Meet the frugal's, 365 day challenge of buying nothing.

katchambers

Good luck OP - this challenge scares me :eek: but I am totally routing for you.

I am having enough trouble cutting down my food bills, stop buying clothes all the time and going out for less meals, so cutting it all out completely...I would probably keel over, so good luck to you.

Here are my tips:

1. The biggest tip that saves me a lot of money is 'Mystery Shopping'. I do on average 2 a month and not only is it fun, you get paid for it and you save money. I like to do restaurant ones because we used to eat out alot and now I get paid to eat out so it's a dream really. If you can eat out for free then you are saving yourself in food shopping and having a super treat which will motivate you. Another one I did just before christmas was a supermarket and I got paid for doing the trip and got a certain amount of items I purchased for free! Basically I believe this will be the best way for anyone who has shopping cravings, or eating out cravings to filfill that without spending your own money.

Here are the best 2 that I use:

http://www.retaileyes.co.uk/uk/home/retaileyes_aboutus.php

https://www.tns-global.com (Click Mystery Shopping Link in Pink, bottom Left)

Here is the mystery shopping thread in MSE, with lots of tips and more companies to join:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=223762

My second tip is to join quidco and topcashback and do the free clicks every day, you can make on average £20 or so a month for 15 mins of work a day, it is very easy and will give you more money to spend on essentials.

I'm sure you will do it anyway but keep a close eye on the freebies board and get everything that could be useful for free, maybe even potential presents (i.e I got a free whisky calendar for my dad). Free chocolate sample from lindt were good and would be perfect for easter. Here's a nestle one:

http://www.nestlepromotions.co.uk/pn...07/sample.aspx



Good luck!

Kat x

Caixta

scrimperjan wrote:

Great thread! I get Boots vouchers from Pigsback, there's a thread on the 'freebies' board if you haven't come across Pigsback yet - I reckon on getting over a pound's worth of points every week in about ten minutes; just by clicking and answering the weekly questions (and the answers are given on the freebies post - I just love this site!) then when you have ten quid's worth you can claim a £10 Boots voucher or other goodies. That should keep you in toothpaste and other toiletry essentials! (Do Boots sell toilet paper?) I get a voucher every couple of months.

A pound per week sounds excellent.

I only get about 20p a week on Pigsback. I can only find a couple of clicks per week.

What am I doing wrong?

Choc_nut

Way to go Lauren, very inspiring. :T

I'm not sure I could go the whole year, but might manage the odd month if I tried hard enough and organised it properly.
this thread has also loads of other tip, which I didn't know about so thanks to everyone else:D

Best of luck
Anna

Wiggly_Worm

Caixta: Go to the Pigsback thread (which is somewhere on the freebies board I think) every day, where some superkind MSEr has posted all the answers, and enter all the quizzes - some of them you get 10 points just for getting it right! I've managed £12 on Pigsback and I've only been doing it a couple of weeks :j

dianadors

Free Food - you can get more later in the year, but theres always something whether you live in the countryside or towns. I'm having a go at Nettle Soup.
http://www.wildmanwildfood.co.uk/

patentgirl

Lauren this is so inspring What a brilliant idea Good luck to you
As a newbie money saver i am picking up lots of tips I have already changed my online order at tescos to the cheap value toliet rolls and I am sure that is just the start.

phil7445

"My second tip is to join quidco and topcashback and do the free clicks every day, you can make on average £20 or so a month for 15 mins of work a day, it is very easy and will give you more money to spend on essentials."

Does Quidco do this? Where on the website is this please? I thought you had to buy stuff to get money back.

One thing you could do on Quidco, if you have a good credit record, is get various credit cards and bank accounts that give money back for successful applications. Money for nothing!! But cut up the cards if you can't trust yourself!

IFA

I'm always a bit wary of "cheap toothpaste". I think Colgate Total is generally considered one of the best by dentists so always try and find a BOGOF for these. Other cheap brands aren't as effective and could actually result in higher dentist bills making a false economy (also, cheap bin bags that fall apart anyone? double bagging..)

Also deoderant, it is important what brand and what price, with Lynx I smell ok all day, cheapo own store brands BO a few hrs later HAHA

I think there should be a "recommendations" thread. ie products that are not only cheap but very effective also Just a thought

Thanks

nomadgirl

Lauren, you are a brave woman and I wish you success. You say that you are able to alter and modify clothes - that is one hell of a useful skill to have as so many people don't have time to do that. A little money-raising sideline, maybe??
My daughter used to buy chuck-out frocks in unusual fabrics from charity shops and convert them into little girls fantasy dresses, the kids got to choose which fabrics they wanted for their dresses. She charged a tenner but often was given twice that!!

Deb_Williams

carolbee wrote:

good luck with this, are you going to keep us posted?

have you read the book by the american woman who tried to live without buying anything for a year? sorry dont know title, she may have been called Judith ??

post below added whilst I was writing!!

The book's called "Not Buying It - My Year Without Shopping" by Judith Levine. I've just read it - it's not bad.

the author and her partner spend a year, literally not buying stuff, with three exceptions - basic food (no convenience), anything needed for their respective businesses, and medicine for their diabetic cat.