I am back from my work experience in an East London Primary School and I am thrilled to report that I enjoyed it and haven't been put off applying for my PGCE in November! However those of you who are from London will know that it is a very expensive area and so my bank balance isn't quite as thrilled about the experience as I was! (But I do have some exciting haul posts to show you over the next few weeks!)
From reading other blogs out there I have come across the idea of a spending ban and whilst I don't strictly need to do it for 100 days I thought that this would be a good way to try and reign my spending in as I have a habit of buying lots of little things constantly and this soon mounts up! I am hoping that over the course of the ban I can keep a closer eye on exactly where my money is going and also rediscover some items of clothing, books, dvds etc that I have bought and never gotten around to using properly!
So here are my spending ban rules!
1) No Stationery whatsoever! This will probably be one of the most challenging aspects of my spending ban as I do have quite the addiction. I am sure that I will be able to 'shop my stash' and hopefully use some of the stock pile that I have accumulated so far! EXCEPTION: Printer Ink and Paper.
2) No buying clothes without a good reason: Whenever I go shopping with my friends I usually come back with at least one item of clothing and so I am going to try and cut back on this and only buy clothes if I have a genuine reason for doing so! I am hoping to buy no more than 3 'cheat' items of clothing over the 100 days of my ban. EXCEPTION: Bras (within reason)- I recently got myself measured and now I only have one bra which correctly fits which of course will not be practical for 100 days.
3) Limit the amount of NEW toiletry products: I have been experimenting with my skin care regime lately and trying to use more beauty products but this has resulted in me pretty much purchasing any product that I have seen a good review of on a couple of my favourite beauty blogs! I have recently just signed up to 6 months of the Birchbox subscription box and so I am hoping that this will satisfy my craving for new products without spending a small fortune. EXCEPTION: If one of my favourite products runs out that cannot be swapped out for something else in my stash then I am allowed to purchase it.
4) No new bags or handbags! This one is fairly self explanatory for those who have seen my handbag collection. I simply do not need anymore!
5) Limit buying random food at work I work at a fast food restaurant during the summer months and I am really quite bad at buying something like an ice cream when I finish which is not only bad for my bank balance but also for my waistline! I am hoping to do this no more than once a week during the spending ban.
6) Only allowed to buy take out coffee or food if a social occasion Again this is similar to above but I am trying to stop buying packaged sandwiches, take out coffees etc unless I am meeting a friend or it is date night!
7) No new books I have a hefty stack of books that I have bought because I like the look of but haven't actually gotten around to reading yet! Easily enough to last me 100 days!
8) No magazines I have 2 monthly subscriptions which should easily satisfy all of my magazine cravings! I am quite guilty of buying a magazine as a way of getting change for the bus to work and so hopefully this will be cut out of my spending habits!
9) Nothing from eBay! I am pretty sure that I have an eBay addiction as I am forever browsing auctions and buying random little things here and there.
During the spending ban I am going to write down every single penny that I spend and try and keep my spending to mostly cash so that I can have a better idea of how much cash I am actually spending! I started the ban today so I still have another 99 days of minimal spending to survive... so wish me luck! Have any of you ever done a spending ban? Do you have any tips for me?
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