She Only Paid For Necessities For A Year And Saved Over $20K

For some, the cost of living isn't necessarily a problem - it's the need for unnecessary things! Every day we spend money at our favorite coffee shops, overload our closets with new clothes, and purchase all the latest technology. For one, personal financial journalist in London, it was all too much. Michelle McGagh decided that she was done spending money. For a whole year she opted out of spending her paychecks on anything that wasn't necessary, and by the end of the year, her bank account was smiling as wide as could be.

Michelle spilled the tea in an essay for Telegraph about her year of non-spending and it was an eye opener to say the least. She only spent money on super adult things like; the mortgage, bills, insurance, and food. Kudos to her! But most of us would break after about a week (especially if there was a sale at the mall). Michelle's got a hell of a lot of willpower, though. 

Her car was a thing of the past, and a bike became her new mode of transportation. She also forbid any sort of luxuries which included gym memberships, holiday purchases, and movie tickets. That's some serious commitment!

She wore her jeans to the point where they were holier than the Pope, and many accused this woman of "poverty tourism." Which is basically when the rich go to poor places. It's kind of like when hipsters visit the bad side of town for the rush. Anyways, Michelle said her experiment was far from that, explaining, "This experiment was not about living in poverty because poverty isn't a choice. I could still pay my mortgage, bills, and food. The last year has been an experiment in extreme frugality and choosing not to buy, rather than not having a choice."

Come the end of her year of tightening her wallet, she saved about $23 thousand! That could be a whole year's salary for some! When it was all said and done, she didn't race to the mall for a quick splurge. All she did was buy her friends some beer, and a plane ticket to visit her grandpa. Clearly, Michelle learned the importance of saving money rather than spending it.

Anyone down to try this out?