My Money Saving Goals

This year I have spent nearly £1500 less on myself than I did in 2023. This includes clothes, makeup, phone, gym membership and eating out/trips with friends. We have also been trying to save money as a family by eating out less, being more selective with purchases (clothes, toys, holidays) and changing our grocery shopping habits.

With so many living costs rising and an unexpected car bill in the Summer, I did the following things to save money:

Low spend months I only spent £52.71 in September and £155.94 in October on personal items.
Tracking everything I buy and grouping them into categories including groceries, clothes, home etc.
Spending less whenever I’m out from only having one coffee when meeting friends to no impulse purchases.
Setting budgets Rather than buying the children the things they want, I gave them money on their HyperJar card and they could choose how they spent it. This meant they considered their purchases carefully, making decisions based on how much money they had available and how much they wanted the product.
Shopping around I would use discount codes and cashback offers if I needed to buy gifts, uniform, eat out for special occasions etc. I also cancelled or renegotiated contracts for phone, gym, contact lenses and insurance.

The challenges I found whilst trying to be frugal were:

Wants versus Needs At the time, it was hard to resist the cakes and pastries whilst out on coffee dates with friends or to eat what was in the cupboard rather than what I was craving but it was better for the long term benefits.
Changing my mindset With clothes and makeup, I had a couple of habits that I needed to get out of. I’d always invest in clothing that I thought was a bit more than I’d like to spend but would be durable enough to last several years. Recently, I have bought more clothes but that are a bit cheaper so I would have more variety in my wardrobe and not wear out as fast, as I’m wearing and washing it less. Instead of spending £100 on a jumper, I’d choose two for approx £50 each and buy them on different occasions. This minimised my outgoings within a time period and could mean two items were cheaper than one. Over the year, I would spend less overall because even if I bought three jumpers at lower price points, it would still cost me less than buying two expensive jumpers. For the eco-friendly part of me, it was strange to buy more things as I didn’t like the idea of them ending in the bin. But, if I didn’t wear the item until they completely disintegrated, like I normally do, then I could always donated the item to charity down the line.

Going forward, I would like to stick to the following goals:

Continue spending less on the non-essentials to minimise clutter at home. I want to use up makeup, stationery and arts and crafts etc. and only replace things that run out completely.
Reduce costs by buying good quality dupes or eco-refill alternatives.
I want to do more low spend challenges in the future. My target in 2025 is to spend less than £50 in at least one month on personal costs (this doesn’t include regular bills like my mobile, gym or contact lenses).
I have never been a fan or fast fashion but I like to pick trends that I can see lasting a few years. My clothing goal is to buy good quality statement pieces and staples that can help me look current without breaking the bank or contributing negatively to the environment.
Being more selective with how we spend time as a family. Enriching family life doesn’t have to be expensive and as the children are older now, they seem to appreciate birthday and Christmas gifts more if they play a role in choosing them.

Please let me know if you enjoyed my money saving goals and share any tips that you think will help me to budget my finances in the future. Bx