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

not going to do no spend but I have recently given up a stressful job to work from home we are aiming to spend less as have less coming in though we have no mortgage so just living expenses needed

we are having a holiday this year as didn't last year due to MIL dying and having estate to sort out

our rules

1. eating out restricted to special occasions random coffee takeaways not allowed, occasionally coffee to met friends allowed this is where we overspend the most and need to save, only 1 bottle of wine a month
2. no buying new clothes for me or DH, I will need special shoes in summer as have to have them due to defective ligaments in foot

DD will need a few things but guilty or buying too much sale stuff for her from monsoon and boden etc

1. we are doing up an old house we always try and buy from auctions/ebay etc this will continue I am amazed that a lot of genuine Georgian furniture is still cheaper than oak furniture land and most Victorian /edwardian is as cheap if not cheaper than IKEA
2. to keep shopping at Aldi for most stuff our food waste is very low already with the help of lists and freezer as working from home to make more soups salads for lunches so healthier
3. no new toiletries apart from shampoo, deodorant toothpaste and soap
4. not looking at sales online unless looking for a specific item
5. selling late MIL stuff on ebay and giving rest to charity, ( there are 41 boxes in my loft) because of her hoarding habits we will never need to buy another brillo pad or microfibre cloth in our lives we have over a 100 of each!!
6. we live rurally so can't manage without car I need it for Business but try to combine trips with business so not making 1 trip to city for business without stopping on way back at supermarket etc
7. all in- app games purchases and new games purchases banned ( that won't save much as we hardly do it anyway)

10 for DD no new comics until done all craft activities in last one, no buying them for gift on front which is plastic tat anyway no new craft stuff until existing stuff used up, I don't want to stop her crafting and sewing, she doesn't need any more toys, she is not really on board with glitter ban, she understands why but loves the sparkle 11. shop around to make our savings work harder and check on it monthly at least same with utilities

Oh what a fabulous day for our heating to break!
Hope we can fix it ourselves with a part I’ve just ordered.

However in light of that I’ve just cancelled my Ocado shop for this week. I genuinely think we can eat out the cupboards with a small Lidl/co-op top up and that’s £70 that just isn’t necessary.

Oh my goodness I need to join this. I love spending money and I desperately need to break that habit. I am ashamed to admit that yesterday I found a pair of ankle boots in my wardrobe that I didn't even know I owned.

This year we bought a new(ish) car, had a nice holiday, helped our adult son out financially and bought new carpets and blinds. Next year we have to cut back and I have been thinking about what would happen if I bought nothing but absolute essentials.

I love the idea of learning to cherish and look after what I already have too, maybe it will teach me a valuable lesson.

Bring on 2019!

Fiiiiirst daaaay!

Good luck everyone!

Ive been doing this for about 6 weeks now (since the thread started) and managed to avoid the sales when I went to the big city near us a few days ago, very proud of myself!

I was about to join the group then realised I'd posted at the start of November. I have purchased a winter coat and a handbag (using Christmas and Birthday money/vouchers in the sales and an outlet store, so got more for my money).

Other than that, I'm done and going into 2019 with a no spend attitude. Welcome to the start of 365 days of no spend

I’m in.

Oh dear I have woken up with an urge to spend! At least the shops aren't open, so that will stop me! We're planning on spending January de-cluttering and I do not want or need any more stuff, so I am pleased to be doing this. I'm not doing a complete no spend, more of a low spend, but focusing on doing more things and spending money on experiences rather than stuff.

I'm happily diving into this pool 🤗

My heating is fixed! DH managed to reset it all somehow and it came back to life so I’ve cancelled the part order.

So in effect given the part was £70 ish and the shopping was also £70 I’m about £140 up (I know it doesn’t work like that really!)

I'm in. Clothes are definitely my weakness (and shoes & bags). I need to stay away from the S&B boards

Makeup and toiletries - should definitely have enough to see the year out

I don't need more stuff for the house - gadgets, new cooking stuff, cushions, etc

I started walking to work some days last year and hope to continue with that - I really enjoyed it and it only takes about 40 mins but some days I work on multiple sites and therefore have to take the car

I don't need anymore exercise clothing - I do need to actually exercise more

I'm fine on food - cook from scratch, meal plan, v little waste, take my own lunch to work

I'm retiring in 2022 so need to build up a nest egg so this will help

Hello
Can I join ?
Am on the Frugaleers thread as well but its a bit bonkers recently.
Planning essentials plus replacements for worn out/non fixable things only .
I have a huge veg garden,orchard and lots of hens .
Plan to use eggs more as currently give them away .
Bulk buy so have enough stuff i for 3 months and freezer full.
Fruit,veg,cheese only throughout January.

Argh! I just lost a long post!

I'm in!

In! 👋 to all reducers! I have a serious issue with clothes - a shit ton of them and always room for more. OK, my excuse is that I don’t buy new ever (with the obvious exception of undies) but I have a bad eBay and charity shop habit. Whilst you could argue (and I do) that I’m recycling and not adding to the profits of unethical clothing manufacturers, I’m still spending more than I need and not wearing it all. So I really need encouragement to say ‘no’ in 2019. I want to actually enjoy what I have and wear it all. I’ve easily enough to be able to ‘shop my closet’ for the duration of a nuclear winter so shouldn’t get bored. I need books for work so can’t sign up to not buying those. I’m also ok with ethical toiletries when I run out. I’m sitting here bemoaning my grey roots and can’t wait to get them ‘done’ but I use henna and have a great hairdresser who comes to the house so both save money. Love this thread!

I'm in. Still adjusting to UK life, newly single parent on a low income. So highly motivated.

Hi everyone and welcome to everyone who has newly joined.
I've managed to absolutely ace day one of this challenge. I've not spent a penny!
I volunteered at Parkrun this morning, came home and ate some leftovers and had a big nap!
Tomorrow I am back to work, but I have breakfast and lunch sorted already. I will need to go to the shops for something for dinner though, after I have picked DS up from his dad's.
I should really try and meal plan for the rest of the week while I'm at it, to avoid having to pop to the shops every evening for food as this is surely not the most cost effective way to feed ourselves!
I hope everyone else is off to a flying start as well.

Another no spend day.

I have made lunch for tomorrow, will get lunch out for the kids and dinner in the slow cooker before I go to work so that will help massively towards not spending.

Well done on getting your heating fixed notreallyhere

This is ok when I'm very skint like now, it's when I do have some money in the bank that will be my real test.

I need to join. I nearly had a takeaway tonight (which I couldn't really have afforded) so I cooked instead.

Good day today, did an activity that we have already have a months pass for and took packed lunch for kids, so didn't cost anything. Did have to buy some food and paid for an exercise class for tomorrow, but both are allowed spending. I've got work tomorrow and have lunch sorted. Need to do a meal plan and get food for the rest of the week, but I am going to try and use up leftovers and food in the freezer, so hopefully won't need much.

Well done for cooking instead of the take-away brizzle I'm sure I'll have that dilemma soon enough, usually when I have forgotten to take something out of the freezer for dinner!

Hi everyone,I’m in too.

Count me in. Need to plan more for stuff like birthdays and cut out impulse spending. Kids have stopped growing so clothes as shouldn't be too much of an issue. Will think of rules and post later.

Great thread, I’m in.

Thanks starsky
I'll be struggling with children's clothes as well, one isn't growing any more but the other two are - one of whom is growing every night at the moment.

Rules?

Ok um....

No more takeaways or one every 2 months
No clothes for me, have more than enough.
No makeup. Have enough already
Will ensure I really have run out of something before buying more.
Clean the car myself,. On the inside anyway.
Just stop spending so much in general.