No Spend - the Final Update

I set myself a little challenge back at the beginning of November... the challenge was to not spend any money on beauty, cosmetics, skincare etc or any clothing and accessories until 25th December. 

I've updated a couple of times on this, and by and large, I completed the challenge successfully.  I find it easy not to spend money on clothes and accessories - although I love new clothes, I hate shopping for them, so this part of the challenge wasn't hard for me. 

It was slightly harder to avoid beauty and skincare products.  I blogged earlier this week that I had forgotten about two Glossy Boxes which I was billed for.  Fortunately, due to the way I pay for my Glossy Boxes, they come out of a different budget to my normal beauty spends...so I could pretend they didn't really count.  Maybe I should.  I also bought a £5 nail polish, which was bought to ensure I spent enough on Boots points night to get an additional £12 worth of points - worth it I think.  What I didn't buy was any extraneous or impulse makeup or beauty.  I didn't chuck anything into my trolly at the supermarket and I didn't just pop into Boots - this was helped by the fact my office has moved and I no longer have a Boots just next to my office... Last week, I did end up buying some footcare products, but these are more medical than beauty so they don't count either.

So I've been pretty successful with this challenge, and I'm pleased with how it's gone.  However, I have spent an obscene amount of money (for me) in the sales over the last couple of days.  There are lots of bargain gift sets coming my way and some more I picked up in the sales today.  I love gift sets! But I'm sure I'll have to do another no spend for most of next year to make up for it!

Thanks for reading! xx

Money, Money, Money

Hi all.  Well on this miserable, rainy Sunday I'm sat here working out my finances.  I've blogged about my attitude to money before, and I think it's essential to keep a good grip on your income and expenditure, to save up for things and to only spend what you can afford - whatever your budget may be.

When I was a teenager I used to get £5 pocket money each week from my parents and supplement that each Saturday by working in River Island - for the princely sum of £2.42 an hour!  After 4 hours, and less than a tenner earned, and 70p bus fare each way, it was a pittance - my Mum occasionally would give me a lift as she felt so sorry for me (but she was also proud I was working hard).  But it was my money and I worked bl**dy hard, folding jumpers to earn it.  Even then, I was careful with my money and managed to save up for a holiday with my friends (OK, that took working all through Christmas and Easter school holidays to achieve) - I would buy my clothes mainly in Mark One (in the days before Primarni) and sometimes my makeup from down the market!  When I got a car, I used to get up early on Sunday mornings to do car boot sales (something I still do from time to time) to earn extra cash.  I've always enjoyed to feeling of a hard day's work and counting your pennies at the end of the day - it definitely makes you appreciate your cash more.

Anyway, recently we have decided to save up to buy a new house.  Without boring you about our current home, we want to move to a house and one that it located in a nicer area.  It is now time to get serious with saving again for the next couple of years to help to build up a new deposit.

Saving now is harder than in was a few years ago - at that time we had rubbish jobs and never had any money, so were used to living on a tight budget, and continued to do this as our incomes rose.  However, I haven't really saved in earnest for about five years now.  Although I now have a good job and earn a reasonable income, I've got out of the savings habit and it's hard to get back in.  My recently developed love of high end skin care and makeup really doesn't help - in fact, a large amount of my spare cash has gone on beauty and fashion over the past year.  I hate to think how much I've spent - this is definitely the area I need to work on the most!

I've been quite generous in my budget for beauty - £80 a month sounds quite a lot doesn't it?  Especially as I used to do it for £25 a month back in the day.  However, I've been regularly getting my legs and under arms waxed (£45 a pop), my hair dresser costs between £50 - £120 a time depending on what I have done, and that's not including any cosmetics or skincare products.  I have a feeling that my £80 won't stretch nearly as far as I'd like!

So I've decided to do the following:

• cut back on the waxing - only get my top leg, underarm and bikini done and only in the summer.  I can go au naturelle the rest of the year, or just use a cream.
• Go back to home hair dye - I do need to cover my greys, but an expensive colour and highlights is a luxury I simply can't afford.
• Shop my stash, especially my sample stash.  I was worried I was running out of facial moisturisers the other day, but realised I have 3 on the go and one unopened pot.  I shouldn't need to buy any more for ages and there are plenty of other products like this.
• Have a blog sale!  I've never done this, but I've definitely got things I want to part with that someone else might like.
• Investigate making some of my own products - I particularly want to try a home made eye makeup remover.
• Shop smarter and take advantage of bulk buys and offers (and not just spend those No. 7 vouchers just for the sake of spending them).
• Read blogs by bloggers who consistently use cheaper products and pick up some great money saving tips.

This is still going to be tough!  I'd be grateful if you have any beauty money saving ideas you want to pass on...share them with me please!

And now for my number one money saving beauty tip - I always keep a pair of scissors in my bathroom to attack plastic tubes of product that have run out.  There is usually a few more applications in these tubes, and it is worth getting every last drop out to get your money's worth - and I always do!

Thanks for reading! xx