No spend January?

[corinewmoon]

After he festive blowout and considering ive got some big bills in January, (MOT, car tax, insurance) I have decided to try a no frivlous spending month. There is nothing i really need to buy, (apart from new school jumper and coat for DS) .
So I will be taking my lunch to work every day,
I will avoid costas,
and i will limit my self to one bottle of wine per week
I will aim to spend £200.00 on food shop for the month
I will not go for leisurely stroll to the shops during my lunch break.

Any one else want to join in. ?

Sooo busy at the mo that I haven't posted for a few days. I'm doing pretty well though. I'm thinking about every penny and even took back a dress for DD2 which was reduced to £4. I decided that she didn't need it, even if it was cheap.

DH is trying too. He came home with a £3.19 bottle of wine from Aldi yesterday! It was minging and took the enamal off our teeth, but we drank it anyway! There was an even cheaper one at £2.99 he said but was all sold out. We might try that next Friday, (ever the optomists!) Anyone tried it?

Am gradually working out our entire anual expenditure on all essentials. We spend over £400 per year on insurance for each of our cars! Seemed really expensive so got DH to see if he could find it cheaper on compare.com. He couldn't. I have booked in a boiler service for Sunday and then I'll cancel the boiler cover saving us £20 a month!

I will hopefully finish working out our annual expenditure and checking each one to see if I can get it down in the next week. Then I need to see if I can increase incomings. Ebay and trying to get me more work.

Will report back soon.

Right...did the fruit and veggie shop for £30, which I thought was pretty good as I got some cherries and a couple of pineapples as well for a change/treat.

DH asked to get some "fresh" eggs as he wanted to try Heston's poached eggs this morning so stopped off at butcher as he has the freshest eggs locally. Spend £23.00!!! Not all on eggs though ... got sausages as well and a shoulder of lamb for tomorrows dinner which will provide leftovers for Monday night as well.

On income - I have taken on another client today so that's two firm clients and another one on a trial session for Monday - hopefully she will sign up as well (am Personal Trainer, just in case anyone is wondering about 'clients' and 'sessions' )

Also, Ebay is going well - so far this month I have made £240.00!!!! Am on the "£300 by Easter on Ebay" challenge thread as well so that is providing some motivation to get things listed and sold...also clears out some room in the house!!!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend??

Just wanted to say to everyone "keep up the good work". Although I am not posting every day, I am reading every day and this thread is really keeping me on the straight and narrow also. Every time I am in a shop I think of the thread and am doing really well-am usually sooo bad with money! So please continue this thread as there are many more of us following it in silence I'm sure. Well done and hope everyone has a great weekend

Just posting in from the car as I'm so excited Just got out of the shop and bought 1-2 extra things and my budget was $40, I spent $41.88!! I'm soooooooo pleased with myself! That will do me for the rest of the month unless I decide to get more milk

Oh sigh,
Things are not going well, had to pay over £200 to the DS's school for their school holiday this month (I had budgetted half this but apparantly Decembers cheque didn't clear ).
Also DD off on a four day school trip so needs spending money to take with her this week.
Good news is I am doing some NHS bank work, bad news is I wont be paid until the end of Feb and in the meantime I have to keep paying extra for petrol to get there!

Well done, Fishpond. That is an amazing spend!!! I am seriously in awe as I spend almost that in £'s on veggies and fruit for the week...I think I need lessons from you.

serin, sometimes it seems like it's one step forward and the same step back, doesn't it. However, just think...at the end of February you will have a nice little bonus to look forward to .

I am a bit annoyed at myself for buying sausages and lamb at the butcher. I know it will do lots but I didn't want to spend at the butchers this week. So, promise to self...no butcher next weekend.

I am rather amazed at myself also

For that, bought milk, bread, pack of chicken to cook, pack of mince, frozen corn and broccoli, bag of onions, red and green peppers, huge bag potatoes, bunch of bananas, tortillas, butter, soup, taco seasoning, tin of tomatoes, shredded cheese, crackers, brown rice, large tin tuna, bag of pasta, and sour cream .

I have to confess a bit of a wimp-out on the DIY birthday present I was planning to put together for a party DS1 is going to tomorrow. (was going to put child-friendly beads and lengths of elastic into a bead box and call it a necklace kit, but couldn't find a box at the shop and I did baulk at giving a three year old a collection of beads in a plastic bag!) So I bought a £5.99 book. (When did paperback picture books get so expensive? most of them were more like £7.99. That's an adult novel, surely?) We made the card ourselves though, and I already have wrapping paper in my stash. Also bought butter (£1.19) to make a ginger and carrot loaf to cheer us up.

Rogue, what are you selling on ebay? That is an incredible amount of money to make on it!

Well done everyone!
fishpond that is brilliant! Keep it up :)
roguepixie good profit on Ebay. I have pretty much run out of things to sell.

No spend today.
I went to get prescription (free) and made dinner from leftovers and freezer stuff. The kids went swimming with their grandad and he paid. DS swam for the first time without armbands FIL taught both my children to swim now (aswell as DH when he was little).
Ocado order coming tomorrow. I need to still get the grocery bill down more.

reshape - I had a pair of UGGS (bought a few years ago and never worn), leather jacket, phase 8 tunic, cd's, dvd's have all sold. Have listed with bids on at the moment stuff such as exercise gear (new, unused), dvd's, audio books, havaiana's etc etc. Just stuff I had collected and other stuff that I had been given by my DSIS. It's amazing how much stuff I can find to Ebay!!! .

I was going to buy a bead kit at Christmas for my employer's daughter...except they were charging £15.00 for it...I was at the price. When did this stuff get so pricey Got her a fairy sticker book instead @ £6.99 (still pricey but cheaper than the beads)!!!!

Just remembered I bought a litre of while milk as well today (included in the butcher's spend). I made a creamy rice pudding with store cupboard pudding rice and homemade vanilla sugar and you do really need whole milk (have made it with semi-sk and it isn't the same).

Ah - mega congratulations to mini-reckoner for swimming without armbands...huge milestone. What a wonderful FIL.

Cheers roguepixie I am extra proud as I didn't learn to swim as a child.

Week 2
food: £95.02 (+ delivery £2.99)
house: £32.45
clothes: £46.50
parking: £3
guitar lesson: £11
comic: £2.20
takeaway: £5.10
lottery: £3

total: £201.26

Spent less on food this week. Couldn't avoid the clothes expense as DC really needed new uniform and underwear.
It's less than last week, but I need to try harder I think :( The sales are ending so I should be less tempted to look for bargains.

The DC have borrowed some Wii games from their cousins to try them (and keep them entertained this weekend!). Saved me renting or buying and regretting it as the games are both really rubbish and frustrating.

I'm not doing too badly this month. Have avoided the sales for the first time in my life. I do like to stock up for the dc's but their wardrobes are stuffed so I'm going to wait until it's all grown out of / trashed before I add to it.

Have been spending less on food and only had one 'meal deal' lunch so far. The rest of the time I'm making it at home and taking lunch to work.

Once the spring is here I'm going to do a car boot sale so have been piling things up in a big box to sell. Not sure I've got anything worth e-baying just yet although the P&T double pushchair will be sold in March.

Have to go to the supermarket later but I will check what's in the freezer first.

Well done everyone, I think as PennyAnne said we're all doing great. for us all!

Even if it does just make us firm our resolve not to overspend or impulse buy then that's a good habit to get into, actually finding bargains or making extra is a bonus I feel!

So how about "Find a Bargain Feb Thread" next month?

I would be happy to see how long we cam keep the no spend thing going. I reckon I could save about £10k during 2012 if I was superdisciplined, as well as flogging all our surplus stuff. And I think this household would be happier for it.

Agree we should keep this going as long as possible. It's saving us loads. I took £100 out of the bank at the beginning of Jan for 'little purchases' and for the 1st time ever I still have loads left 2 weeks later. It usually all mysteriously disappears within a week or 2.

Spent abit this weekend though
£3 parking
£25 birthday presents
£95 shopping but this did include stocking up on nappies and dishwasher tabs that were on offer, so wouldn't usually be that much.

Not looking forward to next week - 'house fix week' looking at about 250-300 pounds there I think :(

I haven't had the no-spend January I had hoped for but as I've been so inspired by this thread, and made other cutbacks it doesn't feel so desperate. I know that once we've got the "back to school" bills sorted and the one off insurances and repairs covered then next month should be easier.

I've got into better habits and hopefully they'll continue so thanks coinewmoon for the idea and thanks ladies for keeping up the enthusiasm!

I'm on for keeping going as long as possible Boffin- I'd already resolved to do it for three months before joining this thread, to catch up a shortfall in our finances that's been building for a few months. Would love to keep going through 2012- would really help us.

It's like weightwatchers for spending, this.

duchesse I was thinking more like the AA but the same principle!!

My name is duchesse and I am a profligate spender. Since my last meeting I have spent immoderately on trainers and laptop chargers.

First order with Ocado code VOU2932343 min spend of £75.

duchesse do we need to weigh our shopping? ;)

I have been shopping at Lidl which makes me pay for stuff upfront and have baked some cakes this week.

Our credit card bill for over christmas is alot but should be able to pay it off. We have to pay out £200 for French exchange and spending money for dd which cannot be avoided.

I also bought a new matress for my son's bed and his old one is horrible plus I ordered a bookcase (paid for with money from christmas gifts otherwise I won't ever buy it).

also DD's keep overspending on mobiles which is really annoying.

alemci- are the DDs on a contract or PAYG?