The weekly shopping challenge - origins.

I wish I had of documented all of my experiments and challenges that I ran for the last few years, as a lot were fun to do. The year I realised that putting loose change into savings jars was not actually money saving was an interesting one to say the least.

I was working at the time with families facing hardship in a local children’s centre, I ran community outreach sessions to help people apply for charitable grants.
It was in this year that I encouraged others as well as myself to look at our personal finances and work them out on a weekly basis (either on paper or a digital spreadsheet.)
This was required for the charity applications, and was often quite intrusive and revealing about personal debts, habits and in some cases addictions.

For myself, This was the first year I really broke down our finances into this format digitally so we could really make sense of how much our bills such as utilities, home payments and even the TV licence actually cost if we were paying them week by week.

For a few families I worked with, they had payment cards and accounts that needing paying weekly so many were already familiar with this, but I had never listed my own income and outgoing in such a way, and took a lot of pleasure in building that data.

It was at that point I decided that maybe I could have more control over our weekly shopping bill. 
This was inspired by a group online who regularly challenge themselves yearly, with an aim to keep food and grocery costs down as much as possible, reducing the cost of the weekly shop.
Inspiring people to waste less food, spent less money, be open to shopping around, trying alternative brands and not overspending when regular discounts occur.

The plan :
In the starting year I wanted to manage my shopping bill for a family of five and then try to reduce that outgoing amount where possible - taking it forward each year moving the goalpost. 

The method :
For a whole year I visited the cash point on a Monday morning, (my spreadsheet ran from Mon-Sun) and withdraw the same amount of money each week. I felt handling cash and having the physical evidence would be interesting to see. 

I cleaned out and labelled up a set of six glass jars which I stored on a shelf in my bedroom marking them

1p, 2p, 5p mixed / 10p, 20p mixed / 50p / £1.00 / £2.00 / notes. 

Every single time I purchased food, I kept the receipt to tally the weekly sum for the spreadsheet. 
On a Sunday night, all the leftover coins were distributed into the corresponding jars. 

Discoveries and tweeks: 
Most weeks I was able to keep the amount comfortably under my set limit which was the weekly allowance, however.. when we had special events such as birthdays or family visit for meals, I would have to take from the jars upstairs to cover that extra amount. This is why it was so important to actually keep the receipts as evidence to track the costing.

Mid way through the summer I actually took time to look at how much was building up inside the  jars.  I realised quickly that storing up lots of small coins was not great at all - how was I going to use them all if they kept building at the rate they were? So I did my best to use self service tills in the supermarket to try and get rid of the them, swapping as much of the “jarred cash” into notes where possible.

The results: 
The challenge in its first year was not really too hard, in its original form it was ultimately to make sure I did not go over budget, and due to it being based off an average amount we had allocated at that time it was more the effort taken to maintain the project that was the first step. 

A bigger challenge would come the following year when we shave off that original amount, and run that to see how well we would manage. 

The real lesson learned however came from the many conversations I had about my challenge, and how much “money I had saved” during that time. It came up in many discussions I had with friends and family when I explained to them what I was doing, and they mostly all asked the same question - "So how much money have you saved so far?" 

If you use an online search enging to look up "ways to save money" or "money saving tips" some of the first suggestions you hear involved money boxes, glass jars and the sentiment of "saving cash for a rainy day.

When I told them that I actually had not saved any money at all, I had simply 'moved it' confused them. 

"But you have money in jars? so you have saved alot"

Actually no.. I didn't really save anything, it was our allocated budget. I just spent less of it and had alot of it left in jars because all I had done was reduce the amount of money I spent weekly from that designated fund. 

If I had been given a supermarket coupon each week that offered a discount or deal for example..
"£2 off when you spend £10" I could have noted each one of those down as "savings" as that would have been ten pounds worth of good for eight pounds - and I would have indeed saved £2 each time I used a coupon. 

However for this year, I did not use coupons or discounts so I really did not save any money at all. 

This ultimately changed my approach when I talk about saving money. 

I do understand and respect the sentiment of 'saving so much a week to pay for something' but ultimately you are offsetting that cash for a purpose, moneysaving would come from having that item discounted or reduced at the point of purchase, so you would be spending less of your own money off the original retail price of the item. 

For the record.. in 2013 my weekly budget was £100, so £5200 for the year. 
By the end of the year I had £737.24 left offset in jars. 

Here is my data below which as can see was calculated every week and 4 weeks rather than monthly: 

2013 weekly grocery costs

NB - The text on this page is weird.. might have been as I copied and pasted it over so I recognise an issue with the background colour, not overly bothered and I don't have time to fix it. 

December 2020 - Well.. what a year

Covid-19 happened.. .. and that is all I am really going to say on the matter. 

This blog and the previous few posts were actually archived in 2019 - because as fickle as I am, I wrote a few posts then decided not to maintain it anymore. This sums up a lot of the inconsistency I have with personal projects that actually take concerted effort to bring to life.

I started writing a book in 2018 which is paused at 6000 words on my hard drive like a half finished essay plan. I actually started writing this blog in 2019 because I found it back then and it inspired me to write for a few days.

Which leads me to this point in time.. December 26th 2020.

I am going to write and maintain this blog for another year - really for my own personal reflections because I know that I write these words down in a notebook my decluttering habits will kick in and I will eventually throw it in the recycling bin, and the messages will be lost. 

So these are key notes I wanted to make : 

I actually have a small orange book which I keep by my desk which I planned to use as a personal notebook, I started to use it last year when I planned to write a blog and it contains some musings I scribbled to myself, notes about feelings I was having at the time - dates and goal plans or challenges to be set for the year ahead. 

in 2019.. notibly.. 
*TPS - Two purse system, spends vs food budget
*Ethical and frugal clothes shopping
*Mystery saving jar? (This one was crossed out and had a ton of question marks by it.. I will make a future post about this topic in the future) 

for 2020 I planned : 
*Spends vs food budget (again - but this got crossed out because of the issue I had with covid and supermarket shopping)
*Ethical and frugal clothes shopping
*Maintain capsule wardrobe, donate & sell
*Decluttering

There were also notes where I had tallied bags of donations to local charity shops. 

December 2018 into all of 2019 we donated 43 bags including two tower drawer sets, 
and in 2020 we donated 14 bags, considerably less but the previous years clean out had been substantial. 

2020: With the Covid-19 restrictions in the UK, I was happy to stay home and spend less money which we invested into decorating the hallway and landing. I scrapped the shopping challenge as in some cases I did much larger shops rather than frequent smaller ones, trying to stay as safe as I could for both myself and everyone else by not lingering in supermarkets for longer than really required. 

It was also the year we spent the least amount of money on clothing, as we used everything we had in rotation, apart from the children, who had a growth spurt and needed almost complete new wardrobes. 
You could say that the clothes that they own now are almost a capsule wardrobe like mine now, but they have had more choice over the items they do wear as they selected them via online shopping instead. 

Over the next few days I will be updating my book and adding the 2021 challenges here for you to see with a little more context and explanation. 

Decluttering Stuff - Part 1 - Music

I was born in the late 70's living my early childhood years in the 80s.. and as you can relate had some of what I consider the best music to grow up with. (I will also accept that anyone growing up in a different era will claim the same thing - and that is okay too!) I took on quite a lot of my early musical influence from my parents. I spent hours going through every inch of their vinyl collections. My mum was a Wham and Culture Club fan - very much new romantics and mainstream pop, slowly evolving with a love of Cher, Simply Red and Celine Dion. My dad liked Big Country, U2 and Eurythmics. My Grandads collection was my favourite however, he had the most interesting things.. from 60s/70s, Country and Western, Elvis, to Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds, Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles. He also had a large collection of sounds of nature - wind, rainfall etc which I also cherish deeply. Family parties used to see everyone doing the Jive and all my uncles arm popping to Status Quo.. Good times!

So, like most 80s and 90s kids.. I learned how to record vinyl onto cassettes - transferring all these wonderful albums so I could use them in my Sony Walkman. I also used to scramble to record the top ten charts off the radio on a Sunday night - I know you were not supposed to do it, but I think everyone did.. and it was pretty frugal to be honest!

In the 90s I grew up loving East 17 and my sister loved Take That, so we had a pretty good girly rivalry going there, We purchased every single they released, and had them in our bedrooms on display with pride. I moved on from that loving Everything but the girl, Cranberries, Bjork, Alanis Morrisette and when out clubbing - Nightcrawlers.

At the peak of my Cranberries fangirling.. I purchased a £500 - five disk multi changing CD player. I was almost 18. I absolutely loved it and it became the centre of my world. Music was such a huge part of my life, as I started to attend events with friends. We used to gather together listening to music and it was really a significant part of our identities at the time. We liked to be recognised for being part of that dance scene and felt that It defined us. In each house that I lived in, that stereo was centre hub in my room. More important than a television or book shelf. Then sadly in 1999 my flat was broken into, and it was stolen - along with it my small but historic collection of CDs and cassettes. There was a lot of mixed emotion around this, and I made considerable life changes after this event. The CD changer had been faulty for a while anyway, working temperamentally after many years of good service.. and because of the style of the system, the remote control was essential for switching between any of the built in features and accessing the radio tuning system. Whoever took my stereo didn't realise this as they didn't take that too. Rendering it pretty much useless.

After that loss, my love of music continued but switched to digital content. Rather than replacing the stereo, I simply started to watch music TV channels, primarily Kerrang which triggered a long lasting love of  Evanescence, Linkin Park, Papa Roach and Korn. I also bought my first PC around this time (1999) so had access to music online too. I can confidently say that over the past twenty years I have bought less than fifteen CDs because of having no music system other than my PC to play them on. Most purchases were to honour the bands I loved and I felt obliged as a fan to support the artists in this way.

As of today I own no physical music CDs. These are photos of the last few albums I had kept, of which I traded into CEX this year, ready to bring joy to someone else who buys them.

Evanescence

Alanis Morrisette

I now have a small treasured collection of iTunes, Five Finger Death Punch, Celldweller, Scandroid, Blue Stahli, and Pind are a few regulars that I randomise through.

Like my Grandfather I also enjoy ASMR sounds such as rainfall, ocean waves and have bought a few larger albums to randomise through which I use for relaxation. I love a bit of white noise now and again too. Listening to the sounds of space and nature can be quite the experience.

So.. why all this information?

Well... when I examined my connections to stuff, and things that I get real pleasure and joy from, the number one thing on the top of my list of THINGS I love.. is music!

There has been varying theme tunes playing through every part of my life. Music has inspired me and evoked some of the most powerful emotions I have ever experienced. It has been a deep nurturing source of enlightenment for my soul, right to my very core, and is by far my favourite ultimate thing. I remember times, events and people through songs, and love that we as a species are capable of creating such beauty. I couldn't list every song or artist I love here.. the list would be endless.

So in light of all this, you’ll understand how letting go of my CDs recently was an odd sensation because of my attachment to music. I didn't declutter them during any of our house moves, and carried them with me for years. Giving them a place on a bookshelf, knowing I would never use them. I was holding onto the sentimental memories of times gone by, yet simply listening to those songs brought back all the joy and nostalgia - and I could find all that content online for free.

I will never buy another physical CD for myself, but will continue to buy digital copies of a song I want to listen to when I am out of the house. This choice made easier because I am also a huge YouTube fan. I access most new music there and I love finding niche little bands from far reaches of the globe. I have linked my playlist here, but I have not actually added to that for a while because its pretty awesome as it stands! I tend to flick between Synthwave, Metal and Hardstyle often.

I was asked once if I could be any thing or anyone in the world other than myself what would I be, and I responded that I would love to be a piece of music. If I was asked that question again today, I would still give the same answer.

I do sit and wonder if all the stuff my relatives owned over their own lives is still in their homes.
Has your music cds, vinyl, cassette tapes either been destroyed, sold, donated.. or packed away in a cupboard somewhere?

Time to reflect a little.

Minimalism and Frugal living - My core values.

Hello again,

I have been wanting to update this blog for a few days now, but family life, work and school all take up quite a lot of my free time. I am beginning to make progress though, and plan to dedicate more time to telling my story this year. 

I want to start off today's post by explaining firstly that I am a Minimalist, and my next few blog posts with focus on my personal connection with 'things and stuff.' Mostly in relation to material items that I have had in my home, or still use daily.

The definition of minimalism is quite extensive as it means very different things to people. I actually was unaware of the label that can be applied to this type of living until 2017. It just happens to be that over the years my husband and I have maintained this lifestyle, and now realise we are part of a growing movement with many other people who also actively choose live this way. One core element of minimalism is a process called decluttering where time is taken to step back and explore all the material possessions that are in the home, and in many cases - donate, sell or dispose of things that no longer add value or purpose to everyday life.

Some people have make it a game and challenged themselves to get rid of things. Others have been forced to address and deal with other peoples possessions after sudden death and loss of a loved one. Divorce, relocation for work, or being simply tired of constant cleaning can also be triggers for stepping back and saying enough is enough! I could list hundreds of reasons for why people begin this journey, for us as a growing family with small children moving home, it made sense to do this each time we relocated. Each time we reassessed all the things that we owned, and said goodbye to items we longer needed - making sure to recycle and donate where possible.

We moved house three times between 2008 and 2016, the last move being cross county, so by then - we had stripped our 'stuff' back to what we thought at the time were core essentials.

For me personally then (and these views are my own) these are my core values and something I try to strictly maintain as a minimalist.

• All things in our home have to have a purpose or use, otherwise I question why they are there.
• I take pride in simple living, reducing clutter making for an easier stress free life.
• I try not to consume or use more than our family needs - strictly living within our means.
• I do not judge people by the things they own, I find that to be very superficial, instead I examine people on how they act around me and towards my family.
• Time spent together as a family is the most valuable commodity of all, you can buy almost anything but you can't put a price on time. So with everything I do - from cleaning, decorating to shopping I ask myself first ' How will this impact my family - and will this add value to our lives?'

Now this next part is where you will begin to see the complexity of my lifestyle kick in.. in regards to the fact that I also try to maintain a frugal lifestyle as much as I can. Often this leads to bulk buying of goods to save us money long term on essentials that we as a family will use, but that means an influx of 'stuff' into a home which I am trying to constantly empty.

My frugal choices are quite often associated with old style money saving - things our parents and grandparents did to cut the costs of living expenses.

• I never waste food - cooking and purchasing only what we will eat. I am really hardcore when it comes to the weekly shop and have meal planned in the past.
• I try to mend, make do and repair everything - if we can do it ourselves, we will. We live in a world where so many people just throw away clothes because they have a small tear or rip, leading to over consumption and wastefulness.
• I donate to charity a lot and admit that I am a huge fan of thrift purchasing, In 2018 I began my own personal transition of only buying clothing from charity shops. For 2019 onward I have maintained this and will never again purchase clothes from current retailer due to the sheer amount of amazing quality clothing that is out there to be loved. Many of the items I buy second hand come with the original clothing labels and price tags still attached! I would love to maybe work out just how much money I actually save by doing this, but the savings I make isn't the only driving factor. I love the idea that I am getting joy out of something someone else didn't want anymore. I hope that my donations resonate that to others out there too!
• I am like a warhorse when it comes to personal finances, and this is not a joke.
  I know where every single penny is spent - and so does my husband. We have regular sessions where we sit and look over our data - and I have around 8 spreadsheets I maintain simultaneously which I love to monitor and feedback information on monthly. In addition to that for fun, I used to keep paper journal spending diaries before reducing that paper clutter down and digitising that content too. I log every thing we spend - and often spend quite a long time considering purchases before we actually make them, to see how they will add value to our lives.
• I coupon and comp.. which in short means I use money off coupons and enter a lot of competitions as a hobby. Over the years I have saved hundreds of pounds by using cashback sites, discount codes off large item purchases - and have won super prizes which we have used, enjoyed or gifted to friends and family. (I will discuss this in greater depth at a later date)
• I recycle as much as I can, being resourceful at turning waste into something useful.
• I do not like buying gifts for other people and hate having gifts bought for me. So I no longer give gifts to friends and actively ask for them to not gift things to me. I would rather spend time with them than buy stuff they wont need, want or use. This is a complex mix of minimalism and frugal living - and there are a few individuals in my life who have an issue with this. Some may think I am cheap for living this way and feel that out of obligation we should want to give gifts. I have come to completely reject this notion and really hate its social construction by marketing companies. In the past, I used to care what others thought of me in light of this, and it has caused considerable heartache when I began this transition. I had a family party cancelled one year because 'there was no point of having a party if there was to be no gift trading' which was simply awful. Not a single recognition for the fact that the children and adults may actually want to spend time together to celebrate and have fun. So.. as each month goes on, I feel more confident in my decision to stop gift giving - and I often remind myself why I am doing it. That is because - I want to spend our money on my family to add value to their lives. My friends being around me - add value with their presence.. not their presents!

Outlining some of the core values I hold has been refreshing, and a good reminder of who I am.
These are not the kinds of things you really tell people, and as much as they know you as an acquaintance or a friend, they never know the personal intricacies of your life. Now you know a little more about me.

My next few posts will really be exploring my personal connections to things, which I am going to label as 'stuff.' Our lives are shaped by the material goods around us, and I will be reflecting on the things that I love, use and need.

Love and luck.

New beginnings - Welcome!

Hello and welcome to The Penny Purse.

In 2013 I used Blogger to document a 'year in the life' of our family's financial habits and spending. This blog was called 'Into the postbox' which I purged in 2016 as part of a digital declutter session. I regret this deeply, as it was a reflection on a huge project I maintained for well over a year and really paved the way to explain habits I adopt today. The content covered a 'new years challenge' I set myself to reduce to amount of money we were spending primarily on groceries and food shopping. Sadly, with the archive gone, the only real physical evidence I have left of this now, is the spreadsheet of finances and thumbnail photograph of all the receipts - as seen below. The practical side of this however has never left me, as I still maintain this challenge and have done every year since its first pilot run.

2013 - A years grocery & Misc spending receipts.

The journey towards actively challenging  spending habits is one that I am very passionate about and I will revisit this once more, this time without erasing it from history. 

So let me introduce myself.

I am 40 something years old.. and I live in the UK with my husband. We have three children together. Our eldest daughter is living away studying at University, and our two younger children are in primary and secondary school. I have studied Sociology and Social Policy with the Open University, and historically volunteered with The Citizens Advice Bureau. I have always had an interest in finance since I was young enough to start counting money, and as I grew up - understanding how all encompassing money was to everyone. Not only for survival, but for the push and pull of consumerism, identity, social status and freedom.

I don't consider myself to have an overly impressive 'Moneysaving CV' so I am not going to pad this part by saying how excellent I am with personal finance.. partly because the reason I want to share my story online is to really highlight the difficulties and interesting parts of my journey with you all to experience.

My personal values and beliefs (when it comes to spending and saving money) often cause inner conflicts and double standards, and I am hoping that by writing about this, I will be able to justify the decisions that I make and reassure others that they are not alone.

I have a road map planned out for things to come and I have a ton of content to cover, and I am very excited to get started. So with this brief introduction done. Check back for my next post which is coming soon.

Love and luck,