A mum has shared her top tips to save £600 in one month with her 'no spend January'.
Sophie Bradbury, 24, said she committed to saving her family "hundreds of pounds a month" by making small changes to her spending habits. She highlights that the New Year is an extremely important time for people to set saving goals and change how they spend money.
The mum-of-one is taking part in the 'no spend January' challenge where people cut out every possible bit of non-essential spending. As part of the challenge, participants are only allowed to spend money on their rent or mortgage, bills, food, shopping, transport, emergencies, and medication.
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This means non-essential splurges such as takeaways, eating out, shopping, drinks out, furniture, and tickets for days out must be completely scrapped throughout the whole month. Some of Sophie's tips to get through the month include cancelling or pausing non-essential subscriptions.
She also recommends deleting all shopping apps and instead writing down what you want to buy and get it another month. Sophie, a full-time mum and blogger, from Brighton, East Sussex, said: "We are saving to go on holiday, and I looked at our spending.
"We were spending hundreds on things we don't need to. Before I started budgeting, I wouldn't even look at what I was spending, I was scared, but now I look where every penny's going, and I save hundreds.
"No spend January is about encouraging everyone not to spend on non-essentials, to save money, make money or even just to declutter a bit to facilitate that. I've made a calendar of tasks to do every day, and although it's just one month, it can make a huge difference and set you up for a good year."
The blogger - otherwise known as the Millennial Mumma - added: "I found telling my friends and family that I'm doing it was really helpful, since it came out so many people said they were going to do it too and it takes the pressure off and stigma away. You don't have to say no to dinner or anything like that and you can find fun ways to do it together.
"I also have a 'want list', so when I want something I write it down instead of buying it, and nine times out of 10, the next day I would've forgotten about it. Subscriptions as well are so important to double-check.
"They come out on your bank statement just under 'Apple', but when I looked I for some reason had a Duolingo subscription amongst other things I didn't even realise. If I can, I also pause subscriptions that I can live without for a month.
"There's, of course, other important things, like meal planning is essential, and it's also good to make some money from decluttering your wardrobe or doing online surveys. It's lots of things people might not have thought to do before but can make such a difference.
"Above all, keep track of where every penny goes in a spreadsheet if you can, and carry on throughout the year so you can save money and spend it on things you really want."
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