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Challenge: Save £1000/$1000 in 30 days update

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This is an update to a challenge I set in March is Money Month – to save £1000/$1000 in the next 30 days.  Just because the official challenge is in it’s 3rd week, doesn’t mean that you can’t take part yourself.  Go to the article and read all about -  this post could seriously improve your wealth.

With a new baby on the way, I thought I’d take the challenge myself and see what I could save and help prepare for the extra cost of the little one.

So this is where I’m at so far – all savings are annualised:

  1. TV – I’ve down grade my TV package and taken off the movie package which we weren’t making enough use of. Saving £16per month £192 for the year. Total saved £192
  2. Sort through old papers - routing through some old paper work that had been stored at my parents, I discovered a bank book which I’d forgotten about. This had £335 in it. Total saved £527
  3. Swapped my car – with a new baby on the way we need more space and have swapped our sports car for an cheaper estate saving £2832 a year – total saved £3,359
  4. Ebay – we’ve cleared the garage and sorted through our CD’s/DVD’s, some old clothes and some things we just don’t use anymore – bringing £80 – total saved £3,439

It’s amazing what you can save when you put your mind to it.

So, how are you doing towards the Save £1000/$1000 in 30 days challenge?

Empire Building Kit

Related posts:

  1. Challenge: Save £1000/$1000 in 30 days
  2. How to save £5,000 in 30 days
  3. 50 ways to save £50/$50 per month
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8 Comments »

  • Julius Kuhn-Regnier said:

    Great idea. It’s funny how everyone is trying to save money. I am saving money myself but the thing is that I am just reading the book “I will teach you to be rich”. Do you know it? It’s great and shows people how they can save lots and lots of money.
    .-= Julius Kuhn-Regnier´s last blog ..What Traveling through Scotland Taught Me about Blogging =-.

    Matthew Needham Reply:
    April 13th, 2010 at 7:09 pm

    Hi Jules, yes I’ve read it, it’s a good book. Follow the steps and you’ll be making a fortune before you know it!

    - 13 April 2010 at 8:48 am
  • Eleanor Edwards said:

    Wow Matthew, you’ve done really well. Can tell you’re an accountant ;) I’m impressed.

    As I tweeted earlier, our progress here has been a lot slower. We saved on our Sky package (went from £50 per month to £20 per month) and actually, for nine months, had no Sky at all so that alone has saved us loads. Here’s my maths:

    9 months @ £50 = £450 saved + the remaining 3 months of the 12 months @ £30 per month saving = £90 which I think might give us a grand saving total of £540 for the year from that.

    I had the plumber out today fixing our hot water. He tells me we need to think seriously about getting a new boiler. Fortunately, thanks to my husband’s wonderful money management, we have the savings in place to pay for this otherwise painfully expensive job. The reason I mention it here though is that the plumber says it will save us £350 per year on our gas costs. Can I add that to the grand total?

    If so, my puny effort is starting to look a little bit more healthy ;)

    Add in the couple of takeaways we’ve skipped this month and provided I use the washing line instead of the tumble dryer for the rest of the month and we might just about hit your £1000 target.
    .-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..Give A Brick: Making the impossible, possible (but we’re gonna need your help) =-.

    Matthew Needham Reply:
    April 13th, 2010 at 7:06 pm

    Hi Eleanor, thanks for sharing your progress. Sounds a sensible plan to replace your boiler. Might also be worth getting your insulation done too. The Energy Savings Trust found us a scheme which cost £49 to have the loft done to standard saving 25% off our utility bills. Good luck!

    - 13 April 2010 at 2:08 pm
  • Moon Hussain said:

    Wow, Matt, great job. I hope to do something similar in late June when I actually make the move across the US… I will cut down the bloat.
    .-= Moon Hussain´s last blog ..Fun Friday Round-Up: Delicious Blog Chowder! =-.

    Matthew Needham Reply:
    April 13th, 2010 at 7:07 pm

    Hi Moon, thanks for commenting, you definitely want to cut back on the stuff that’s not important or you no longer use.

    - 13 April 2010 at 5:58 pm
  • Phil Johnson said:

    Hi mate, just come across this post, and I think its awesome!

    It is pretty damn scary just how much money we waste, but it’s equally motivating when you do actually bite the bullet and save it.

    I’ve actually just today decided that I’m going to do something really extreme…

    I’m a bit of a hoarder. I get it from my mother, who got it from her mother and so on. I keep everything as I think “I’ll get some use out of that one day”… regardless of the fact I have never used half of the stuff I have. And so, I’m setting up a nice little site at the moment that I have aptly called “sellmylife.me.uk”…

    and thats exactly what I’m going to do. EVERY item I posses that I do not use/have not used within the last 2 weeks I will be listing and selling.

    I estimate that this will bring in around £3000 in total!! And I’ll probably keep it going afterwards to sell stuff as I get bored of it/upgrade and improve etc. Its a bit of a ‘clearing all the clutter out of my life’ kind of exercise :]

    Thanks for the top post mate… it’s inspired me to take my project one step further.
    .-= Phil Johnson´s last blog ..Choosing the right name for your business =-.

    Matthew Needham Reply:
    April 15th, 2010 at 7:05 am

    Hi Phil thanks for stopping by.

    I’m sure everyone can slim down their costs a bit. I was only thinking on my walk to the station people who say they can’t save are no doubt spending £2 a day on a coffee, when they could be putting £40 a month into a savings account.

    Sounds like a great plan you have. I’m looking forward to hearing all about it.

    - 13 April 2010 at 10:14 pm