About Holly

In early 2008 I was shopping almost every day and spending most of my wages within a week. I wore something new every day, ate out twice a week, and read just about every magazine going. But all this spending wasn’t making me happy and I knew something had to change.

On May 1st 2008 I stopped shopping for a whole year.  I wrote about my experiences at hollyisstoppingshopping.blogspot.com and during that year I paid off around £2000 in debt and saved over £5000.

This blog is about what happens next. I am now free and able to shop again but lessons have been learned and I love finding new ways to save. I’ll never go back to the way I was because I’m no longer addicted to shoes, I’m addicted to savings!

Want to know more about me? Read on!

1. I live in Aberdeen, Scotland.
2. I grew up in Whitchurch, Hampshire, England.
3. But I’d love to live in the States someday.
4. I have nineteen tattoos and they’re all stars.
5. My earliest memory is my Dad shoving snow down my back to stop a nosebleed whilst sledging in the French Alps aged 3.
6. I can’t roll my tongue but I can touch my nose with it.
7. I could easily eat cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and a late night snack).
8. I love baths, they’re my favourite indulgence.
9. I regularly wish for just one more hour in the day.
10. I love wearing my glasses and hardly ever wear contacts (except for gigs, drunk dancing and skiing).
11. I hate smoking and will moan and grump when anyone (dickheads!) smokes near me.
12. When I gave up shopping I missed Sunday newspapers more than new shoes.
13. I love microwave popcorn, especially the buttered kind.
14. I portmanteau so often that I mostly just speak a cross between gibberish and nonsense (or nonserish!)
15. I really enjoy having a great big cry every now and then.
16. I still have my childhood “blankey”, he’s called Numnums.
17. If I have two pieces of toast I like one with chocolate spread and one with honey.
18. I love to read and could easily spend the whole day doing it.
19. Jamie Oliver is my favourite TV chef.
20. I love going to the cinema but hate that it’s so expensive.
21. My favourite film is a French film called Love Me If You Dare.
22. I hate fake tans and love being pale skinned and freckled.
23. I love American TV shows and my favourites are Lost, One Tree Hill, The Wire, The Sopranos, Damages, Grey’s Anatomy, Six Feet Under and Gossip Girl.
24. Oh and 24! Jack Bauer is the man!
25. I wish I could drive but can’t really be bothered to learn.
26. When I was 14 my bedroom was covered in posters of Leonardo DiCaprio.
27. I love baking and cupcakes are my specialty.
28. And I can make a great roast dinner.
29. I go through phases of painting my nails. Sometimes they’ll be bare for months and sometimes a different colour every few days.
30. My first word was Sybil (our cat at the time).
31. I’m allergic to cats now though.
32. I wish I could dance hip hop style but don’t have any rhythm.
33. I have no idea how I manage to eat so much crap and stay thin, I just hope it always stays that way.
34. I love walking in the countryside and being in big open spaces.
35. I don’t like chins or the way that some people’s chins look from the side.
36. I am fascinated by death and love learning about what happens to a body when it dies.
37. But I’m not good at science so could never have a career in this field.
38. When my family moved to a country house aged 15 I hated it. Now I love going to visit.
39. I love dinosaurs much more than is probably normal for a woman my age.
40. I also love robots too.
41. Sometimes I get sad that I don’t have any close female friends, but then I remember how good the guy friends are.
42. I’ve never read Jane Austen and don’t think I ever will.
43. The most I have ever laughed was reading the My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable book with my best friend Paul. I really thought I might be sick from laughter that day.
44. It annoys me that Pop Tarts are only available in the UK in two flavours now and both of them are rubbish.
45. I used to spend hours on the internet shopping online, now I spend hours reading blogs and still get nothing done.
46. I love getting real life snail mail and get rather disappointed if there’s nothing for me on the mat.
47. I love eggs and eat them any way they can be cooked.
48. I never used to run until I watched the London Marathon in 2008, now I love it.
49. Even though I don’t have kids I have read countless pregnancy and parenting books, they’re so interesting!
50. I love online banking and don’t know how people ever managed without it.
51. I think James Corden is so completely attractive.
52. I’m on a never ending search to find the perfect tree for climbing.