Would anyone like to do a buy NOTHING January?(apart from essential food)

[LaurieFairyCake]

I really want to give this a go.

[TortoiseshellMillie]

Yes please! Definitely in. I have loads of toiletries, make up and books to get through.

[2kidsintow]

After the chaos of the runup to Christmas I need to give something like this a go.
I'm currently settling for a day of no spending at a time. I'll be unable to do the full month, unfortunately, as it's DD's birthday in Feb.

I also have a lot of smellies, chocolates and books to go through. I also have £30 of amazon vouchers that I will limit myself to as far as buying kindle books/DVDs/Music for myself.

[Paintingrainbowskies]

I am going to give this a go. We've got a little holiday booked in the first week of Jan but after that the spending stops!

I'm going to set £70 a week for groceries and nappies, £40 a week for petrol, £10 a week for lunches and everything else is off limits!

[Rtfairy]

I've decided to do this. I'm currently on maternity leave and will be getting smp as of March so need to save up some extra money. So no clothes for me or my dd (we have plenty! ), no takeaways after NYE treat, just basics that we need, food, nappies etc. I am also going to try shopping at aldi and meal planning more strictly this month to reduce costs further. Just need to get OH on board now as he spends money like it's burning a hole in his pocket!

[Rtfairy]

Also have lots of books unread on my kindle so will buy no new books until they are all read

[Iamnotanugget]

Short term, like a month, this is doable but then it can become depressing. We overhauled our spending so we could have a slightly bigger mortgage for a new house and I didn't have to return to work after maternity leave these where our big 'yes' as someone mentioned earlier. I would strongly recommend if you're in it for the long haul giving yourself a little pocket money. It's nice to be able to treat yourself to a magazine abd coffee occasionally, you can save for a new whatever over a couple of months and, most importantly, when dh spends £25 on a new game I don't feel he's undoing all my hard, penny-pinching ways, it's 'his' money.

[Badvocatyuletide]

Yes!
Need a couple of b day gifts by end of dec but that should be it!

[alemci]

yes I will join in too.

[ashamedoverthinker]

tootired that is exactly what were are doing - I think im you!

Im a SAHM who has a budget of £100 per week. We dont need to be spending any money really. Swimming can be done at the gym (monthly membership pais as part of budget) free parks etc. Minimal use of car - I still have half tank of fuel left. I want to do the NSD one at a time.

I want to buy a blender to make some soups. We have discussed lunch boxes already.

We too are making a moderate overpayment on mortgage - but I dont think it is enough. We are having a 'meeting' next Sat - Im always in the driving seat and I need to get my DH on board and show him if we do X Y Z then we can move in two years and this is what we can buy - desperate for a bigger house.

[ashamedoverthinker]

I am in complete agreement tootired

I can eaily spend £13 in Costa. Cool you have worked this out. I'm goind to do that too. I ant to stick stuff on the fridge.

I started a thread about new year changes and my main thing is tp b oganised. A few years back DH and I seperated for 6 months - we had to run two houses. We soon realised how much money we had been leaking. We are now back to spending like before. We manage to save for a huge holiday last year so it is this money being used for overpayments - but I think I can do better than that and find £200.

I totally agree about the feeling uilty for fritering - but then I tell myself if I didnt go out to town/local costa I would just implode - but one coffee should not cost £10. I used to be much better organised with snacks etc. I've already committed to not buying any new clothes this year - thats been my downfall.

I'm planning to get on top of car insurance, electric use adn thus energy bill, BT - if i can ever get through - need to reduce package down. Sports off sky. Work at reducing food bill better meal planning.

Free stuff for toddler - swimming, library, park, other library (has toys) garden center with free softplay (cost of coffee though) gym has small soft play so this is free. Older child has access to all these plus we have an annual pass for Sealife until summer. All within 4 mile drives. As long as i dont go out of local area I should get my fuel down by 1/4 tanks (£20)

Eating out and clothes and food shopping is where I will have to be disciplined.

tootired have you been on overpayment calculator on MSE - very powerful - be good to print off graph and put on fridge and a mini one on purse. Think I might get rid of a couple of cards completely. I cut them up so I cant use them in shops but still can use them online

[Cocolepew]

I'm really going to try this year to pay off my credit card(s) and save some money so we can pay bills instead of having so many direct debits. DH is due to have a major op and he won't get paid for most of the time he is off so we need to be prepared

[jamsconeandtea]

I aim to do this too, it's the small things like coffees and magazines that will tempt me but i am determind to see how much I can save.

[Cocolepew]

Thank you!

For anyone who likes to flick through magazines I have discovered I don't buy any since discovering Pinterest.

I am going to splash out, maxium £100, for a tablet when my phone contract ends. Have a Galaxy Note 1 and pay £32 pm for it. I'm changing to pay as you go instead of upgrading.

[JanetSnakehole]

I'm in. I need to cut back by at least $500 a month. We have cut way back on going out, which has really made a difference.

[alemci]

does anyone have a track your spending app so you can add items you buy.

I did download one but it veered more towards budget planning.

[LaurieFairyCake]

Just 2 more days to go until the NO spending kicks in

I bought a frock in the kaliko sale yesterday and I've looked at all the sales, added hundreds of quids worth to baskets and left it a day or two to find I don't want it.

I can really do it if I try - and January is the month to try!

[Cocolepew]

Also on Pinterest (I'm obsessed) there are thousands of budgeting tips/apps/ideas. It is mostly American but there is sone good ideas.

I've just started to follow crystal@ money saving mom. There are links to spending apps on one of her boards