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

NSD yesterday and today
Must make lunch for tomorrow

Well done to all on the NSDs.
How bad was the bill for the roof in the end @grannycake? Not too horrendous I hope.

I have managed my fourth NSD of the year. I have also been and given blood and attended a school governors meeting today, so I feel worthy as fuck.

I've never tried 5:2, but I do practice time restricted eating. Not quite 16:8, more like 14:10, but I'm getting there!

clutter and hound The bill for the leak was £380 but the bad news is that we do need a new roof at £6500. That will be done the beginning of March so plenty of incentive for me to remain as frugal as possible. £44 on fuel for my car yesterday but that usually lasts the month. I spent £74 on fuel for the new camper on the weekend and another £72 on stuff for the van such as mattress protectors, dog bed, storage buts, etc but I'm not expecting to have to buy anything else.

I have done 5:2 for about 4 years - lost about 2 stone and then reduced to one fast day a week to keep me maintaining. If I go over by about 4 pounds I go back to 2 fast days (usually Xmas and hols). Works for me and I find it relatively easy

Yesterday was another NSD. I was in work all day and took packed lunch.
This is much easier than I thought!
Anyone else thought it would be harder to stop spending on the little bits that add up?

Granny - ouch to the roof bill...were you expecting that?
It's been 4 years since I started 5:2 aswell. I put back on the majority of what I originally lost but feeling quite motivated at the moment so fingers crossed I'll stay that way.
Have you taken your new camper out on a jaunt yet? One came up for sale locally last week and I was so tempted but £7k would definitely not have fitted in with my new 'no spend' routine - also, my house deposit fund would have objected greatly!!

Clutter Not totally unexpected and had planned to get someone to quote me in the summer so not as bad as it sounds.
We went down to a local beach on Saturday and stayed overnight - mainly to check everything was working (heating etc). It was like being 5 again and playing in a Wendy House finding homes for all the stuff that come out of our old camper. My DH bought the whole box set of House MD so we watched a couple of episodes after dinner which was nice - no TV in the old van
Hoping for a NSD today as will be busy in work until late.
Good luck with 5:2 - just don't give up if it doesn't go to plan one week - I think it's a question of habit. I'd miss my Monday fast day now. I also can't afford to buy a whole load of new clothes!

Saturday:
3.55 costa
3.50 brought dh breckfast in greggs
1.50 hair turban towel from Primark
15.00 morrisons - £10 of which was a steak and not entirely necessary I'm counting £5 as frivolous for that as I did need to eat

Sunday
15.00 fuel- necessary
3.70 food boxes for work as I am taking slow cooker food

Monday

1.43 at work

£22

total spend since Saturday week £49

that £49 is probably at least £20 food/necessities

overall proud of myself :-)

Well done Just. When I get in the habit I find not spending as satisfying as frittering IFYSWIM

NSD. I think I could get out of my overdraft in a couple of months although honeymoon in March!

It does seem to be easy to be sensible with money once you get into the rhythm of it just.
Your camper sounds lovely granny.
Good luck with the overdraft littlechocola, I'm hoping for similar with my credit card, but more likely by the end of the year, than March. Where are you going on honeymoon? When did you/are you getting married? Congratulations!
I spent £19.79 yesterday. About half was on groceries and then the rest was on a meal at Pizza Express. I went to see Swan Lake with one of the girls from work. We had paid for the tickets before Christmas. She had a voucher so we got a half price meal. Result!

@HoundOfTheBasketballs last September! We are going to Spain. I can’t remember the last time we went about.
I love swan lake, was it good?

oh I am thoroughly enjoying the challange of not spending and making do. got very excited when i did 3 no spend days last week.
I have to admit some spends though
I am ill so decided to spend on what I fancied
90p on some plain crisps- stupidly over priced fuel station near my house I couldn't bear going to supermarket though
whilst I was there I accidentally brought a £2.60 coffee
also spent £1.29 on some dilute pop and £1.10 milk

so Tuesday declaration: £3.50

NSW here !
Have squirrelled (spelling?) £80 of food shopping money away in my savings account
No one has noticed !

Still taking lunch and putting money every day into savings account,even if it’s only £1,it’s still savings.£60 for a home delivery tomorrow but only £1 delivery as I’ve done an afternoon slot,loving being mindful of my spending.

Another NSD though I really wanted a Costa coffee earlier but I know it would quickly become a daily habit - work in a college with Costa on campus

@QuiteFrugal2019 that's some excellent planning
was desperate for a costa trip today - made my own instead £3.55 saved.
so a nsd has been had :-)

Swan Lake was great @Littlechocola, thanks! I love the ballet but I often find it hard to find people to go with me.
Have a fab time in Spain, is it a beach holiday or are you exploring?
Well done to everyone on the NSDs, I have managed one here today as well, although I am in awe of @QuiteFrugal2019 and your no spend week! Great effort!

@HoundOfTheBasketballs I struggle with people to go with too. Bit of both, beach and exploring. I want to relax but neither of us is good at sitting still

I spent £12 today but it was medicine.

This thread is really having a positive effect on my spending, even if I don't post much it's in the back of my mind.
£17 in tesco yesterday - "treated" myself to two meal deals for lunch yesterday and today, as well as tins of soup. Nothing too extravagant in that shop, except some creme eggs and a £1 galaxy bar of chocolate!

£3.45 today as I didn't have breakfast and bought gf cereal and milk on the way to work... although ironically the way my day panned out I have just had it for tea instead! 😂 going to stock up on tins of 45p soup at tesco on way home, it's the weather for it and I've found a brand that is gluten free and that I like and is cheap so wahey!

ChakiraChakra

Me too. I'm a lot more mindful when spending now.

Chakira - for me too!! What I've been thinking this morning is it's making me more organised too.

I've just been through the freezer and there's almost nothing left from my batch cook the weekend before last but probably enough to get us through the weekend until Monday.

The next phase of my challenge is to use up at least one thing from the food cupboard every day. It's not a big cupboard but it's a bit of a shambles and not used very efficiently.

I spent £4 today on a bus ticket.
Tomorrow is pay day! Hooray!

The best thing is that I have enough money left in my account this evening to transfer some across to my savings account. Doubt I would be saying that if it wasn't for this thread, so thanks everyone!

NSD today but got some big bills coming out over the next few days

@HoundOfTheBasketballs

That's great well done!

£4.40 today on a salad for lunch. Bit annoyed, as I only wanted a side salad for the jacket spud I already had, and they were charging £3 a small side salad - the menu I had showed egg salad as being £3.90 and I knew they were massive, so I ordered that instead but turns out my menu was out of date and the egg salad was £4.40 still, I saved half I can have with a jacket potato again tomorrow. Means I've spent £14 on 4 days lunches, £3.50 average per day. What does everybody else spend on lunch please so I can compare?

Car is in the garage tomorrow, it's not starting very well at all. Nervous about the bill, hope it's a small one!

NSD again yesterday but I'll be doing a weekly shop at Aldi later today.

Chakira I take lunch with me - either chicken or ham salad sandwich plus some grapes and satsumas. I cook the ham or chicken in my instant pot so with salad and fruit I reckon it comes out at just over £1 per day (DH does the same but adds crisps)