What Happens When a Spender Stops Spending $$$ for a Year?

Yeah, if you’re here for the end result, you’re a year too early and I apologize for the click bait, really. There is an update to the financial stunt if you’d like to go check it out, though. The truth is, I’ve got a spending problem. When I get money I like to make it raaaain!

via GIPHY

I’m talkin’ new clothes for errybody, new Tieks for me, new clothes from Anthropologie, and lots of eating out. I think probably most of our income actually goes into the toilet because we do LOTS of that eating out thing.

This year, I’m putting an end to ALL of it. Well, almost all of it.

I was inspired by a woman in London who saved $24000 Pounds by not spending money for a year. She biked everywhere, didn’t buy new clothes, didn’t go on holiday, and stopped eating out with friends.

My path to frugality will look significantly different than hers, as I have children and I live in a rural area where having a vehicle is necessary. I also have promised the children trips to Disney, and my husband and I are going on a trip to Boston in April for a dear friend’s wedding that we won’t back out of just because I’m doing this crazy stunt. Instead, what is going to happen is that when we do go to Disney, we will pack our own food in instead of purchasing food in the parks. When Kyle and I go to Boston, we will make good use of free things to do in the area and only eat at cheap restaurants instead of our beloved fancy digs.

What I’m cutting out

• This year I’m cutting out purchasing all clothing for myself. My children will be allowed to buy clearance rack clothing and clothing from thrift stores and consignment sales only as needed. I plan to provide each of them with a capsule wardrobe, and quite frankly, Madilyn will likely not need any new clothing either. Kyle needs very little, but we will adjust to his needs for work.
• No more expensive makeup *sniff*UrbanDecay*sniff*. I can make due with what I already have and purchase inexpensive makeup should I run out.
• No more expensive shampoo and conditioner. I found a $5/bottle shampoo and conditioner that makes my hair feel really nice. If I wind up buying fewer than 10 bottles in a year then I will have saved a little money. If not, I will go back to buying litres of shampoo, as the cost up front is more but the annual cost will be about the same.
• No more fancy coffee at home or trips to the coffee shop. We will purchase coffee from the grocery store instead of $15 bags of coffee from specialty stores. If you own a roastery, please feel free to email me at summer@dirtyfloordiaries.com and I’ll be happy to work with you for advertising, as I’m a coffee snob.
• No more trips to the expensive salon. If I need my hair dyed, I will trade advertising for it.
• No more manicures or pedicures.
• No more arbitrary decor for the house that winds up dusty and unused.
• No more Brazilian waxing. Dear all of 30A: I apologize for what will happen this summer.
• No more lunches or dinners or drinks out with friends unless they’re treating. I’m sorry, all two of you, we can sup at my house if you’d still like to hang out.
• No more frozen yogurt trips.
• No more eating out, which means we’ll have to get really good at packing a picnic when we leave the house.
• No trips that aren’t already planned.
• No gym membership.
• Basically, if it isn’t necessary for survival, I won’t be buying it, and if I do feel the need to purchase something, I will be putting it to a poll on Summer Len Davis’s Tales from the Dirty Floor on Facebook, so make sure you’re following me there.

What I hope to accomplish

I hope to track exactly how much I spend on an annual basis that I could be saving. I will be opening a separate savings account and all of my income will be filtered there with the goal of living solely on Kyle’s income. I would also like to save toward the full 20% down payment on a house, and start putting money away for Styles to have when he goes to college, or potentially another down payment to buy him a small structure to live in should he go away for college. That dwelling would also be potential rental income for us, and an investment for us to sell and split the profits of once he graduates so that he starts his life off in the black. It is also going to be a practice in immense self control for me that will completely go hand in hand with the way that I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life eating.

I figure I have to get this ALL under control, so I might as well tackle it all at once.

How You Can Help

Visiting my blog is a great first step. Please also follow me on Facebook so you don’t miss an update. Updates will happen weekly. You can also follow me on Instagram.

If you’d like to help support my efforts, any time you click on a link that goes to Amazon from my website and purchase something, you help me make a small commission and it costs you literally nothing. I use those credits to buy our supplements each month, as they do get very expensive. I also generate ad revenue from the ads you see in my sidebars, so when you share my posts with your friends, more people see my ads and I make more money.

If you know anyone local to me who would like some advertising power that does any of the following services, please direct them to me. My email address is summer@dirtyfloordiaries.com:

• Hair
• Waxing
• Physical Fitness (gyms) (Working with Momentum Fitness this year is going to be AMAZING!)
• Children’s Camps
• Dance Classes for Children
• Voice Lessons for Children

Thank you SO much for supporting my efforts and cheering me on, or heck, heckling me for that matter, because opposition always makes me stronger.

Watch my announcement video here:

I appreciate YOU! I hope you’ll join me on this journey.