An economical British woman told how to live a year without buying anything new
33-year-old Katie Musgrave has earned the title of the most economical mother in the UK — she lived the outgoing 2017 without buying anything new. At the same time, the British woman has two small children, and she is expecting a third.
A year ago, during the New Year holidays, Katie decided to take her expenses under strict control. She is tired of the family buying things that are then practically not used. Therefore, she vowed to herself not to buy anything new for herself and her daughters for a whole year (this rule did not apply to her husband).
Katie with her children: 4-year-old Eliza and 2-year-old Ariadne at their home in Loddiswell, Devon.
For a whole year, the woman remained true to her word and bought only diapers for her youngest daughter and food. New things were forbidden for her: all this time she accepted things as gifts or made purchases in second-hand shops.
Eliza and her sister Ariadne are playing with a dollhouse that their mother bought on eBay for 10 pounds.
Only once she spent money on new things — she bought shoes for her daughters in the summer. However, it was a sale purchase, here the thrifty woman turned out to be true to herself.
A mother with many children believes that without new purchases, she and her family did not live worse, but even vice versa:
Miracles of economy: a set of almost unworn children's shoes that Katie bought for her daughters in local second-hand shops.
According to Katie, this tactic helped her and her husband, 36-year-old Chris, save about 700 pounds (54 thousand rubles), thanks to which the family was able to afford a good vacation and went to a ski resort.
However, by Christmas, the task became more complicated, because now Katie is expecting her third child, and it's not easy to find maternity products in second-hand stores, and it became difficult to shop at all — I had to order goods online. Nevertheless, she was able to buy used gifts of good quality.
Inspired by her successes, Katie launched a website for the same enthusiasts, where she gives practical advice on controlling the family budget. The thrifty mom hopes that millions of people will join her project called One Baby Owner. She believes that the cult of shopping is imposed by corporations, and at home people have a lot of unused things of good quality gathering dust. Now Katie is going to find investments for her project.