Michelle McGagh is no stranger to writing about the merits of saving. But how much did she really know about her own spending?

Last year, she set herself the challenge of only spending money on essentials for a year. Her challenge to stop “squandering” money became a book called The No Spend Year, and saved her £22,000. Learn the reasons why Michelle did it, what she learned about herself, consumerism and why we spend.

Personal Finance Journalist Michelle has spent more than a decade writing for titles such as The Guardian, City Wire, AOL and Money Observer.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx