Well, I made it through my first full month of lockdown. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Netflix and cookie dough for getting me through. While a month spent confined to my apartment might not have done a lot for my tan, sanity or waistline, it did make my no spend challenge a heck of a lot easier. So today let’s talk about what I spent during lockdown and run through my April no buy update.
No Buy Year Successes
I suppose the one resounding success of this particular no buy month was that I came in way under budget. I’m not sure how much credit I can really take for that, though, given that I couldn’t leave my apartment.
No Buy Year Struggles
I think it’s fair to say that being on lockdown is a struggle in itself. Sure, I wrote about all the fun and productive things you can do during lockdown in an earlier post, but, since I’m an expat, I don’t have most of my stuff here in Bahrain with me. I don’t have my sewing machine, my books, my craft box or any of the other things I’d love to get my hands on right now to help me pass the time.
So I cheated. I bought stuff.
For the sake of my sanity, I went out and treated myself to some baking supplies. I know in my no buy year rules I vowed not to buy any ‘stuff,’ but desperate times call for desperate measures and I’d definitely classify a global pandemic that’s forced the entire world to close for business as a desperate time. And if I need to bake and eat two dozen muffins to get through that, then so be it.
What I Spent
It’s amazing how much money you can save when you cut pretty much everything out of your life. True, it was out of necessity rather than choice, but it’s a saving nonetheless.
Things to note about my spending for this no buy month include the obscene amount I spent on takeaway food (but y’all, the restaurants are closed and I’m not a good cook), 10BHD that I somehow lost and the fact that I bought myself an ugly cactus cup to drink juice out of. Waste of money? Probably. But it brings me a lot of joy.
As per always, I’m going to give the breakdown in Bahraini Dinar (BHD). My monthly budget is 250BHD.
Total = 129.530BHD (£277, 343USD, 316EUR, 478CAD).
See what I mean? Clearly the best way to save money is to just sit at home and not do anything or go anywhere. And if you can resist spending such an alarming amount on takeout pizza then all the better!
In all seriousness though, my April no buy update goes to show how much money you can save when you eliminate things like days out, cocktails with friends and eating out at restaurants. If you strip it back to the absolute basics and stay true to a strict no buy year, I can see how you could have thousands over the course of the year.
For me, though, the aim of my no buy challenge is to stop wasting money (and space) on stuff so I have more money to put towards experiences and making memories. So, while it’s mind blowing to see how much extra money I can save when I eliminate those things from my budget, I’m definitely going to be reintroducing them again as soon as it’s safe to do so.
