Finance
This Woman Bought Nothing For A Whole Year And Ended Up Saving $23,000
McGagh laid out a comprehensive guideline of what she had to spend on and what ended up in savings.
On Black Friday in 2015, Michelle McGagh committed to not spending a whole year after noticing she had spent thousands of dollars on unnecessary things like clothes, meals, plane tickets to visit her grandpa & coffee. At the time, she laid out a comprehensive guideline for savings, focusing on a mortgage, life insurance, charity donations, broadband & phone bills.
Though her husband was worried the challenge was too extreme, McGagh leaned into it, wearing through her clothes and biking everywhere.
In the guideline, she also allowed basic toiletries, including deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, and food for and her husband to be set to a combined weekly grocery goal of about $35. There was no budget for luxuries, no cinema trips, nights in the pub, new clothes, holidays, gym membership, gym, and not even a KitKat or cheeky cheesecake from the supermarket.
“Having been a personal financial journalist in London for the past 10 years, my friends, family and colleagues assumed I was brilliant with money, but that wasn’t strictly true,” McGagh said in her Telegraph essay as she highlighted the aftermath of her decision.
She missed out on quite a lot, and not everyone was pleased with the experiment. McGagh was accused of poverty tourism, but the experiment wasn’t about living in poverty because poverty isn’t a choice. She explained: “I could still pay my mortgage, bills, and food. The last year has been an experiment in extreme frugality and choosing not to buy rather than not having a choice.”
And interestingly, McGagh saw her disposable income grow and began overpaying her mortgage, which she was thrilled about.
“I’m grateful to have disposable income to save and feel I should make the most of it – I hope I have encouraged other people to reconsider their spending patterns too.” According to McGagh, the winter months weren’t easy, but she grew to appreciate her free time and the outdoors more come spring. While her clothes were destroyed from all the biking and she needed a haircut, she felt no urge to spend.
In the end, McGagh had approximately $32,000 in savings.
On the other hand, her book titled: “The NO Spend Year: How I Spent Less And Lived More” is now available on Amazon.
