day or invested. I want to build a comfortable financial future, I don't feel the need to blow it on something huge."
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