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

I'm in! Need to think about our rules but I have been doing bits of this for a little while. I have been decluttering and it's made a big difference already. I just feel better when stuff leaves the house. Stopping DH buying stuff will be challenging however.

Amazing - thanks dora.

So my rules are as follows.

Use up all the toiletries I have before spending on new ones. That includes everything, from make up to moisturiser to soap. I have loads that are sitting in drawers.

Meal plan and stick to it which includes lunches.

Stop buying stuff for the sake of it.

Spend more time doing free thibgs with the children rather than expensive days out.

Limit myself to buying one book a month. I love to find bargains on ebay and will buy a few because they are so cheap, then end up spending £20 because they are cheap.

No more clothes for me, I don't need them. Only getting minimal for the children because they don't need it and they live in the same few clothes anyway, despite extensive wardrobes.

Stop looking on ebay when I am bored.

I am keeping my gym membership although it costs £45a month, but I do use it And I get a lot out of it, plus it's linked to my life insurance so the more I go the lower my premiums.

Use the car only when necessary. It has its first Mot in January.

Cancel all subscriptions I don't get much benefit from -, audible/prime/spotify/Netflix.

I am going to do a budget and work out a weekly spending amount, then take it out in cash and stop taking my card out with me.

Ooh, interesting. Following, this is just what we need at home right now.

I would like to join too please. Will think of my rules but off the top my head:

1. Menu planning and grocery shopping to a list.
2. No buying lunches when I return to work next year.
3. Always take a water bottle when out.

I have also spent the last few months decluttering. I don't want to buy things just for the sake of it.

I’m in too!
I’ll need to think about my rules properly- but off the top of my head -
Food - fine. But I want to take packed lunch into work each day rather than buying on my way in. I’m not sure I’ll be able to grow my own enough veg to save money - but I do have chickens so I will make eggs a bigger part of our meal planning. (Ok. I need to actually start meal planning first )
Makeup/toiletries — I’ll continue to replace, but I won’t buy until necessary. I’ll look at cheaper brands too.
Household cleaning — as above.
Clothes —work only. And for dd when she needs new stuff. She has just started school so the need for non-uniform clothes is fairly low at the moment. Although she does grow ridiculously quickly!
Other stuff — if it’s not cheating I’d like to set myself a low monthly spending limit. This will be for anything like a coffee out or replacing non essential household stuff. I desperately want to reduce the amount of crap I buy for environmental/clutter and financial reasons but i think if I go in too heavy handed and attempt to cut out all non essential spending I’ll just fail and quickly go back to where I am now. I’ll come up with a pre-purchase check list to make my choices more mindful and I’ll delete my amazon app/ automatic sign ins so that spending money is less ‘easy’.

I’m in ! although have already planned to buy lots of new Furniture (hopefully mostly Ikea) and a new iPhone. This means we won’t have ANY spare cash at all so already sacrificing any holidays.

We spend way too much on food out and coffees. I spend about £10 a day on lunch as have gotten lazy to prepare at home.

Also have large amount on the credit card to chip away at.

I'm also in but I have to admit I know that if I try to do 'no spend' it puts too much pressure on and I convince myself I've failed if I can't stick to that. So I'm aiming for a 'low spend' year.

I want to make sure I'm getting the most out of my money and making a conscious effort to ensure the things I buy are in line with my ethics.
For example, I know that I'm going to need new razors but instead of replacing with another pack of disposable I'll get a metal safety razor instead which will last year's. I will buy all clothing second hand (apart from underwear) and it must be a perfect fit. Not too big or too small. I will stop trying to kid myself into thinking I can make a not quite right garment work because it won't answer it'll sit in the cupboard and never get worn. I can buy myself a candle but only if all others in the house have been used up.

Conscious spending, items need to be brilliant for me to want to spend my hard earned money on it.

That’s a real good point about second hand clothes. I’m forever buying them and donate them back year later Because they don’t fit. I think a budget is way to go, and a savings goal. I have audible but like gym example I listen 2-5h a day so well worth it per hour for me.

I'm in, cutting out coffees and buying clothes second hand. Books are my vice though.

Another one. Saving water.

Not having a bath every day, and the no bath days can be a wash - down day. Dry shampoo when necessary.

Dh and I cutting our hours down, so this is a great thread to help save on things, op. Thanks.

I'm in

I'm in. Not had a chance to read all the posts yet, but will check back on once I have.

Wow, really pleased that we're getting such a good group. We should all hopefully be able to motivate each other!

if it’s not cheating I’d like to set myself a low monthly spending limit.

I think it's about making it work for you. I'm going to make a conscious effort to reduce spending, but for me, it's more about cutting down on "stuff" in my life and unnecessary purchases, rather than just about saving money. I still intend on buying tickets to shows we really want to see, and if we feel like going out to dinner, then we will. It's about cutting back, not cutting everything out completely.

I did a version of this last year, out of necessity. I was going through a divorce and the legal bills were big! To keep my debt down to a minimum I cut down my spending as much advice possible.

I used up all the shower gels and bath stuff I already had, including free samples. A whole year later and I have, just last week, needed to buy more. Lots had been gifts I hadn't used.

I'd also been given soaps, so between using those and using up my supply of liquid soap, I won't need to buy any more for another year. I tried replacing shower gel wth soap when it ran out, but it didn't suit my skin. I'll not be buying liquid soap again once this lot's gone, becausevof the plastic issue.

I wear make up every day but have been using every odd and end. The only make up I've bought for a whole year is a foundation and loose powder.

Absolutely no stuff. I've moved house and discovered i never need to buy stuff again. Between what i already had and stuff I'd inherited, i have more than enough.

No new clothes. I've bought 2 packs of knickers and 2 of socks. I've worn all my oldest socks, even wearing odd socks when one of a pair got holes. I closely looked at whether darning would be possible but sock fabric is different to what it used to be and i didn't think I'd get a decent result.

There's more but post is long. My whole mindset on buying has readjusted. I've never been very spendy but my ex loved to shop - anything at all. I rarely feel tempted to buy other than necessities now, except for books and plants. My necessities. The whole shopping as a leisure pursuit looks like madness now. How did Big Business persuade us that was a good idea, for anyone but them.

I also had to do a massive declutter and worked out a hierarchy of declutter.
Keep
Give to family or friend, only if they really wanted it, not just as a way of getting rid of the item.
Donate
Recycle
Landfill

Very little got past donate and fewer still went to landfill at the dump.

I do have some debt from the divorce so I'm sticking with this new way of life, probably for good now. I see things differently. Next priority will be spending my time better, not wasting it on mindless internet surfing.

I will draw up some rules and return.

I left out "Sell" between giving away and donating. I made some very useful money on eBay.

Reading through the posts on this thread has made me really happy. So many good ideas to reduce consumption and free ourselves from "stuff."
My intentions for 2019 are to live my life a little more mindfully and tread a little more lightly in all areas.
I really only want to buy things that are totally necessary and that add real value to my life.
I want to grow more of my own food. I have just finished my first year as an allotment gardener and I've learned so much that I'm keen to put into practice.
I want to live a life that feels honest and purposeful. I want to volunteer more and spend my free time doing things I enjoy and that give my life meaning.
I want to improve my health through a combination of diet, exercise and relaxation. I want to be more consistent my actions that will help me achieve these goals.
Reading that back I think I might be asking quite a lot of myself!!
So perhaps I should also add, that I'm not going to be too hard on myself when I don't get it right - but that I will try and learn from my mistakes.

I left out "Sell" between giving away and donating. I made some very useful money on eBay

I am going to go through everything in my house and sell the things that I don't use (the things that can be sold of course). I had an unexpected bill come in and had to sell a couple of things to pay it off. And I realised I never used those things. They were just sitting in the house doing nothing. In fact they were losing value the longer I held onto them. So come January I am having a big clear out and selling everything I can.

Storm4star it really adds up. I used Facebook selling pages too and Gumtree, depending on what I was selling.

Now I'm slightly more settled into my new home, I'll be selling some more things. I stopped for a while as I didn't feel organised and I didn't want to forget to send something and damage my eBay rating.

I'm going to be growing my own fruit and veg too, which is something I've always done. I'm getting the new garden sorted, water butts in place, compost bins, chosen the site for my kitchen garden and herb tubs.

I'll also be putting in some raised beds and I'm going to try growing potatoes in an old bin, which I've never done before.

Yeah it's quite amazing how I had these things just lying around and I know I won't miss them at all. I'm so glad OP started this thread. I actually feel quite excited about how much I could save!

So, I have a typical London garden, as in postage stamp size! I'd be grateful for any tips on things I can grow in a small space in buckets or grow bags and the like. The potatos in an old bin sounds interesting. That's something I could definitely do in my garden. I love home grown veg. When I was a kid we had a massive garden and grew all our own and it tasted so much better than supermarket stuff.

The taste difference between home grown and shop bought veg is amazing. Salad greens freshly picked have a different texture and taste to bought ones. Crisper, firmer, tastier.

There's a lot you can grow in containers, you'd be surprised, I certainly was. And there's the fun, resourceful side of finding your containers.

The Gardener's World website has lots about container gardening.

I find the resourceful, creative aspect of a more frugal life style to be very fulfilling, whether it's cooking, baking, sewing, knitting, gardening, refinishing furniture. Whatever your thing is.

I'm in too! At times I feel like I'm drowning in stuff, my biggest weaknesses are books, beauty products and craft supplies.

I used to be on the beauty hoarder thread but fell off the wagon earlier in the year I really need to put a stop to makeup and beauty purchases as I realise they're mainly impulse buys, because I'm attracted to the packaging and to the idea of having something 'new'. Most of the time, by the time I've taken my new purchases home, I'm already a bit bored about them as they've lost their newness, if that even makes sense...So that definitely needs cutting down.

Books seems unrealistic to just stop buying as I'm a big reader, have no e-reader (and I'm not planning on getting one) and don't really use the library much. BUT I'll try and be ruthless: what I've finished reading and didn't absolutely love will go straight to the charity shop, straight being the operative word here.

Craft supplies are a bit of a minefield as I run a fairly successful Etsy jewellery shop alongside my day job, but they're slowly taking over. I've bits and bobs all over the house, it's messy and quite frankly not practical as I lose sight of what I have. So no more 'just in case' buys, and I'll do a proper inventory and only buy new bits only as and when needed.

Also no more new cross stitch kits and fabric/buttons/sewing bits unless actually needed to finish an existing project.

Ok so dont think im gonna follow this exactly but i can do...

No more:
Home stuff
Skin stuff
Make Up
Underwear
Socks
Stationary
Cleaning stuff (except when essentials run out)
Sports stuff
Bags
Scarves
Books
Accessories
Art stuff
Jewellery
Nail varnish
Spices and condiments
Kitchen stuff
Towels/Linens

Cos I have enough or excessive amounts of all those things already

You can grow all kinds of things in containers storm4. The most important thing is to grow things you like and you know you're going to eat. Off the top of my head, things you can grow in small spaces:

Tomatoes
Peppers (sweet or chilli)
Aubergines
Strawberries
Potatoes (as a pp suggested in a bin or a sack as they need depth)
Cucumbers
Herbs (all kinds, choose 2-3 you know you cook with a lot to start with, basil, rosemary, sage and thyme are all quite easy to get started with)

I'm sure there's plenty more!