How I went a year without spending

Michelle McGagh challenged herself to go 12 months paying for nothing but essential bills. Here, she tells loveMONEY about her experience.

When I bought a round of drinks for my mates on 26 November last year, a cheer went up.

As I punched in my PIN, it marked the first time I had spent any money on anything other than bills and food in an entire year.

It’s not that I’m a miser.

But, 12 months earlier, on Black Friday 2015 – a day of frenzied shopping that the UK has adopted from the US – I had vowed to step off the consumer treadmill and reset my relationship with money.

Cut your mortgage repayments: search for a better rate today

Why I took on the No Spend challenge

I’ve spent the past decade writing about money as a personal finance journalist and even though I wasn’t in debt – except for my mortgage – I was frittering away cash on pints, clothes, taxis and takeaways.

I was fed-up with wasting my hard-earned cash on items that didn’t matter to me, that didn’t make me happy and that I could live without.

It goes without saying that the money I wasted could have been spent better elsewhere, and one area where it would make a big difference was in paying down my mortgage.

So I decided to stop spending. I could still pay my bills, like my mortgage, gas and electricity, water, charitable donations, as well as internet and phone bill so I could work.

Cut your mortgage bills: search for a cheaper deal today

Keeping food spend to a minimum

I also had a basic groceries budget to cover food, essential toiletries and cleaning products for the house.

My husband joined me in the groceries budget and over the year we managed to get our average grocery spend down to £31.60 a week for both of us.

Getting the grocery bill down was a challenge at first, especially for someone who would pop into a mini supermarket on the way home from work with the intention of buying that evening’s dinner and somehow spend £15.

But we soon got the hang of making detailed meal plans, precise shopping lists, and batch-cooking every week to ensure there was enough food for lunches the next week.

In order to get the grocery bill down to £31.60 shopping and eating became a military operation.

Total of £30.80 spent on shop this week. Think it's starting to average a bit less than £34pw now as still chipping costs down

— Michelle McGagh (@mmcgagh) October 1, 2016

Social challenge

As part of the challenge, there was no budget for going out with friends, clothes, taxis, trips to the cinema or make-up.

I didn’t even have a transport budget, which meant I would go everywhere by bicycle for 12 months – at least I wouldn’t have to worry about giving up the gym membership!

Under the rules I wouldn’t allow my husband, family or friends to pay for me and if I wanted to socialise I had to do it without spending.

At first this meant a lot of nights in the pub drinking what felt like endless pints of water.

However, as I got into the swing of the challenge, I realised I would have to find new ways to have fun.

I started to take advantage of the huge number of free events, galleries and museums that are available to me living in London.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I never fully appreciated the number of activities on my doorstep – I had always defaulted to a meal out or a bar when organising my social life.

But I proved to myself that I could still have a social life without splashing out.

That’s not to say I didn’t miss out through my extreme frugality.

There were gigs and theatre productions I couldn’t attend, but the one that was hardest was missing out on a girls’ trip away which would be the last chance to take a trip with a good friend who was moving back to Australia.

You’d think that holidays would have been a no-go without any money but me and my husband did manage to have a week away.

Cut your mortgage bills: search for a cheaper deal today

Holidays needn’t cost the earth

Time for a holiday! #Cycling and wild camping around Suffolk and Norfolk - see you next week! #adventure pic.twitter.com/p1QiW388Le

— Michelle McGagh (@mmcgagh) August 10, 2016

We strapped our tent and sleeping bags to our bikes and cycled out of London to Suffolk and spent six days cycling up the Suffolk and Norfolk coast, camping on the beach and keeping clean with a dip in the sea.

It was a brilliant adventure and we spent our free time lounging on the beach with nothing to do because we didn’t have any cash to visit tourist sites or buy souvenirs. I’ll definitely be wild camping again.

What I gained

The No Spend Year was one of ups and downs and there were times I really did miss the small luxuries in life like fresh flowers and moisturiser (which I didn’t include in my essential toiletries list alongside soap, toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo).

However, the financial gains made up for the sacrifices I made and over the year I overpaid more than £22,000 on my mortgage.

Getting my mortgage debt down is a brilliant feeling, and I know I’ll be paying less interest to the bank and paying off my mortgage at a faster rate than before.

There were other, non-financial, gains that I made: I have definitely become more adventurous and willing to take on a challenge.

And I know that buying things from the shops, being a consumer, and working hard just to spend money on things I don’t need, won’t ever make me truly happy.

It’s a cliché but it’s true: money doesn’t buy happiness and after a year of not spending I know beyond all doubt that’s true.

Michelle's book, The No Spend Year: How I Spent Less & Lived More, is available on Amazon.

More frugal insights from loveMONEY:

The supermarket own-brand goods that beat the big brands

Cut the cost of parking at a train station

How to save thousands on a new boiler