No Spend 19 - join us!

[NoSpend19]

Hi all

So yet another name change for the No Spend 19 thread some of us have been discussing (not a TAAT - juts a spin off)

The aim is to reduce the unnecessary spending on "stuff". We're almost at the end of the year and so 2019 is a good time to start.

It would be great if as many people as possible thought it was feasible for them so there are no hard and fast rules but to give you an idea my rules are as follows:

Food and drink purchases are permitted (although personally I will also be trying to grow as much as possible myself, reduce air miles and reduce single use plastics in the food we buy. In addition I will be avoiding being tempted to pay extra for brands. Meals out and takeaways are also on our no spend list)

Essential household products and toiletries are permitted. So it is ok to buy washing powder but personally I will be avoiding buying six different types of stain remover, fabric conditioner, ironing water and all the other stuff we are told we need to do to clean a load of washing . Likewise we will be buying soap, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo as essentials but will not be buying hair masks, face masks, make up, face cream, serums, body sprays, nail varnish, showergels, body scrubs etc. Perfectly acceptable to use up everything you have though.

essential clothing etc is permitted. DH and I won't be buying anything unless absolutely unavoidable but DC are growing and will need shoes, trousers etc. We will aim to keep this to a minimum though.

Fuel and other travel costs are permitted

Normal household bills are permitted of course

stuff is not permitted. So toys, books (library is fine), magazines, CDs, DVDs, random household items like cushions, candles, stationery etc are all on the aim not to buy list. This Christmas will be prior to the experiment starting but we are already asking for experience presents for the DC eg cinema tickets.

We are just feeling a bit like consumerism has gone mad and so we think we can probably do this. In our household it is me, DH DS1 (13) and DS2 (11, nearly 12). Anyone up for joining? We start at the beginning of 2019

Disclaimer: before we decided to do this we had already booked and paid for our holiday for next year. It is a bit of a cheat but I don't want to delay this just because we'd already done that.

I may need significant to get me through

NS for most of this week
I bought a bag of carrots only
Planned shopping tonight but I dont need much

£2 something on a lunch bag thing as using carrier bags is getting on my nerves now.

Pretty sure that's it though. I do need a handbag for work that is more secure than the one I have currently, but keep talking myself out of buying it

£5 on essentials at the shop and £1 for a first class stamp😮

3 nsd for me

A pound!! For one stamp??!! That's obscene!!

Sorry to hear about your ceiling and carpet @grannycake. Can you claim on insurance?

I have managed my 3rd NSD of the year. Yay me! It was a near thing though. I'd forgotten DS has a school trip tomorrow so he needs a packed lunch. I've cobbled together a pasta salad, some cheese cubes and one of the chocolate bars from his Christmas selection box. He deems it acceptable.

@grannycake ohno!
@HoundOfTheBasketballs thank you. It all went slightly wrong today after an awful day. £22 on wine and tabacco.

I absolutely deserve to get shit faced though!

NSD for me today, yey! Had planned to buy some birthday cards, but didn't see any i like. Been a busy week, ended up buying lunch on Monday, but managed to take lunch into work yesterday and today so that saved some money.

The carpet (I think) is saveable - luckily I bought one which is washable. Pointless deep cleaning until ceiling is fixed so we will see. The leak is wear and tear so not covered by insurance and I think that the cost of patching the ceiling won't be worth claiming after excess. \i've got a roofer coming this afternoon so will know cost then. Have had three NSD this week and today's weekly shop will be v small as eating from freezer

Dec/Jan are tough months financially for me so that's why I joined this thread. All 3 kids birthdays are in Dec/Jan (great planning!) and I had my brothers 40th too. I'm trying to reduce my credit card spending this year so will be following all thrifty ideas, such as taking in my own lunch. I've done this since Jan 7th and tried to avoid buying take out coffee. My DD's birthday pressie are now bought (on credit!) and I'm going to make a concerted effort to No spend 19

Something always seems to come up when you are doing so well doesn’t it Granny! For us it’s car insurance for both cars and annual vet checks/injections.
I’ve got £30 left in my overdraft until next Friday and not enough fuel or food. Good job I’m doing well not spending.

I haven't been very thrifty today. I must try harder. I've spent £15.74 today. All on things I didn't need. Including a gardening magazine, some pots and compost (these will be useful in the long run) and a chippy takeaway for tea.

Will jump back on the no-spend wagon tomorrow.
Good luck to everyone making it to the end of the month/payday.

Went into town today,didn’t spend anything because dh treated me to lunch,so that was good.Had a budget of £40 at Aldi,went over by £2.50 so slapped wrist for me.😂

97 food shop today
15 fish and chips last night
8 on lunch yesterday.

Not doing well this week.

LSD today: £5.23 on a few bits at Lidl missed in the weekly shop. Have been extremely frugal this month but wishing for better weather to enjoy the fresh air a bit more

£50 on petrol but that doesn't count. Nor the food shop.

£8.55 on groceries.
£2 bus fare to a training course, then I walked home afterwards. I could have driven there and back. I feel very smug and self-righteous!

Spent loads today
£19 at butchers, £55 at supermarket and £58 in tk maxx. Had to buy new saucepans (which I have been delaying since before Christmas) and a birthday present, so did get reasonably priced things, but still a spend.
DH is working abroad and bloody credit card got frozen despite him telling them that he would be using is abroad, so now husband has used our current account to pay expensive restaurant bill. It will be claimed back but in work expenses but I am still pissed off!
Will not be leaving the house until Wednesday, to avoid any other spending!

Food and fuel but that’s allowed.

No spend today or yesterday.

Spent £8.94 on a cinema ticket and some snacks to eat in the cinema.
But I sold a pair of boots on Facebook today for £10, so I'm actually +£1.06!

I've lost track of my spending for the last few days but will try and work it out tomorrow. Been away with dsis for the weekend (booked and mostly paid for last year). Didn't break the bank, spent wisely and had a brilliant time.

I need to make a shopping list tonight. Last week's food shop was a success - no waste but nor did we run out of food. Still got a few things in the freezer so will just add to that this week.

Weekly food shop on Friday was just £15 as mostly eating from freezer this week. But quite spendy in Home Bargains kitting out new camper with some essentials - will post amount tomorrow when showing on my statement. Also £75 for a tank of fuel. Roof being fixed today - good news is won't need new roof but still going to be between £380 and £600 (depends on state of guttering)

Granny - do you think your £15 food shop will last the week?
I made a list last night and it's only come to £18 - I'm a little concerned I'm going to run out of food and have to go to the shops again. I was also going to fill my petrol tank but accidentally left my cash card at home so had to manage with the cash in my purse.
I hope you roof bill isn't too harsh!!

Clutter I'm sure it will. My DH works away in the week but takes food from home (frozen) and fresh so he's sorted. I do 5:2 at the moment so know I have everything I need for the week (and for the dog) - will shop again on Friday afternoon. It was a different story when there were 3 teenagers in the house - I used to have to hide food to have any hope of it lasting! I will need fuel as I just noticed it's on the red and I've got a fair bit of work travel planned for this week - will be able to claim expenses though - I'm not good at remembering to do this so need to be more organised

Ooh, I'm doing 5:2 too!! FD today. Are you on the 5:2 threads? I was just considering rejoining (lost 2 1/2 st on 5:2 a few years ago and have fallen off the wagon several times since ).