Well, we’ve reached the halfway mark of 2020 (can I get a hallelujah?), which means we’re also midway through my first no buy year. I think it’s going well. Then again, I’ve been in lockdown for nearly four months at this point so I couldn’t really buy that much if I tried. Either way, today I’m breaking down my successes and struggles, spending and savings in my June no buy update.
No Buy Year Successes
One of the things I’ve been tracking throughout my no buy year is which products I’ve been using up. Yes, I’ve actually got a spreadsheet dedicated to literal rubbish. The idea is that I can keep tabs on how many products I use up this year and how much money I save by avoiding any makeup-related spending sprees.
I like spreadsheets, ok?
Now that we’ve reached the halfway point of my no buy year, I decided to take a peek and work out the total value of the cosmetics products I’ve used up so far this year. It was shocking!
It turns out that I used up £798 worth of products in the first six months of this year. That means I had nearly £800 worth of products just lying around the house that probably would have gone unused if it wasn’t for my new no buy attitude and project pan challenge. That just goes to show how much money I’ve wasted over the years and how much of an impact this no buy year is having on my finances.
If you want to find out which products I’ve been using up during my no buy year, check out my empties videos over on my Youtube channel.
No Buy Year Struggles
And yet, for all that, my finances did take a bit of a hit this month. It was my last month living in Bahrain and, while we were still on some form of loosey-goosey lockdown there, my friends and I were determined to make as many memories as possible. Memories, it would seem, come at a premium.
Since a lot of places were still closed, one of the best last hurrahs we could think of was a night away at the Sofitel. Lucky for us, they had an excellent bed and breakfast deal on offer. And anyway, making memories and having fun experiences is exactly what I want to spend my money on. So yes I stretched my budget a little more than usual this month, but I definitely don’t regret it.
What I Spent
So it goes without saying then that I spent a lot more in June than I did during my first month in lockdown (you can find the breakdown for that here). Shoutout in particular to the world’s most expensive haircut and the day I found a cocktail bar that was open and threw all my money at it. It had been three months since my last margarita and I have no regrets.
There are also a few unusual expenses in this June no buy update. Firstly, I got a subscription for a Youtube plugin. I also used some of my monthly budget for rent, which is something I never usually do. Then there was the night I rented a movie on Youtube because I genuinely believe I’ve watched everything Netflix has to offer in the last few months.
And yet, despite all those random purchases, I still technically came in under budget!
Total = 246.73 BHD (£518, $654, 577EUR, 883CAD).
So there you have it – my June no buy update. It might not have been the best month in terms of spending and saving, but I used my money to make my last month in Bahrain memorable. And that’s what my money is for!
Now let’s find out how well I can stick to my no buy year during a summer back home in the U.K. I’ll let you know how it goes in next month’s update.
If you don’t use your monthly budget on rent, where does that money come from? I was just researching a no buy year and trying to understand how different people approach it and that comment confused me!
Author
I just don’t include my rent when I’m tracking my expenses because it’s the same every month and there’s no way for me to change it. It still comes out of my paycheque but I don’t include it when I track my spending each month. I hope that makes sense ☺️