Fundraising for worthy charities is always something to consider doing, and with the cost of living rising and GBP weakening, charities are always looking to raise some extra money. This October, MacMillan Cancer Support is running ‘Go Sober for October’, meaning you go 31 days without a drop of alcohol and help raise some money to support those going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment. <br> <br>
How do MacMillan raise money for this?
You get your friends and family to sponsor you. To sign up, follow the instructions on this page. You can also make a donation yourself to kickstart your fundraiser. <br> <br> Taken from the MacMillan Go Sober for October website, “By going sober this October, you’ll be raising vital funds for Macmillan, so we can continue providing much-needed physical, financial and emotional support to the millions of people living with cancer in the UK.” <br> <br>
How much money could I save by doing this?
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Well, that depends on how much you drink, and how often you go out!
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Let’s say you go to the pub once a week for a few pints with your friends, depending on where in the UK you live the cost of a pint will be different so we’ll use some local averages to work this out.
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Outside of London, the average cost of a pint has risen to £3.95, whilst in London, that’s an average of £8 a pint.
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So say you go to the pub once a week, have maybe 4 pints and call it a night. That’s £15.80 on a night’s worth of drinks outside of London or £32 in the capital. Joining in with Go Sober for October, you would save £63.20 up to £128 over the course of the month.
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But what if you don’t drink beer? Let’s work it out for spirits too.
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This is a little harder to find average prices for, but we’ll use Wetherspoons as their prices are fairly consistent up and down the country, with cities being slightly more expensive than other places but not by a lot. So for this example, a double vodka and coke is £5.15.
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Assuming you have 4 of these and call it a night, that’s £20.60 for your night of drinks, which equates to £82.40 over the course of the month! If you go with a higher quality vodka or a more expensive spirit, that amount will increase.
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What should I do with the money I’m saving?
The world is your oyster! With roughly £60 - £130 being saved throughout the month there are so many things you could get. So load up your Caxton card with your savings and enjoy fee-free spending in the UK as we give you some shopping inspo. <br> <br>
Have a long weekend break
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We’ve found flights with RyanAir to Dublin for well under the £60 minimum savings. These flights plus a hotel (we’ve found these ones on Trivago can come in within the average savings by skipping the drinks this month. Enjoying a long weekend break is a great way to let off some steam and celebrate all the fundraising you’ve managed to do. <br> <br>
Put it towards a big gift to yourself
<br> <br> Justifying spending large amounts on yourself can be hard. But this is money that you would have spent anyway, so why not treat yourself to something meaningful or something you’ve been eyeing up for a while? <br> <br> Maybe there is a new kitchen gadget that’s caught your eye like this air fryer, or a piece of jewellery like this gold hammered ring, you’ve been watching for ages, waiting for the right time to grab it. Whatever it is, treating yourself to something significant can be a great way to treat yourself and give you that much-needed serotonin boost. <br> <br>
Put it into savings
Call us the sensible ones, but sometimes spending isn’t what you need to be doing. You could put the money you save towards saving for something bigger or better! <br> <br> If you’re saving for a holiday, consider using our Travel Saving Plan. Choose the currency, the amount you want to save, set your payment period, and we’ll do the rest. <br> <br>
Whatever you do with your savings this month, Go Sober for October is a worthy cause to fundraise for and we wish you all the best. Maybe you’ll get used to not drinking every time you go out and find yourself saving money every month on drinks. <br> <br>
Help budget your nights out by loading your Caxton currency card with money, and enjoy fee-free spending in the UK. Login to your account or sign up today to get started.