All you do is hike, it's so BOOORING

Monday 6th October, 2025

I got my feelings hurt on the weekend, it happens quite a lot actually being a naturally sensitive individual (or so I have been told throughout my 32 years) but I am learning not to take things so personally and remember that it is my choice to feel offended. It's a work in progress. But when I hear "all you do is go to parkrun" and "all you do is go on walks" I can't help but wonder if the person saying these things is really thinking hard about one of the main aspects to both of these activities: they are both free. 

Although I am embarking on a shopping ban/no spend year, we have been reducing our outgoings for quite some time now in a bid to "get in front" of our finances and start to save for our future, for a holiday, for a rainy day. Literally anything. But with my previous terrible spending habits coupled with starting my own business and quitting my quite well paid 9-5, financially, times are tough. I had savings once and my parents have always told me how important it is to have savings and keep them. For me, if I had money I had to spend it. It's not something I am proud to admit. But it's also got me into the position I am in now when I am ready to take this personal finance stuff seriously. 

Sometimes I can't believe that at one point in my life I actually had a mortgage! Wild. 

The things we have been doing and plan to continue doing, are often free. Sometimes we have to pay for parking, but even then we will do a little bit of research first before arriving at our location to see if there are any spots where we can park for free. Honestly, attempting to keep more of our hard earned cash definitely requires more organisation. This is true for many aspects of my endeavours. From days out where I need to make sure we have snacks and meals packed a plenty to ensuring the weekly food shop is ordered so I don't take those little trips to the Co-op to spend £1.85 on four apples when I can get 6 for £1.25 at our usual supermarket.

I am by no means perfect though, having done one of those little shops today! But this blog is here to hold me accountable and to share tips and tricks on how to enjoy life on a budget. Admittedly, I just forked out £39.40 on a shop in said small supermarket chain. However, it was on groceries that were needed - bread, milk, tonight's dinner, snack's for my partner to take to work throughout the week and for my daughter to enjoy after school. A further full food shop will be completed by end of play today for collection tomorrow morning. Honestly, Click & Collect has been a life saver in our household recently. Plus I do make sure I have and use the appropriate membership cards for where I am shopping so I can take advantage of special deals and money off coupons. 

Admittedly, going out walking regularly was part of my weight loss journey. I needed to get my steps in to keep me in a calorie deficit so that I could chip away at the baby weight little by little each week. I took a sustainable approach to my weight loss journey and it took me a little over a year to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I have pushed it further, simply because the activities we started to love have meant my body composition has changed even more. But what started as "walking to lose weight" turned into a need to regularly spend time in nature for my mental wellbeing. Raising tiny humans and starting a business at the same time is not for the faint of heart. I've had to put some serious work into keeping my brain mentally strong so that I don't fall into depression or get consumed by anxiety. It's something I have suffered with in the past and I do recognise the symptoms when they creep in.

Lack of sleep due to co-sleeping and breastfeeding still, taking my little boy out for regular steps and spending time in the woods and amongst the trees really lifts my spirits and re-energises me. Sometimes it's just a walk to a park so that he can play too, other times he's loaded into the baby carrier (which at first I was scared to spend nearly £150 but has been worth every penny) and we go on longer hikes through our local countryside. He loves the cuddles and I love the fresh air and the ability to listen to a podcast, audio book or just take in the noises from the surroundings. 

Last week, apart from any bills that were paid on direct debits, I only spent money when we did a food shop on Friday evening (the weekend shop - does anyone else run out of food by the weekend or is it just me?!) As per one of my original "rules" regarding this shopping ban which is to endeavour to reduce bills where possible, cut my Netflix bill in half by reducing my subscription to the service that includes ads - I honestly don't mind since I am a millennial woman who grew up watching TV with adverts) plus called my opticians to temporarily take off the solution from my regular deliveries. This may only be saving me £3 a month but it means I will actually get through the bottles of solution that have been building here. Because does anyone who wears contacts actually get through three full bottles of solution every 3 months? I still have a bee in my bonnet about having to spend money on contact lenses - it's not my fault that I have poor vision! I do own a pair of glasses so contact lenses aren't necessarily a necessity. However, working out in glasses - ANNOYING. I can't deal with them constantly steaming up!

Going back to my original point, the activities we do are often free. So before being so negative, how about consider the fact that there are many things I would love to do with my family but we simply cannot afford it right now. This isn't a bad thing to me. I have found that I practise gratitude so much more than before for the things we can do and the things we have. I am also exploring ways to help others and be more present in the lives of my loved ones. For example, I had a stash of reusable nappies sitting in my cupboard gathering dust. Over £100 worth, for sure. I could have sold them. Instead they were collected today by a lovely mummy who is expecting her seventh child and who has always used disposable nappies. She wanted to try something better for the environment and I was happy to give her as much knowledge as I could on how to care for her new reusable nappies. In return, I just asked for a pack of disposables for my son and she kindly obliged. Means I don't need nappies on the food shop this week.

I also invited my sister and niece round for a roast dinner last night. I always avoid inviting people round for dinner. In my mind I think "why would anyone want to have dinner here? We don't have a dining room or a table we can all fit around. We will all just be cramped on the sofa in the front room eating our roast dinners on our laps with sofa cushions and Ralph launching broccoli across the room". But I want to be there for my family and that includes Sunday dinners. So I swallowed my pride and invited them for dinner. We had a lovely evening. Harry Potter on Netflix. Laughs all round and Ralph's broccoli mainly landed on my plate. Ian cleared up the rest off the floor!

This no spend year has the potential to enable my relationships to flourish. I think I put too much value in "stuff" and forgot that it's actually time that my loved ones want. So, what I may do is invite you out for a walk. Know that this is because I value you and I want to spend time with you. I want to be there to listen, I want to share stories and things that I have done and learned recently. I want to talk to you about my children and how amazing they are and in turn, hear about your children and what they've been up to, I want to hear about your hobbies and the activities you are choosing to pursue. 

So what have a learnt in my first week of no shopping? 

1. I think about buying things a lot 

2. Not everyone will want to participate in our activities 

3. I can chose to not be offended by this

4. My home is my safe place - loved ones will want to share this space with me

5. I actually really like the things I own

6. I also really love paying kindness forward and will keep pursuing this on this journey

Until next week.