Woman bought nothing for an entire year and it changed her life

The ongoing cost of living crisis has got us thinking of ways that we can cut back to save, but few of us would consider buying nothing for a whole year.

But this is exactly what personal financial journalist Michelle McGagh did back in 2015, and her story is being resurfaced as many fear for their futures amid soaring inflation.

Twitter/@mmcgagh

Michelle explained that because of her job, people assumed that she was great with money, but in reality, this wasn't exactly true.

She wrote in an essay for the Telegraph that after spending thousands on 'necessary' things, she decided to commit to an entire spend-free year.

Now, obviously, she did have to spend money on essentials like her mortgage and utilities.

Michelle explained that alongside allowing herself basic toiletries and food, which she budgeted just $35 (£31.44) for, she allowed herself to spend on the following: "mortgage, utilities, life insurance, charity donations, and broadband and mobile phone bills [less than $2,000 (£1,797) a month]."

However, every luxury you could imagine was now off the table.

She said: "But there was no budget for luxuries - that meant no cinema trips, no nights in the pub, no takeaways or restaurant meals, no new clothes, no holidays, no gym memberships, not even a KitKat or cheeky cheesecake from the supermarket. And certainly no flat whites from Pret."

Alamy/Robert Convery

While Michelle's husband initially feared that the challenge was too extreme, he quickly changed his mind when he realised how much his wife was saving by cutting back on all non-essential spends and biking everywhere.

He was also making a saving too - as her food budget was for the two of them.

She explained that her no-spend year allowed her to pay off more of her mortgage, which she was delighted about.

"I'm grateful to have disposable income to save and feel I should make the most of it," she said. "I hope I have encouraged other people to reconsider their spending patterns too."

But there were some downsides to Michelle's no-spend year, and she said she really needed a haircut and new jeans, having worn them in from biking everywhere.

mmcgagh/Twitter

However, while Michelle was delighted with her total saving of $23,000 (£20,662), not everyone was on board with her challenge and her story had its critics.

She said some accused her of 'poverty tourism' but insisted that 'there is a big difference between poverty and frugality.'

"This experiment was not 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."

When Michelle's no-spend year came to an end, she said she didn't have any major urges to spend again, but she did treat her friends to some drinks.

mmcgagh/Twitter

Michelle also treated herself to a plane ticket to visit her father.

Would you consider a no-spend year to beat the cost of living crisis? If you're interested in learning more about how Michelle got on, she actually wrote a book about her experiences which is available here.

Topics: Real Life

Emma Guinness

@guinness_emma