Over in the Saturday Savers Club hosted on the @eddie-earner account, we are planning a no-buy month for September. No-buy periods are where you set yourself some rules about what you can and can't buy during the no-buy time.
It's not totally no-buy: you continue to pay your regular bills and buy essentials (like food), and you also factor in things which are important to you. The difference is that you set limits or budgets on how you are going to use the money you have available to you.
I first learned about no-buy from a woman called Cinzia DuBois, a blogger and vlogger, who writes and vlogs about her own experiences and relationship with money and saving, among other things.
Cinzia had always earned very little money and felt that she was unable to save until one year her income was double what it had been previously and yet she still did not have any savings. This set her exploring what was going on and one outcome was trying a no-buy year.
It reminded me a bit about the Personal Survival Budget approach we used to teach entrepreneurs who wanted to set up their own business. It involved a realistic appraisal of your expenses - making sure you had covered everything that needed to be paid - but recognising that we need to build in some treats and quality of life expenses.
I've set out my Rules for September - it will vary from person to person depending on your commitments, lifestyle, family etc. What you include in allowable expenses or decide to exclude is very personal and for you to make a judgement about.
Rules for September NO-BUY Month
Allowable Expenses
Food - but aiming to finish up packets, tins and jars in the pantry, food in the freezer and from the garden.
Essential toiletries and cleaning products replacements.
Essential repairs or replacements.
1 eat-in or takeaway each week, including coffee/going to the pub.
2 theatre performances or films during the month.
Adult education classes/workshops.
Postage and/or carriage.
Travel or fuel.NO-NO-BUY
No shop-bought non-essential treats.
No books, stationary, yarn, fabric, patterns or notions.
No "new" (ie not replacements) clothes.
No "new" (ie not replacements) furniture, household items, telecoms.
No seeds or plants or houseplants or cut flowers.
I have planned expenditure for a pair of winter boots and a Hive Meetup if it takes place, but those expenses have already been put aside in my savings.
Discussion
I know that I spend money on stuff I don't need and which may even have other health consequences. I often pop down to our local Co-op for one or two items and invariably spend twenty pounds, quite often on non-essential "treats" like crisps, dips, pizza and the occasional cake.
I already set aside savings each month on the day I get paid - a set amount plus anything that might be left over from the previous month's expenses budget. I'm fairly relaxed about that budget, and spend fairly freely without worrying too much, just keeping an eye that I stay within the budget I've set.
In preparation for the NO-BUY month I decided to analyse expenses from the last complete month - July 2021. The chart at the top of the post shows the results. What stuck out for me was the amount I was spending on Other (about 10% of my monthly budget) and Subscriptions (about 8%). Other represents those frequent trips to the Co-op for a £20 pack of cheese or pint of milk and subscriptions have just got out of hand.
I've set budgets for both of them, looked at where I can make savings in the housekeeping (food, toiletries and cleaning products) budget and set limits on how much I'm going to spend on going out and replacing or repairing clothes.
I can also reduce expenditure on the car as I have a pass now that gives me free bus travel. I've had it since March and only just started using it. The other thing about travelling by bus is that you have to carry what you buy, rather than throwing it in the boot of the car, so you're much more aware of what you are buying.
I did make a small amount of additional savings in July - about 3%, but I reckon I can improve on that. I set a target of 10% savings for the month, but I think I can get it to 25% by careful managing.
Saturday Savers Club NO-BUY post - NO-BUY month starts 1 September and runs through the month until 30 September 2021. You're welcome to join us.
Saturday Savers Club
I run a savings club every Saturday over on the @eddie-earner account. We're aiming to save £670 ($800) by the end of the year using the 365 day savings challenge. You can join any time of the year and set your own goals and plans (some people are saving Hive, others Bitcoin, some their local currency). We share savings tips and there's a free giveaway every week.
Three things newbies should do in their first week and, for most things, forever afterwards!
