To be a little shocked that by not going into town every Saturday with the dc we are saving £100 a month even before buying anything!

[PolkadotCircus]

So we're normally pretty tight but since Christmas we have been doing the no spend challenge in Budget.

To boost my no spend days target I rearranged my week so we didn't need to go into town as a family to stock up on milk,a paper,go to the library ,bank etc.

Omg we're really noticing the difference and after a few calculations have realised how much just nipping into town with a family costs.

Weekly cost:-

£5 petrol
£7 parking
£12 on pasties x 5 (always mistime the trip so end up buying lunch which we never do normally,take water from home)
£5 on papers

Never actually buy anything!

Omg when did things get so expensive?As a child we went into town every week to get the papers,a doughnut and go to the library.

Bit sad that this is now a luxury,did I have blinkers on?

Pure it's a lovely city and a lovely library.My kids read loads and tbf we liked being together as a family even if doing errands.We always do lovely walks etc on a Sunday,or visit friends,do crafty stuff,play games Sat pm.

The free museum is fab too.

How come a pastie is £12? Greggs are a lot cheaper

Meal planning has saved me loads of money and I don't have much waste.

Also taking a packed lunch instead of buying sandwiches in work has saved me time and money.

Also switching off plugs that are not in use

£7 parking? Would be worth some research to find free parking on streets a bit out of the town centre.

is the bus fare £7 even for the kids?

I agree kickassangel. I hardly ever go in shops except for food/groceries (all bought from our local shops, & we get a veg box). Occasionally get coffee and cake in a cafe or takeaway. Otherwise my wallet comes out to top up my Oyster once in a while, if it's too wet/cold/i'm too lazy to cycle. So we have no spend days probably 4 out of 7?

Polka Dot you don't have to justify why you enjoy going into town. Many people do, but there's always some superior type who apparently never wastes time on inferior pursuits such as browsing the shops and mixing with the hoi polloi. A good long walk in the countryside is the only worthwhile thing to do at the weekend, you know.

For goodness sake ! £12 for 5 pasties! 2.40 each!

Thanks Pen,that's it exactly.

2.40 per pasty is really expensive! Are they gold plated?

Loving all the pursed lips on this thread :)

Polka we have the same problem, we don't go into town every week but when we do we do feel the need to buy something just to make it worth spending £5 on parking! Which is crazy when you think about it. When it was just DH and I it seemed to be much cheaper, we used to go and have a burger and a pint for £3.99 at a Wetherspoons, ah happy days... it seems loads pricier currently.

Where do you park?

We often go into town on Saturday.

Petrol - £3 at a guess?
Parking - nothing - we park further out from the centre and walk in.
Saturday paper - £2.20ish.
Library - nothing
M+S meal deal - £10.

Although that does feed us for the evening.

I don't think "no spend" would help me - I only ever spend anything at the weekend anyway, so I'm "no spend" all week - for the simple reason I don't get to a shop.

I used to go into town on a Saturday for a mooch about but realised I was doing the same as you and have since stopped. I have a teenager I send to the shop instead and it only costs me 70p for a packet of sweets!

Oh and if we got the bus into town it would cost us about £15 for a family day ticket. It's a 10 minute drive.

Good thread op.
Unfortunate for city centre retailers.
Nothing stands still in life.

You're in a happy place today Quint

Why buy papers with the previous days news in when up to date news is available online or on numerous news channels 24/7.

Only time I ever buy the newspapers is when there's something to collect (lego) or save money on.

I will pick up the free metro when I'm on the bus in the morning though

If we go to "town" 50 miles away our petrol is £25 and our parking is free. We stopped it ages ago except if we have another reason to go (dentist, optician, passing through) and saved a fortune. Even a meal in a supermarket cafe costs £15+ for 4 and petrol really does make things expensive.

But I think to those with "pursed lips" some of us actually like getting out to the town/city as part of our weekends. And NO we don't all have Internet shopping or cheap buses or access to everything in our own villages. Sometimes we have to TRAVEL!

Well don OP. Sometimes it really is the little things that add up.

I think I have more in common with your name than you, today, Narked.

I actually wish I had a nice town, with a nice library to come on a Saturday, now and then.

Admittedly the pasties are from a local pasty shop as opposed to the well known chain but they're scrotum free and we care about our pasties down here!!!It's a nightmare finding cheap non expensive on the go lunch for a family of 5.

Yes could be better organised re food and defo going to look at off street parking,however even with these savings it's too much to justify.

Will be a once a month trip now.

Good for you, OP! And personally I think pasties and a library sounds like a lovely day out.

'scrotum free' ?

On second thoughts - don't tell me!

I've stopped buying Sunday papers. They're the most expensive. And don't buy one on Saturday either.

Saturday papers are better than Sunday papers.