The food shopping was the most obvious and important bill to cut. I'd racked up £600 in December. Even in a relatively frugal November I managed to spend £358. I decided to do less shopping at Ocado/Waitrose, more at Tesco and even, at our local Poundland (a new and very exciting discovery). There was no impulse buying. Nothing went in the trolley that wasn't obviously useful. Did it work?

Well, sort of. I spent £305. £50 is great and worth having, but on the whole, I'm not sure it was worth it. Cutting out the impulse purchases made the biggest difference, as did doing weekly shops rather than one big monthly one. I'm not convinced that changing supermarkets made any difference at all. If it did, it was only perhaps because I found fewer things to tempt me in Poundland than I usually do in Waitrose. Also, the shopping experience, while efficient, is frenetic and not conducive to browsing.

Elsewhere, I didn't buy a single item of clothing or pair of shoes during the month. This is clearly not sustainable unless I want to look like a bag lady, but did boost the coffers in the short-term. It has forced me to sort out my wardrobe, so I haven't felt as if there was anything I particularly needed. It has also propelled me to the shoe-menders and dry-cleaners in the hope of reviving some older stuff.

I have managed to break my cupcake habit, which has cost me up to a - slightly shameful - £30 a month in the past. I have been rigorous about booking mini-cabs from evenings out rather than simply flagging the nearest black cab. This has halved my taxi bill and also put an end to some late night drinking, which can only be a good thing.

The trouble is that now I feel all virtuous the temptation is to go out and have a wild February. The real challenge is to make all this new-found frugality a habit. Maybe when the effect on my bank balance becomes clear, the effort will seem worth pursuing.