I’ve saved more than £24,000 in a year with a no-spend challenge – the rules are tough but it’s so worth it

• Jessica Barclay, from Newbury, reveals how she managed to save over £24,000
• The mother-of-one set her self a strict four rules no spending challenge in 2022 
• READ MORE: Dad berates Tesco after buying ‘the world’s most expensive milk’ 

A thrifty mother has revealed how she has saved more than £24,000 with a ‘no spend’ challenge, following just four simple rules. 

Jessica Barclay, 35, had ‘drained’ her savings over the past few years due to a combination of maternity leave, Covid and the rising cost of living. 

Now the mother-of-one, from Newbury, has described how she got back on her feet after she decided to test herself from January 2022. 

Taking on a challenge involving no unnecessary spending, Jessica and her partner Harry, 43, followed four strict rules when it came to money. 

Jessica Barclay, (pictured with daughter Felicity) from Newbury, reveals how she managed to save over £24,000. The mother-of-one set her self a strict four rules no spending challenge in 2022

Jessica, 35, explained how she had ‘drained’ her savings over the past few years due to a combination of maternity leave, Covid and the rising cost of living

Along with their five-year-old daughter Felicity, the family managed to save an incredible £24,000 over the course of a year, averaging at £2,000 a month. 

While it was difficult the challenge encouraged the family to get crafty with activities, homeware and day-to-day life.  

Jessica, who runs life coaching service The Lifestyle Coach UK, said: ‘I don’t think Felicity noticed, except that she now does spot free things because “that’s Mummy’s favourite price.”‘ 

She continued: ‘I’m a very black-and-white person, so I flourish with strong clear rules. 

By setting herself a strict four rule ‘no spending’ challenge, Jessica cut costs by upcycling free furniture using reduced paint and a broken loo seat for mixing and upcycling an old trunk (that was gifted by a friend years ago) into a practical and stylish linen cupboard

Creating their own fun, rather than buying new toys Jessica’s daughter Felicity is pictured here building a sofa fort 

‘I made four columns – things I could buy new if I couldn’t get them for free, things I could only get second-hand, things I couldn’t buy that I might convince myself were allowed and bonus rules to cover any grey areas.’ 

The mother-of-one pinned her four rules up in her office so that she could constantly be reminded of them for the first year. 

And by sticking to them she said: ‘As a household we have reduced our monthly expenses by over £2,000 a month.’ 

Jessica has broken down the four rules she made herself and shared how they helped her reign in spending.

THE FOUR RULES FOR SAVING 

CAN BUY – NEW

The 35-year-old explained: ‘These were things like food, soap and a couple of items I knew had or were about to fall apart and were essential.

‘Most of the items were pretty obvious – of course I’m going to buy toothpaste – but the exercise of creating the list was very eye-opening to making us think about what we really need and whether were there things in our lives we viewed as essentials that just aren’t.’

Jessica, from Newbury, revealed that there were a lot of items on her list in the first year that she didn’t end up buying. 

She continued: ‘At the end of 2021, my swimming costume of four years fell apart completely, do I allowed myself to buy a new one. 

‘I also allowed myself to top up my basic make up if I needed and in the end I only replaced my eyebrow pencil.’ 

CAN BUY – SECONDHAND

The family were mainly looking only to buy consumable things but there were a couple of items for Felicity that Jessica and Harry agreed to buy alongside one or two items for the house. 

Jessica said: ‘We agreed if we sold the current one and could buy the replacement second-hand for less, it was allowed.

‘I had items on the list the first year that we didn’t buy in the end and were then a lot stricter with the second year as we became braver.’ 

CAN’T BUY

Strict no-no’s for the family were needless purchases like new clothes for events or brand new furniture – and the rule has firmly stuck.

The thrifty life coach said: ‘This is a list of things I knew I would try to convince myself were essential during the year and really weren’t.

‘We tapped into our original motivation when we wrote these rules, so we could use them to support our willpower as time went on.’

She explained: ‘I’m ADHD so I am very spontaneous and I found myself reading and rereading this list a lot.

‘Most of this list became a habit to not buy over the year and didn’t have much for the second year.

‘[After the challenge] I’m now pretty sure new furniture will forever be a no-no. I’ve never loved my furniture more and it’s pretty much all reduced and upcycled pieces.

‘Generally buying to make myself feel better on any level is now a big no-no too.’

Family fun came in the way of building sofa forts and creating handmade cards for birthdays rather than splashing out, and furniture was upcycled from home if it needed refreshing.

BONUS/GREY AREA

For the fourth column, Jessica made some firm rules to stick to.

She said: ‘I could only replace items when they had run out, and would have to wait 72 hours before deciding to replace an irreparably broken item.

‘I would always look to borrow or find a freebie before buying something.

‘Wish list items need to have been on the wish list for at least 14 days. Our wish lists are used if people want to get us something for birthdays, though we prefer a no-gift policy.

‘I would also ask what else I could use that I already own, before buying a new or second-hand or even a freebie item.’

After the successful year, the family are continuing with the challenge for 2023.

Jessica said: ‘The best thing I learned was that I can’t buy my way out of my worries or problems.

‘I actually really enjoyed the challenge. It made me think differently about what and why I buy and spend.

‘Any change can be tricky, but we needed to make changes to how we spend, so that made something we had to do into something fun.’

Jessica explained that she and her husband Harry, 43, did make some exceptions on their strict rules for their daughter Felicity. But insisted that anything they could get for cheaper second hand was what they would do

Jessica has broken down the four rules she made herself and shared how they helped her reign in spending

Jessica replaced a gate with a piece of scrap fence from her neighbours. It was acts like this that helped the family save over £24,000 in just one year 

Jessica has learnt to draw by making cards for her daughter and her friends birthdays. She got free blank cards and envelopes from Olio

The thrifty mother-of-one said that she would recommend the challenge to other families but explains that the rules must be set around who you are and what you want to get out of it. 

She said: ‘Be ready to learn some scary truths about yourself.’  

Going further, Jessica and Harry have become more conscious and aware in general.  

For others looking to try it out, she recommends: ‘Write everything down at the start. Your reasons why, your goals, your rules, and any exceptions. It’s amazing to have it to refer back to over the year.’

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