The No Spend Year: How To Live Happily For Free

Description

Michelle McGagh has been writing about money for over a decade. You'd think that would make her a whizz with her own cash, right? Wrong! Spending with abandon and ignoring bank statements were her modus operandi. Just because she wasn't in serious debt, apart from her massive London mortgage, she thought she was in control. She wasn't. Then Michelle discovered minimalism and sold 80% of her belongings. This was the first step to reining in her finances, and the second was to apply minimalism to her spending habits with a year-long spending ban. The aim: to pay off a huge chunk of her mortgage. She pays her bills and she has a minimal budget for her weekly groceries and household essentials but otherwise Michelle doesn't spend any money at all. She is finding creative ways to get the things she needs, to travel and to still be able to enjoy her time. Not only has she saved money but she is happier: no longer feeling the desire to buy things all the time or feeling the pressure of being sold. Her relationship with money, with things, with time, with others has changed for the better. This book is perfect for people who are by no means badly off but who often find themselves desperately waiting for pay day and wondering how on earth they frittered away their salary, who spend over GBP650 a year on their daily latte, who pop into Tesco Extra for a pint of milk and come out with GBP20 of random shopping, who never read their bank statements and who would like to learn how to set themselves up for a better life, buy their own home or prepare for their children's future or retirement. The No Spend Year is honestly written and talks about money in an approachable and entertaining way. Interspersed throughout are really brilliant personal finance tips and life hacks about interest, mortgages, savings, spending less to help you live a more financially secure life too.

Author description

Michelle McGagh is a freelance personal finance journalist who has been writing about money for over a decade for titles including The Guardian, City Wire, AOL and Money Observer, as well as regular TV appearances as a financial commentator. Michelle lives in London with her husband Frank and their huge mortgage.