I’ve been experimenting in ‘lockdown life’ with anything from producing a Beginners Yoga course, to making marks in my art journal, searching job boards, and dipping my toes into admin courses. 

I’ve been recording videos on Youtube over exercising my writing bones on social media, below is a video on my No spend update. You can watch it or read on, scroll to the bottom to see my money goals:

I was someone at school who was bad at Maths, I got an F. Tracking, budgeting, and better personal finance are habits I’ve been keeping up with (except that one month in lockdown I got really lazy) and they interest me.

It’s interesting, fun and something I’m actively learning are all great signs, though I haven’t decided if it’s a hobby for professional purposes yet. 

I was talking with a family member about goals and how this period has made me focused and task-driven. 

My money focus at the start of Covid-19 was signing up for things – Photoshop £10, Skillshare £19, Zoom to teach long classes (£15), an weekly accountability group (£14) and a teachable paid membership (£30). 

My circumstance hasn’t drastically changed, though my thinking around money has and how I positively use it for my mental health and well being. 

I have canceled all of the above.

Saving myself £88 a month. I may go back to Zoom paid if I do longer classes again. 

I get why many small businesses are changing monthly as it’s a great way for income to come in. Though people who are on low income or are reducing expenses will be doing the same and cancelling stuff.

Photoshop is useful though I use Procreate on my iPad now and I paid the exit fee too, Skillshare is great and if I used it more I would still have it, it’s how I learned to navigate Procreate. My class attendance was getting less and less and I was finding little time to plan and prepare an hour and a half class so I switched it up to 40 minutes (where I can use Zoom for free). 

The weekly accountability group was fun for a time though where I thought it was £10 it was more like £14 and I reviewed my accountability is, I need more conversation with ambitious and creative women I connect with! My teachable paid membership is the last to go, sad as I wanted my course to be a big success and cover costs of the membership and allow drip-feed content, though my free course Top 5 Yoga Tools has been popular and I know that money can be used elsewhere.

As mentioned in this video from The Financial Diet on minimalism in lockdown, I also bought myself some new clothes in May onwards, despite my No Spend Year rules I made at the start of 2020. As the months have gone by my basics need replacing and I wanted to change up my style, from T-Shirts and trousers to dresses. From wearing white a lot to darker clothes, patterns, and colours. I want to gradually build up my wardrobe with clothes I love to wear – some are even home-sewn, where I look less like a tomboy and more intentional and feminine. 

I’m enjoying FREE again, picnics in the park (with food I already have) and community yoga classes on offer. 

Read the list of rules below on what’s allowed and what’s not or watch the video on how I’m resetting my no-buy year, with a 6 month reset challenge. 

Top 3 Rules:

1. Buy what needs replacing that I use a lot.
2. Create more (Art, writing, yoga classes, videos) than I consume.
3. Track everything in my notebook so I can see how much I have saved by December no matter how scary or pointless it seems.

Allowed:

• Groceries, petrol, vitamins, cleaning stuff.
• Things that need replacing – new sizes, basics, broken furniture we use daily. 
• Buy clothes – to suit a new style that will wear day to day or for exercise or on a meet up with friends and budget £30 a month.
• Entertainment services such as films use for positive mental health/creative inspiration or to share with my partner.
• Health and fitness classes once a week either free or paid for self-care and flexible muscles. 
• One book a month (if needed, I have some unread). 
• Days out as a family as the two or three of us, usually I find free things to do though as the little one is getting older I want to widen opportunities to learn and experience new places like farms, beaches, galleries. 

Not allowed: 

• Spontaneous purchases eg. Accessories, turban materials
• Purchases that don’t FEEL right
• Track purchases as errors that I’ve done when emotional, bored, or in pain. 
• No clothes I won’t wear ALL THE TIME. 
• No Yoga books (I have enough here for now).
• No home things unless NEEDED an even then use money have saved aside for home, where possible transfer the same amount spent into personal savings. (I go over this more in the video). 

Looking at money broadly has got me interested to review my yearly costs and how much I use them and save for them too. It’s another reason I’ve come off so much social media use when I have a platform here that costs me yearly! 

As it’s 6 months into the year, this is usually a time I put a bit aside for Christmas and Vaisakhi, this is something I will put in next month’s budget. 

My Money Goals 

I like this video with a Finacial Advisor who states 50% of income goes to Bills and Expenses, 30% to savings, and 20% is fun money. She goes onto say it works well to have 1-3 savings pots with different reasons for each, this is where I struggle as I have lots with little bits in!

I can break it down to my top personal savings (excluding what I do save aside for little one):

1. Emergency fund/cash cushion
2. New 5 door care to replace 3 doors (safer with a toddler)
3. Studies 

And savings I also add to regularly: 

1. Yearly bills
2. Home emergency/own place
3. DIY/home projects
4. Holiday
5. Christmas and Vaisakhi 

Let’s see what the next 6 months have in store – lockdown or no lockdown here in London.