Flat Eric's Challenge!

Flat_Eric

I started a thread (see here
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2678025back in August this year. The idea of my challenge was to stop spending for 130 days (from 23 August until the end of the year) on unnecessary items (see list below) and to re-gain an appreciation for the value of money which I have sadly lost.

I thought it would be a piece of cake. 130 days ? no spending ? easy peasy.:j Sadly I was wrong. Very wrong.:(:(:(

SO, I have decided to start afresh and there can be no better time than now! When I first fell off the wagon, I felt guilty but told myself that it was a one off. I knew I had to confess because whilst it would be all too easy not to tell, I knew it wouldn't be fair on the other posters following my challenge. What would it achieve if I pretended I hadn't spent money on items from my "banned list" I didn't think I would fail so soon and so spectacularly. In the last two weeks, I have really lost the plot! so I'm wiping the slate clean and the new challenge commences at 0.00 hours tomorrow morning, 5 November 2010! and ends on 11.59pm on 4th December 2011!!! the small matter of 395 days....

The challenge doesn't include any live (and winning) bids I have placed on ebay but if I should happen to get outbid on something I am currently winning then I am not allowed to increase my bid. I have one live Amazon order so once this is dispatched, no more Amazon shops. I also have a couple of outstanding Avon orders - once these have been received - no more are allowed unless they are xmas/birthday gifts.

I haven't fine tuned the details, but its simple really, no more spends. I'm to read the books I own (hire new books I want from the library), I'm to use up my stash from Lush and make use of the craft stuff I have rather than buy more that I don't need! If there is something I want then I will have to wait for it. No buying it just because its only a few quid. Just a few quid here and there add up to quite a few quid over time ! especially when you pay for it on your credit card and they slap the interest and payment protection on top.

So if you fancy joining me in my 395 day no spend quest then please do. The more the merrier. I promise to try much harder this time round. Much harder!

from my previous post:

I don't know when I stopped appreciating the value of money but certainly I have a very strong memory of being about 12 years old and being given £1.00 to spend at a local boot fare. By the time I got to the boot fare, I had lost my £1.00. I remember retracing my steps but to no avail and I can vividly remember how upset I was!

£1 held so much value for me back then yet now, money holds very little value. I don't know why. Pocket money was £10 a month from my parents and £1.50 a week from my neighbour as I used to feed her cats and run errands for her. Thus my monthly income was a mere £16 a month ??!! My first Saturday job paid £104 a month and my first full time job paid about £400 a month. I was never overdrawn and didn't use credit cards. I always had money left at the end of the month. At some point I did discover credit cards and thus the financial meltdown began !

I am determined that in a year's time, I will be in a much better financial position than I am now. I want to have that magic amount of money you should have in your bank account (before you get paid) to see you through if the worst happens and I want to have a zero balance on my credit card. I want to be able to have a mad moment i..e walk past the travel agent and be able to afford to go in and book a holiday. This might not all be achievable in just a year but I want to work towards improving my finances forevermore so in some respects this is a lifetime challenge !

Despite my wish that a magic wand is waved and everything is sorted overnight, it isn't going to be and thus I have decided to start my financial road to recovery by doing Flat Eric's 130 day challenge.

130 days because it is just 130 days until the end of the year!! I want to start 2011 off without having the financial hangover of Christmas thus I hope by cutting back now, I will be able to afford Christmas without my credit card.

Here are my aims: -

1. Save all £2 coins I receive in my change.

2. No extra lottery purchases I.e scratchcards/extra lottery tickets either online or from shops)

3. No ebay purchases. (this is going to be really difficult !)

4. No amazon purchases (unless its Christmas presents!)

5. No craft purchases (for card making / knitting / cross stitch etc). The occasional magazine is allowed ! The odd craft purchase to be allowed in December if it is for an xmas gift (i.e. not allowed to buy now just because Im on a financial no spend ban from tomorrow)

6. No farmville or cafeworld cash purchases !

7. No book purchases including charity shops !

8. No Lush shop purchases (I could open my own lush shop with the stash I have!)

9. No toiletries to be purchased until my stash of products is all used up. Only exceptions / shaving cream, totm stuff and dove soap (other soaps (apart from lush) irritate my skin.

10 . No avon purchases (sorry to my avon consultant)

Regarding my amazon and ebay pledges, this doesn't include any ebay bids which are currently live and doesn't include the items I have on pre-order from Amazon. Once the auctions I have bid on are finished though, I am not allowed to bid anymore unil 1 January 2011. Similarly with Amazon, Professor Layton is on pre-order as are a few calendars but no longer will I spend my free time finding stuff to buy !

I will post on here to let you know how I am getting on!

If anyone would like to join me in this challenge then please feel free. The more the merrier. Its not going to be easy but I want to get back that sense of worth about money that I had all those years ago.

Flat_Eric

I can't describe the weight that I feel has gone from my shoulders as I relish the start of my new challenge. As I mentioned above, I thought it would be easy not to spend for 130 days but I had a few (many actually) hiccups, all of which I confessed (but perhaps not in as much detail as I should have done) and I was concerned that if I couldn't manage 130 days then my planned no spending in 2011 would prove to be a rather difficult and a scary/impossible prospect.

I feel with a clean slate much much happier and very very determined. I feel so much better knowing that I have called time on my old challenge because it means I can forget all the guilt that came with all my spends and relish the prospect of succeeding 100% with my 395 day no spend! I need to fine tune the details, for example, what Im going to do when I have my holidays. When there is a book or cross stitch kit that i absolutely must have ! but will leave that for another day. Hope you will all follow me and join in even if it is just giving up one or two spends.

karom

Good luck, I find that the No More Toiletries buy challenge month on month really helps. I have just started mid Oct however starting to make an inventory straight away allows me to exactly manage my stock (ie I have 3 shampoos no more needs to be bought) and making use of special offers.

clodagh_trubble

Hi

Would love to join with you in your challenge, I started the Olympic challenge earlier this year and then feel off the wagon bigtime, am almost back to where I fell off, but need to be able to continue and this challenge will hopefully help me address the things that call to me to spend.........., many of which I share with you so here goes

Here are my aims: -

1. Save all £2 coins.

2. No more buying chocolate every time I go shopping!
3. No ebay purchases.

4. No amazon purchases (unless it's for Christmas or Birthday presents)

5. No craft purchases at all - this will be hard but I have enough paper/card/stamps etc to last a lifetime as well as numerous UFO and unstarted cross-stitches will also keep me going for years. Would like to go back to crocheting but it will have to wait until after this challenge!!

6. No book purchases (this will be the hardest one as my treat at payday is to buy a couple of books (at least). However, I have enough waiting to be read to keep me going for the year and also will ask for books/tokens if anyone asks me what I would like for Christmas/Birthdays)

7. No avon purchases

8. No more buying sandwiches for lunch, will make the effort to make my own

Regarding my amazon pledge, this doesn't include the four items I have on pre-order from Amazon, although 2 of these are Christmas presents.

If I can stick to this I will then be able to show my face on the Olympic challenge again!!

sistercas

Hi flat eric I have shuffled over from the grocery challenge to lend my support . I dont think i could be so diciplined but i wish you all the luck you need , i'm sure you will succeed this time :T

Flat_Eric

I think I was a bit premature in starting my challenge as despite my best intentions, I seem to have lost the plot already and have been busy spending the pennies.

I have been thinking about my challenge since I posted about it, trying to decide on the ground rules - could i really go almost 13 months without spending?

I'm glad I have failed so soon because at least I can draw a line under it and start afresh.

Its interesting. I can identify the emotional triggers that make me spend yet I still can't stop myself ? I was unwell this week and had some sick leave from work so that justified a "treat" and after feeling tired, grumpy and sorry for myself yesterday evening, found myself shopping on ebay? Today was spent sorting my craft stuff and ordering some bits and pieces from my favourite craft supplier just because not having the bits stressed me out and having now ordered them? I feel better? Seriously I need to give myself a good talking to!

I did consider closing this thread having failed so soon but its kind of an epiphany my mad spending spree (including two amazon purchases* whilst I have been typing this?!?!) and having confessed, I can now wipe the slate clean... I have lots of live ebay bids but the usual must apply - must not increase my bids if I am outbid. Ive ordered my craft stuff and having sorted all the bits and pieces over the last couple of weekends, now have all my projects lined up for the next year so the challenge begins again.:j

*Edit - 1 now! I have just been and cancelled one of my orders
further edit - just increased one of my bids on ebay but thats it! no more !Im switching off now and the challenge begins in earnest once again!

twistedhazel

Morning, hope you don't mind me de-lurking from following you and sharing my two pennies? It seems to me that maybe you are being too restrictive on yourself too soon. Then you break the self imposed rules and feel bad for failing.

Maybe you need to allow yourself "treat" money each week to spend as you wish. That way you don't buy lots of stuff you don't need but if you do see a "must have" you are allowed it and haven't ruined the challenge. You will probably find that because you are allowed a treat each week the stuff you buy becomes more meaningful again.

You may even find that as time goes by you don't buy something every week and then your treat money could either roll over to get a bigger purchase the following week or go into a savings account.

Then as you move forward you could reduce the treat money a little at time until you are achieving the original aim of your challenge and not spending anything on these things.

I hope you don't mind me saying this but I have really felt for you each time you have come and "confessed" to "failing" and think that you are just setting yourself up for fall after fall and then spending lots more because in your mind you've already broken the rules so why not just splurge anyway.

In case you're still reading after all that I have been doing this sort of challenge myself this year and have allowed myself a treat if I wanted one. It's been working well for me - not a single item of clothing bought and only toiletries have been shampoo/conditioner. I have allowed myself to buy a couple of books but joined the library so bought far less than I would have previously.

Good luck however you decide to go forward with your challenge and I will be watching with interest.
(Apologies for the super long post)

nat21luv

I agree with twisted. How about any treats you buy can only be bought with extra money that you have made that week? This doesnt include wages but does include overtime and ebay SALES! So your not denying yourself but you have to be disciplined enough to make the money first. Sound like a plan?

Flat_Eric

twistedhazel wrote: »

Morning, hope you don't mind me de-lurking from following you and sharing my two pennies? It seems to me that maybe you are being too restrictive on yourself too soon. Then you break the self imposed rules and feel bad for failing.

Maybe you need to allow yourself "treat" money each week to spend as you wish. That way you don't buy lots of stuff you don't need but if you do see a "must have" you are allowed it and haven't ruined the challenge. You will probably find that because you are allowed a treat each week the stuff you buy becomes more meaningful again.

You may even find that as time goes by you don't buy something every week and then your treat money could either roll over to get a bigger purchase the following week or go into a savings account.

Then as you move forward you could reduce the treat money a little at time until you are achieving the original aim of your challenge and not spending anything on these things.

I hope you don't mind me saying this but I have really felt for you each time you have come and "confessed" to "failing" and think that you are just setting yourself up for fall after fall and then spending lots more because in your mind you've already broken the rules so why not just splurge anyway.

In case you're still reading after all that I have been doing this sort of challenge myself this year and have allowed myself a treat if I wanted one. It's been working well for me - not a single item of clothing bought and only toiletries have been shampoo/conditioner. I have allowed myself to buy a couple of books but joined the library so bought far less than I would have previously.

Good luck however you decide to go forward with your challenge and I will be watching with interest.
(Apologies for the super long post)

Thank you for your post which is an :idea: really. I am being silly to myself in all honesty because I know in my heart that to go almost 13 months with no spending on treats/non essentials is something that would be near on impossible to do. I couldn't manage the small matter of 130 odd days - I don't know how I expected to last 13 months.

I didn't expect to lose the plot so soon but its interesting to see how my emotions/state of mind/mood influence my spending. likewise for the food I eat but thats not relevant here.

My previous challenge failed and as it had been my intention to start a new challenge on January 1st 2011 (no spending for the year), I decided to scrap my 130 day challenge and start afresh with the "new year" challenge now. I hadn't worked out the ground rules though which I was still thinking about so the challenge was started with no flexibility built in.

Once my mad spending spree started, it was hard to stop because it was "make the most of this opportunity to spend because soon you will be back to your no spending pledge". I need to build in "allowed spending" as I know it won't be long before I find I must have ???,have no willpower, buy it, and then go on another mad spending spree in rebellion/frustration at my weakness. With no flexibility I will be worse off so here is the new plan.... :j

I'm going to allow myself £25 "treat money" each month. This can be spent on whatever I choose with no guilt or strings attached. My treat money is limited to £25 each month unless I have saved the treat money up and it has rolled over.

If when I get paid, I am not overdrawn then I will get a bonus treat spend allowance of £20 :j, again to be spent how I choose.

As well as my bus pass, I spend £1 a day on my commute home from work - sometimes I don't spend this - so I will save these £1 coins up. I would hope to save quite a few coins and rather than spend the money monthly, will save for six months - so first spend of this saved money will be 5 June 2011 and 6 months thereafter 5 December 2011. :j

I am a slimming world member and pay a weekly subscription of £4.95 :eek:. When I get back to target, I will still pay the weekly subscription fee but into the fund above. This will mean that if get back to target before Christmas that I will have a good six months of paying £4.95 into my saving pot which will mean a nice treat on 5 June 2011.

I will have two "joker" spends of £40 per six month period so if there is something that "i must must have" then I have an emergency allowance. This will mean that if I find myself wanting ??? and I have spent my £25 monthly treat money that I can get what I want but won't have failed and hopefully won't feel the need to have a mad spending spree.

I'm going to save all my £2 coins in my 5 June 2011 fund. I am also going to save all my silver in my sealed pot. This won't get opened until 5 December 2011. I'll empty my purse every Sunday evening so thats £2 in the 5 June fund and £3.55 in my 5 December 2011 fund tonight :j

My challenge doesn't include spends on clothes/shoes but I will try to keep these purchases to a minimum and will try the charity shops first rather than the high street and if it has to be the high street, sain$burys over N%xt.

I intend to stick with my pledge of "no extra lottery purchases" definitely no scratch cards but perhaps the occasional extra ticket if its a euromillions super jackpot :rotfl:

My £25 monthly allowance can of course be used for anything I want and I suspect I will end up spending it on my craft addiction :rotfl: I will allow myself extra craft purchases over and above my £25 allowance if and only if its for a gift for someone.

My nectar points to be spent on me (well why not ) I like converting them into amazon vouchers - so as and when I get 2000 points (which means a £10 amazon voucher) then I can order the voucher and be free to spend as I please - over and above my monthly treat money :j

I will continue to use up my Lush stash and my bath/shower supplies so will try to limit any purchases on toiletries to as little as possible.

Definitely no farmville/cafe world spends - Ive stopped playing the games so no temptation there.

I think thats enough waffle for now ! will post again soon

twistedhazel

Hurrah - good for you Flat Eric. I think that's a much more realistic set of rules for you. Once you get going with this and stick with it I think you'll be surprised at how little you actually end up spending. I'm going to be following your progress with interest. :j Good luck.

Spiggle

Hi FlatEric

I've popped over from the GC to have a read of your challenge. I agree with twistedhazel too.

If you don't mind me doing it, I'll outline how we've managed to regain an appreciation of the value of money.

In shopping terms there were two initial challenges that made huge differences to the amount we were spending. The GC which you're aware of so won't go into detail there. And the second was the No More Toiletries until Stash has Gone.

I had almost an addiction to buying toiletries and it was one of the most sobering (and embarrassing) things I've done when I went through the bathroom and bedroom in Febraury and listed everything I had. It truly brought me to a point where I had to say no more. Listing the stash on the challenge thread really helped as I'd 'gone public' IYSWIM. The upshot of it is I haven't bought a single cosmetic or toiletry since February that hasn't already run out.

One word of warning though, the challenge thread has some great people on it who kindly notify others of offers and bargains available which I found real temptation. So after a couple of months I stopped posting on there so I didn't have the temptation put in my way. Nevertheless I kept the tag line and running date in my sig until very recently when I felt I'd beaten my 'addiction'.

We were spending a great deal on alcohol which the OH drinks but I don't. So we stopped accounting for it in normal shopping and set ourselves £15 per week pocket money each. This we may spend however we wish with no come back or complaints from the other. It works brilliantly. I'm sure that your treat money will too.

Finally, after doing a complete budget and money makeover in August, I set up a monthly amount each to cover Car Ins, Tax, Maintenance and House Insurance, Tobacco (sadly we both smoke), Entertainment, Clothes, Christmas**, and Birthdays** which is transferred directly into separate savings accounts. (I use IF as I can have separately named 'jars' into which each amount goes though I don't think it's a recommended best buy on interest rate but works for my piggy banking purposes.) How well these work came fully into focus a couple of weeks ago when I renewed my house insurance, paid with my current account card* and then transferred the amount to cover it back from IF to the current account. It worked brilliantly and I highly recommend piggy banking.

*The other benefit of this is that I could pay in one lump and therefore avoid the astronomical interest charges for paying for insurance via monthly direct debit.

**With regard to the piggybanks for Christmas and Birthdays being relatively new I won't be touching these until 2011 as they haven't built an appreciable balance yet.

I hope all that helps in some small way. I have learned so much from the forum and try as much as possible to pass on the tips I've learnt.

Good luck with your quest and all the best,
Spigs