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

Oh yes - we're also using up masses of toiletries, etc. I had a Kondo moment and threw out all the dregs that 'did not bring me joy' and the rest is lined up ready to use

Those jeans I bought last week went back again,no work this week so staying off certain websites that are too tempting (not that I have any money!!) Dh went to Asda and found a lovely celebration cake for 94p 😮 He was so proud of his bargain 😂.

NSD.

were also using a lot of toileteries up the amount of bottles we have thats half full or even just a inch shoved in the back of the bathroom cupboard that normally would end up thrown. i dont think we will need to buy for a good couple of months and the amount of deoderant dh owns he keeps buying ive put in a box he wont need any until the summer.

broke my nsd today - straight away!

£100 birthday joint birthday presents for GC - they are using it to go on a trip. Otherwise NSD. I have managed to eke out milk until main shop tomorrow - I have just enough for coffee in morning. Need to be very frugal this month year as roof replacement 1st week in March will clear out a v large chunk of savings

90p on chocolate bar yesterday.... seriously need to start bringing chocolate in instead.
The day before:. Work gloves £10

Today though, should be NSD

I’m pretty much in align with OP’s “rules” .

Activities and meals out to me are fine as long as its cutlery/glasses/plates social dining activity than thoughtless fast food. I am more about trying to follow the zero waste mantra: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot

My January spends on “stuff” were a birthday card, a reel of cotton (for clothing repairs), hot water bottle( replacement due to leak), bamboo reusable make up remover pads (having finished up cotton disposables) so pretty much all “necessities”

A couple of bags of outgrown kids clothes/toys and tat went to charity shop. Although DD’s birthday meant a small influx of new toys (not sure what can do about this when others are gifting). Once Spring comes I fancy a proper Marie Kondo style chuck out.

Pretty happy with January – I’d like to reduce food packaging further and DP’s Amazon addiction is an annoyance.

----
thats the line under january. So if January hasn't gone too well for you it's a new start :-)!!!
i need to have a massively cheap February!

I'm joining too - hi everyone.

DH and I often think we are doing really well in a month but then are left with nothing at the end because of the £5 here and £10. One DS at home in Sixth Form and two DCs at university

You would think it's easy to spend less when they aren't here but no.....the Wetherspoons app is a nightmare! And without them to help out at home especially with DDog I find myself rushing about more, being less organised and spending more.

First rule - not buying it if I have it in the house. So lunch, dinner, breakfast, coffee, treats, things to read etc

Second NSD in a row for me today!

Welcome to the thread Hobbit and Betty.

@HoveringHobbit are you paying for their drinks via the app? Wonder if you changed this whether they would think twice about their drinks and save you money.

£52 on weekly shop. Will be another £7 or so on the things I couldn't get in Aldi. About £9.00 was on 3 pots of fresh herbs but they should save me from buying those little packets which \i only use half of and then they moulder in my salad drawer. They'll go on porch window and then in summer I'll repot and put them outside

Just yes. I get the 'Hi mum, we are in spoons - do you fancy buying me a...' text. I'm too soft - I know. But they are really good kids.

A NSD here at the moment. BUT, I've had a very difficult work day and I didn't plan ahead and get something out of the freezer for tea. Reading on another thread about the lovely things some people are having tonight - wish I had got sorted this morning.

Takeaway sounds really tempting at the moment.

£50 something on a week's food shop that I didn't really need. So not a great start to the month.

£22 on bus pass for DD but that doesn't count

February hasn't gone well this far :-(

3.69 medicine
0.80 lunch snack
3.75 food in town as we was starving.
1.00 parking

Jan was a good month for us.
16 NSDs. Underspent on mostly everything except eating out (my birthday) and a school trip. Spent £200 less than Jan 18, £300 less than Jan 17.
Also £166pm better off with new mortgage completed this month, almost 2k a year.
Switched banks for better cashback.

NSD yesterday and today. I was snowed in at work so not too hard!
Hello February!

Right, I need a bit of a shake!! I've spent nearly £600 on my cc since 5/1 £250 is for a festival ticket for Ds but after complicated calculating and negotiating, he only owes me £60 towards it.
I need to be stricter about using it as was hoping for it to be considerably less this month (was £800 last month).
My bank balance isn't looking much better either but am still waiting for 1/2 of this month's invoices to be paid and one outstanding from the month before .
On the plus side, I haven't bought myself any clothes/shoes and haven't been to Greggs or mcds either

Today's plan is to go through my clothes for holiday (end of this month) to make sure I already have all I need and then to put some stuff on eBay to try and build up my PP balance.

It sounds like we've had a mixed bag of starts to February! What sort of things are ending up on the credit card clutterfree? Is it impulse purchases?

I spend £13.68 yesterday on a treat for DS and myself at the local ice cream parlour. I'm so annoyed about this! I wanted to celebrate the end of my sugar-free January. I bought myself a massive waffle and ice cream and I really didn't enjoy it. It made me feel really ill. What a waste of money, at least DS enjoyed his sundae.

Then I spent £27 on a night out with my work mates, which was fine. Pizza and a couple of drinks and I had a really good time.

Today I've spent £10.35 on food and then £11.50 on toothbrushes and shampoo.

Can I join please!
NSD today. 2 kids gone to friends houses. I packed some treats from my own press for them to bring, instead of stopping at the shop.
This is a great idea.... Will make me stop and think before i buy .

Sleepingbooty thats great tracking of expenses. I need to do this

Cc spend :

£57 hotel
£20 national express (unexpected leaving party for a friend in two weeks and will have to add dinner and drinks to that too)
£250 festival ticket for Ds (he's contributing £60)
£35 aunt's birthday present (shared with dsis so will get some money off them towards it)
£40 flower delivery x 3 (friend's birthday gift, Mother's Day and to cheer up a friend)
£75 ds' passport
£50 sofa cover (will probably deduct from Xmas money).
£50 on 3 amazon purchases but will have to look at my amazon account to see what they actually were!! Hmm, one was a book which I also planned to pay for with Xmas money.
I thought I'd been quite restrained too.
I'm going to Aldi soon and am confident it'll be less than last week's bill because there's still quite a bit in the fridge/freezer/cupboard.

How did sugar-free January go? I think I need to challenge myself to something similar to break my habit. Shame your waffle was disappointing. Glad you enjoyed your pizza and drinks.

NSD.

Well today didn't go well. The £7 I meant to spend turned into £65 in Tesco - treats for GC, Magazines, screenwash, firelighters, etc

Some would have been bought though the month but I did not need 3 magazines! Bit more self control needed next week