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 as well please.

In previous years I've done some very successful no-spending on clothes/shoes/accessories, but I've never tried to do anything broader than that, so this feels like quite a challenge.

I've been making efforts to use less plastic, but I know I could do much better and I'm going to look at the plastic free website that a PP posted.

We have enough cleaning things to last for ages and ditto for toiletries. I'm going to sort through what we have and store it so that we can see it - I seem to reorder, instead of just looking for the things we have. I'm a bit of a stockpiler I think, which is stupid as our house is tiny.

I'm also going to do a lot of eBay selling. I've done that before and it felt really good - I was getting rid of clutter, the buyer was getting something they really wanted and the money was so helpful.

We need to do quite a lot to our house in the next couple of years, as we moved last year and have done none of the things that came up in the survey. That feels like a great motivator on the money front.

Used some Christmas vouchers on my last bits today. Saw something that would've meant I had to spend my own money and even though it was a fiver I resisted and then transferred that money into my savings! Saving for a house deposit so really knuckling down.

Can I join in too please? I'm going to do a low spend 2019, rather than no spend, it would be nice to spend less and save more, but the main motivator is to reduce the amount of stuff we have in the house. I keep de-cluttering, but it just gets replaced with more stuff so I need to stop buying things.

I am going to give myself a list of allowed purchases, based on things we need and if it's not on the list, I'm not allowed to buy it. Should hopefully stop the unconscious/spur of the moment purchases.

Also trying to be more eco friendly, however at the moment it seems to mean buying more things, just bought beeswax wraps to replace clingfilm and re-usable food bags to replace disposable ones, I think it will be worth it in the long-term though. Have finished our cling-film and don't plan to buy anymore and currently using up the disposable food bags.

I have a day off tomorrow so I'm going to go through my wardrobe(s) and get rid of anything I don't wear - ebay!

Everything else I'm going to look on Pinterest for outfit ideas. I love doing this - pick your item and search for it on there. eg. 'black jumper dress outfit'. Gives me lots of ideas.

Hi all

We are nearly at 1st Jan for this to start. Well done for everyone who has already started!

I'm having a big clear out over the next few days. Tackled DS2s room yesterday (he's 11) and we were all quite shocked at the amount of stuff he has accumulated. Completely crazy. Lots to be ebayed or taken to the charity shop. He loves his new streamlined and organised space and said its much better so hopefully he's now in the right mindset.

I have bought nothing in the sales apart from a new coat for DS1 which was £79 reduced to £15 and was needed due to that annoying growing habit DC seem to have .

Can I join? I have a ridiculous amount of everything and could probably not buy any clothes, make up or toiletries for a number of years!
I am off work the first full week of January and plan to have a big clear out - Stuff I don't wear will go to charity or the dump as appropriate and then I can see what I've actually got and wear more of it. I tend to wear the same things because they're at the top of the drawer. Today, for example, I'm wearing a top I re-discovered in a drawer - I know I've had it for months but think I've only worn it once or twice.

I haven't quite started yet in other words I'm spending it all before Jan 1st but I did take a load of clothes to the charity shop yesterday so hopefully someone else will get some benefit from my financial frivolousness.

I did buy a gorgeous Brora cashmere cardigan but a) I do genuinely need a cardi as I have none and it will go with everything and b) it was off ebay and probably 1/4 of its retail price and c) it's Brora ffs and d) it's still 2018

I like the idea of looking on Pinterest to 'shop your own wardrobe' - the S&B Parisiennes threads are good for giving ideas about mixing and matching stuff you already own as well.

Does anyone know a good app for what I want? I want like a little calendar where I can write my daily spends and it will tot it up monthly. Hoping it will deter me from spending if I have to admit to it

I've been good so far, no sales purchases, which is a first in many years. I have been itching to replenish my Christmas cards/wrapping/ribbons stash in the sale but have resisted so far. I still have a ridiculous amounts of cards left over, and I didn't even receive so very many back, so I can imagine I'll be sending fewer next year.

I have recently changed jobs and I now work from home on average three days a week, which means I wear makeup far less frequently than I used to and I won't need so many office clothes they were too many anyway, even before I started working from home.

Ooh I’m doing a No Spend January! So will follow this and see how Jan goes before committing to the rest of the year!

So far my no spends are

1. No new toys!
2. No new clothes for myself or Dh, kids shouldn’t need anything! If they do only essentials will be replaced (shoes, undies)
3. No new make up or skin care (will use the mountain of stuff I already have)
4. No PS4 games (looks at dh)
5. No takeaways (looks at dh) and meal plan with me shopping on my day off spending between £50-65 per week on food not the current £100-150
6. Switch to Aldi or Lidl - buying other bits from home bargains.
7. Cook from scratch and use my slow cooker.
8. No random excessive trips (stop popping to Asda etc)
9. eBay bits and bobs to claw back some cash.

10. No more Toby’s breakfasts 11. Leave my purse at home so I can’t spend. 12. Take a lunch box to work 13. Lots of out door activities with stuff we already have bike rides etc

I would love to give it a go!! Seriously need to cut back. Doing no spend Jan so will see how we go.

I need to stop watching YouTube videos. I mainly watch eco ones but even those are full of YouTubers being paid to talk about products to buy one made me think I need a new purse... So I ordered one... Then I realised I didn't like it as much as one I already have in my wardrobe, so I've dug that out and will return the new one, hazzah!

I’m definitely in.

I have cancelled all subscriptions to stuff I don’t use- no longer am I funding people on patreon (why I even did that to begin with I don’t know ) and have unsubscribed from Readly and amazon prime as I didn’t use them. I do use Netflix and Spotify so keeping those.

The big one will be stopping wine. I’m doing dry January and hopefully that’ll break the habit so I can enjoy wine occasionally rather than often! That’ll save both money and calories.

Using up my toiletries and make up before I replace.

I use the library a lot (I work there so it’s pretty easy for me!) and I want books to be my main form of entertainment in 2019.

I’m going to stop taking my purse to work so I don’t pop to the shop on the way home.

And meal plan- again for health and money.

I want 2019 to be spent doing things rather than buying things.

What a great thread. My 2 huge areas of spending are food and petrol.

I shop between Aldi and Asda but always nip out in the week for the odd thing and come back with lots of other bits. Plus work never take food so buy lunch.

I get paid tomorrow and its a small pay packet so am determined not to spend a penny on un neccesary items

I am in. I have a fairly frugal, low impact, sustainable, simple life. Well I try. So have been toying with doing a no spend 2019.

I am due a new baby in a few weeks. So things for her first few months are in place. But things for baby will be discounted. However I am trying to buy used where I can and be plastic free.

Clothes I have resently sorted 4x huge ikea bags clothes 2x for charity shop 2x to sell. So going to put that money aside for no negotionable spends.

Like nursing bras etc ill need to buy in 2019.

I have resently after living in london moced somewhere with a garden so kean to get growing things. So ill discount tools seeds etc needed also.

But going to try to live by the fix/make/buy used/borrow mindset for sure.

I'm planning on this. We've a few years practice at low spend but I can do better. We have a stash of cleaning supplies and toiletries and plenty of clothes so will only need to replace once used or worn out. I'm keeping my hairdresser, nails and gym but I am reducing the spending on stuff. I will need to avoid the middle aisle of Aldi and Lidl!!!

Signing back in for my no spend on clothes in 2019. I have all the beautiful clothes I could ever possibly want or need! Good luck, all.

I don't think I'm stable enough mentally to commit to full no spending right now (feels too overwhelming), but I'm definitely going to sit down later and decide on some rules to cut down a lot. I also have ordered a used copy of Marie Kondo after reading great things on another thread.

Thanks for the inspiration! 😁

I'm in if it's not too late! We're moving in the New Year so I have to simultaneously declutter and save money. I haven't thought of my rules but I've got a few hours to think of some 😀

I'm in! I was planning on o new purchases this year. I hate clutter and half of me is a minimalist but the odd purchase does sneak in... a book or two, far too many magazines and bit some and pieces for the house: we have far too many vases, candles and cosy throws. So I need to lear bit discipline. I am also trying to go low waste too so these go hand in handmade with each other.
We have a zero waste refill shop nearby and I use the greengrocer space for fruit and veg. We have a breadmaker and make most of our own bread. I am overweight so reducing processed foods will be beneficial for my health too.
My exclusions from no spend, include gifts where unavoidable, choir and slimming world fees, and one outfit for an event in the summer. Also occasional meals out but no takeaways.

Joining in!

I'm going to stop buying stuff - I was pretty good at this but we moved last year and I got back unbothered habit of always buying stuff.

Areas of focus for us personally:

Use library more;
Start doing parkrun with dc;
Use what I have already;
Read my unread books & buy no new books;
Unsubscribe from all promo emails;
Make any new clothes from fabric in my stash;
Mend and make do.

Personal goals include increasing exercise - no spend required for that.

I'm also in. I need to do this so much this year for finances as well as environment. I've realised we've been overspending by a massive amount every month and I need to stop it before we get into financial trouble!

I definitely need a thread like this to keep on the straight and narrow so checking in to start tomorrow.

I'm in! Like the idea of challenging myself to avoiding new clothes, make up and toiletries. Could definitely wear what I already have. Have jewellery and make up that I rarely use. Also keen to spend more time outdoors. I'm on mat leave so have lots of coffees out and about, could replace these with nice long walks!

Arghh, I’d like to do this but I don’t think I could manage no spend on makeup for the year! I can definitely use up what I already have.

And books ... I love my kindle!

Ok.

Started today after a nasty shock thanks to my bank balance. Left purse at home. Turned off contactless on my phone and ....

didn't spend a penny today. Long may this continue.

I certainly need to be more organized and start up meal planning again. Not sure why I stopped last year to be honest as I had a great system.

I laminated recipies from magazines, books etc and told the kids to pick 7. I then went through the ingredients lists and ticked off what I already have, the rest going on a shopping list, this was where lunches were added and breakfast.

Throughout the week I'd add to the list household stuff and other odds and sods then arrange for click and collect at the weekend.

There was a laminated planner to help with reminding me what we were having and when. This was clipped to the recipies the kids picked out for the week and hung on the back of the cupboard.