2014 Spending Ban - 100 Days

Found here.

So it's January 1st - which marks the beginning of 2014 and the beginning of my spending ban, and a kind of goal / resolution I will be adhering to. I recently took a trip to the bank to pay off some bills and came out feeling more relieved about having been able to consolidate all of my bank debt into one place and setting up a direct debit to begin paying it off at a much lower interest rate than I'd previously been paying. It's annoying to know that I'll be owing the bank money every month for the next 2 years but I guess I'm now (literally) paying the price of taking out every student money gimmick under the sun whilst I was at university. (Which in hindsight I shouldn't have done as I was working 3 days every week too.)

So that's why I'm going on my ban, to help me help myself. I'm fed up of living from payday to payday (and I get paid every other Thursday, so twice a month), want to fill up my ISA to save for Florida 2016, and be more comfortable with my finances. Truth be told I am rubbish with money, not rubbish in the sense that I'm ridiculously wasteful as I will always have money for bills like the council tax and the water, but money burns holes in my pocket, I feel like I have to spend it, and I'm fed up with that.

So this ban will last from January 1st - April 10th 2014. That's 100 days. 100 days of not spending a single frivolous penny on anything but bills and a calculated budget for food.
Wow.
I can do this.

My rules:

1. I may only buy something if something, or anything remotely similar, is completely gone, and I actually need it - i.e I will only buy shampoo once all the other shampoos in my stash have gone.  
2. I will learn the difference between want and need.
3. I may spend money on other people - i.e for birthdays, treating my Mum to dinner etc, but it has to be a set budget and I will not to go over it. 
4. I will keep all receipts if I do buy something and add up how much I've spent every week and write and update post every fortnight (to coincide with payday). 
5. I will put at least £50 a month into my ISA to start the Florida 2016 fund. 
6. I will not buy any food outside of the weekly shop. 
7. I can keep my subscription to Birchbox as my monthly makeup and skincare treat.

So those are my rules, let's do this!