I have started 2017 with a new attitude. Make-Do, Mend, Minimise. This is my new money saving mantra. 2015 was a massive year for me and my husband; we got married, we bought a house, we furnished said house, we had two major holidays, a couple of small breaks, a hen do & a stag do and now we have a major credit card bill. As a result 2016 has been a very hard and grey year financially and something both of us would like to address more positively this year. Neither of us particularly enjoy being in debt (i guess nobody does!) and would like to get out of it as quickly as possible hence the new mantra. This blog will be a chronicle of how I do this, firstly to help me keep track of everything I'm doing and motivate me to continue and secondly to help others in a similar position who want a few extra pennies in the bank and who may want to learn a few new skills and have fun along the way. I have outlined a few goals below to give the challenge a bit of direction and am looking forward to getting stuck in.
When packing up to move to our new house I had a massive declutter so a lot of the minimising has been done. I followed the Marie Kondo method and it has really transformed my life when it comes to clutter. Its been eighteen months and i'm clutter free. Obviously you don't know me, but pre Kondo I was a borderline hoarder! As well as throwing out and donating the items i didn't need or that were not special to me, I discovered quite a stash of fabric, card stock and stationary that I have finally unpacked and sorted over Christmas (only took me a year!) that I will be looking to put to good use over the next year.
Goal number two is regarding cards and gifts. Every year I leave birthdays, mothers day, fathers day, valentine, Christmas etc to the last minute and end up splashing out because I haven't thought things through or I have zero time to think things through. In 2017 I will not buy any cards or gifts. I will make them from what I already have. I also have a box of items to re-gift (will discuss re-gifting in a separate post) so will distribute those before I start thinking of buying anything.
Third is clothes. Now clothes are not a real problem when it comes to spending money. Truth is I don't really own that many clothes and I have a habit of routinely sorting through and either re-purposing or donating. Plus my sister who does have a problem with buying clothes and has mountains of them often donates stuff to me. This year I have already been the grateful recipient of two pairs of Zara jeans which have years of wear in them. This is courtesy of the fact that they are too big for my sister now that her vegan diet has kicked in. I rarely buy clothes in fact my family laugh at my husband and I because all of our clothes fit in a single wardrobe with two drawers at the base with no problems and at the age of 29 I still wear with pride clothes I bought 10 years ago! What can I say I have timeless taste in fashion. But still the price of clothes astonishes me so I have decided this year that anything I need this year I will only buy from charity or clothes swap with friends. Along with the jeans I have bought two tops from a charity shop for the grand total of £3.50. A lovely short sleeved top with a tie at the back originally a John Rocha at Debenhams and a gorgeous sheer black long sleeved top from Monsoon which I'm planning to wear to the theatre this week. At £1.75 each I'm happy. On the look out for a long-sleeved black polo neck top and a couple of summer dresses for later in the year.
Fourth is Food. Now I don't consider myself particularly wasteful but feel there is an awful lot of room for improvement. I want to minimise my food bill, fill my freezer, use up all of my leftovers and scraps rolling around in the bottom of the fridge as much as humanly possible and shop intelligently. I will be taking the time out to plan meals, write a list, check the stores before I shop, compare prices and deals and remember to use any vouchers or coupons instead of pinning them to my notice board and forgetting all about them.
Now this is just a start. I'm sure as the year progresses other ways to make changes and live better in the spirit of make-do, mend and minimise will become apparent and built into the new approach to life. I look forward to discovering them with you!
