I officially finished the first month of my Spending Fast. Did I spend no money for an entire month? No, actually.

When a friend I hadn’t seen in a while called me to ask if I wanted to get coffee in our local park, I said yes. I was too embarrassed to say no because I didn’t want to spend any money. However, instead of getting coffee and cake, as per usual, I ordered just a coffee and brought a cake for us to share. $3

Another friend invited me to visit for the weekend, which would have been completely free, except that one of my tires went flat and had to be replaced. Then I bought myself a sympathy Starbucks en route and ended up getting lost and taking a toll road. $97.43

I got a much-needed eye test and needed to buy glasses and contact lenses. $120

The month had some really positive parts as well. I invited friends ‘round to have a beer in my garden rather than going to the pub, and we enjoyed the few sunny days England blesses us with. I didn’t visit Starbucks again – although Lord knows I wanted to. I stuck to my grocery budget, and made meals from what was left in my cupboards, rather than going over-budget during the last week of the month – this led to some very interesting meals. I went to the gym more often to get the most value for my gym membership. I was able to pay for my flat tire out of my savings and didn’t need to charge it to a credit card.

At the end of my first month, I felt a bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to pay off more debt and that I did, in fact, spend money on my Spending Fast. The first month of my last Spending Fast was more successful, and I can’t help but compare the two. I wasn’t surprised by my cravings for Starbucks – those I remember well! However, I did conquer all of them but one and put that money toward my student loans instead, which was well worth it. Luckily, I make a really good iced coffee. Next month I hope to pay off more of my student loans and to be more open with my friends about what I can and can’t afford to do until I pay those off.

Despite all of June’s unforeseen expenditures, I managed to overpay on my student loans by $555, paying off a total of $1,005.11 this month! If that’s a bad month, I am very much looking forward to seeing what I can do when I don’t have all of these unexpected expenses come up!

To see all of Mandi’s Spending Fast journey posts click on her name at the top of the post, and to follow all of the Spending Fasters click here.

P.S. Ready to get out of debt ASAP? Check out the Spending Fast Bootcamp!