Get On A Spending Diet To Turbocharge Your #52WeekChallenge Savings

When we had our last #52WeekChallenge Twitter chat, I did a poll that showed some fantastic things (many people are still on course), and that some people were either lagging or had fallen off the wagon. That’s the thing though. The savings habit is a journey. Sometimes we fall off the wagon or we lag behind, but we must never stop trying.

If you have fallen off and would like to get back onto the challenge, or are lagging and would like to catch up, this post is for you!

In February, I went on a spending diet that saw me save close to 20,000 shillings in one month, without giving much really. Well, I did eat out less than usual, but I also cooked in more!

This July, myself and a couple of friends on our mostly inactive Spend Diet Telegram Group are going on another spending diet, to give our savings a boost.

How to participate: 

a) Pick one or two areas of discretionary spending where you control what you spend, by altering your behaviour. My areas of discretionary spending are house shopping (especially at the supermarket where I just tend to pick stuff), and eating out. Last week I  bought lunch twice, and for no good reason! 🙁

b) Set a saving target for the month. It must be 10% or more. For example, if you usually spend 12,000 bob on eating out, commit to save at least 2,000 shillings this month.

c) Define the changes you need to make in your daily behaviour to be able to reduce your spending.

d) Compile this in the Notes app of your phone, and share with me or an accountability partner.

e) Start saving.

My targets

In the spirit of leading by example, here are my savings targets:

i. Eating out budget: Kshs 12,000. Target saving: Kshs 3,000. I really need to get serious with my meals planning.

ii. Fuel Budget: Kshs 15,000. Target saving: Kshs 3,000. This is easy to save money on. Usually I max out on the fuel budget when I’m indisciplined about my wake up time, which results in me either having to take a route that is 40km longer, or to sit in traffic for 2 hours.

iii. Supermarket shopping budget: Kshs 12,000. Target saving: Kshs 2,500. My supermarket shopping is a bit deceptive because once a quarter, I spend about 13,000 bob on household supplies, which reduces my weekly expense to 1,000-2,000 depending on how impulsive I am feeling.

iv. Groceries budget: 12,000. Target saving: 4,000. Bulk shopping for the win.

Total target saving: 12,500 shillings

What am I saving for? August is my vacation month and I’m unlikely to have money to deposit for the #52WeekChallenge. I would want to pre-save my August amounts. 

What about you? Would a spend diet do you some good? Join us!