Planning a minimal spend period/mindset.

[Methenyouplus4]

We have always been pretty frugal: £125 food shop for x6 of us, holiday in UK, nearly all clothes/gifts second hand etc.

Soon, we are going to loose about £100 per week in income and I need to make up as much of that short fall as possible. I have looked at obvious stuff e.g. cheapest rate bills, cut down meat consumption etc. I would say the only 'luxuries' we have (obviously that is perspective) is x2 cars (live rural and work opposite direction from DH) and a guy who does our garden for £50 per month (4 hours). This is because our garden is pretty big with masses of privit/ hedges so we really need those to be kept on top of as otherwise would probably take DH a full weekend every month. We have 4 DC and 1 who is severely disabled (hence reason I'm dropping hours/looking £100 a week) so really need both of us around.

Anyway, rather long winded, but my question is this. How is it best to prepare for no/low spend? Is it best to go cold turkey? Should I take a certain amount of cash out?

As I said, we are pretty frugal with bigger stuff but I know I need to be better with the little things.

Should add that I have read frugal threads on here and made notes, lots of great ideas. Problem is, I am still in habit/mindset of having little treats e.g. yesterday spent £6 in local soft play (only £2 per child) then I buy a coffee which is £3, then £4 at charity shop on board games-bargains but not needed. Today it was park (free) but ended up in local craft fare spending £5 on a jar of honey just because man on stall was so sweet and was trying to give it to me for free because kids loved it so much (he had samples). I couldn't bring myself to take it for free as he only had £10 in his little pot.

So then I realised all these extras: coffee/charity/honey was suddenly £12. How do you break the habit of getting little extras?

i would like tips on this too :)

Probably the simplest way is to avoid the places or just don’t take any cash with you. Sorry I know that sounds harsh but I’m the same and it’s the only way that works for me.

The only way we can have no spend days or weeks is to stay in.

When we go out, even if just with the mindset of browsing, we end up in home bargains, B&M those kind of places and anywhere between £30-£50 lighter!

We have crept into our overdraft the past two months, so I’ve reset our budget next month, we should still have money to spend on ‘treats’ and have allocated money for thugs we have coming up next month, meal out for DH birthday, Xmas money, hair cut, dentist and be able to clear the overdraft off... we will be able to stick with it IF we can stay in and log ALL of our spending. Will be trying to spend more time on threads like this to keep on track.

Thugs coming up- had a proper chuckle at this.

I need this at the moment so would welcome any tips

I do a budget, and stick to it ok, i think its working, its expensive time for me with daughter at university, so i need to do many no spend weekends, to pay my top up of her accomodation £650 in january

I have budgeted for Christmas, just need inspiration to stick to it. Its the decisions you make, that make or break it, I have 'magical thinking' when i am out and about, and think it will be ok i'll just use that £20 for phone top ups, WHY? I will need phone top ups!

Sadly I think the answer is to be antisocial and stay at home for the most part! It's rubbish.

Other than that, a little extra planning. Make up some flapjacks to take with you as snacks. Take a flask of coffee and sarnies if you're out for longer.

Oops! Perhaps there are thugs coming up... I hope not!

Write a list of all the things that you are doing that you could do for free....

Soft play £6 = Walk in the woods and feed the ducks £0
Coffee £3 = Flask of coffee from home £0
Charity shop board games £4 = Library visit £0
Craft market honey £5 = Go but don't take any cash!!!

I think you just need to plan a bit better. I go through phases where I spend more than others. Working and have a lot going on personally at the moment/online shopping means that I am not spending a lot!

Also, sign up to Freecycle or Freegle as you'll probably find things like board games every now and again.

Good advice stressed out.

I didn't mind the £6 So much as that was for all 3 littles and we went to the park after so were out for about 5 hours so proved good value. You are spot on about the other stuff though, I need to be honest and stop making excuses- I could have just let the kind man give us the free honey and accepted it as a lovely gesture instead of feeling the need to find a way to give him the money.

Only do free activities, bring your own snacks.

But I think you should still have little treats, just much cheaper ones. The kind of thing that costs a few pennies at a time not a few pounds. Or you’ll go mad. Ensure they are much cheaper by having a wee stash of them. For example, a bag of fun size chocolate bars, a cheap scented candle (Tesco do a vanilla and honey one in a jar for £1 or £1.50- the treat is burning it for a few hours, then putting it away for another time).

I rarely buy a coffee when I'm out. If I know I am going to be out for a while I take a flask with one of the Nescafe Cappuccino things. You can get even cheaper ones from LIDL that taste exactly the same.

This is a good website.... www.muchmorewithless.co.uk/

Would you and the family enjoy the National Trust? Unlimited access and one can pay monthly by direct debit. Steer clear of the cafe and gift shop though! There are always places to picnic and you can take drinks. I go quite regularly and the children I see there seem to enjoy themselves very much.

When I was little I liked weekly visits to the library, we used to go as a family. Lots of free reading.

Keep whatever you may need for a day out in the car boot.
First aid kit, wipes, tissues, water etc. I have a ‘tea box’ with teabags, biscuits, old spoons and mugs etc. I keep this replenished so all I need for an afternoon out are flasks of milk and hot water. Good flasks and travel mugs will save you a fortune.

Get into baking with the children. The Bero book is excellent, I learned to bake from this when I was little. Then there will be good thing to take on picnics!

The main thing that stood out to me was the gardener... Why would it take your DH a whole weekend to do a job that takes someone else four hours? You need the £50!

Have two set amounts of money per week. One for groceries, toiletries and cleaning stuff included.
One for "other". Coffee, charity shop etc etc.
Write it all down.

When you limit the amount spent on "other" and are adding it up daily you will be more picky about where it goes.
Go to the supermarket once a week. Only once, it limits the spend. Meal plan.

You should have spent the bulk of your grocery money all at once. A few pounds left for milk etc.
You still have the "other" for non grocery purchases.

There are some budget spreadsheets on Money Saving Expert and lots of other advice. You could try the free trial of You Need a Budget which I have heard is very good once you get the hang of it.

Already NT members, works out really cheap as only pay for x2 junior membership as other 2 children are under 5 and DH and I get free carer access (due to disabled son). We live in the North East and so aren't loads of options, about 5 within a 45 min drive and only x3 of those have play areas (where we can make a day out). I was actually just mentioning to DH that we need to make better use of free carer access as lots of places we have paid to get in then found out after we could have went free as carers, you've reminded me I was going to make a list of all places we can get in free/cheap.

We have flask etc but love the car box idea- brilliant for random stop offs to park/beach etc as that is often when we end up getting extra coffee etc.

Library is another great idea I had forgotten about and we have a few local ones too.

The gardener- I know it seems like a luxury but we have masses of privet hedges that are effectively the 'wall'/boarders of our garden. In that time (x2 hours every 2 weeks) he cuts them all with oil cutter, blows all leaves/collects all debris, cuts lawns then normally does an extra e.g. a bit of borders/veg patch. He is a great guy and gives us a lot of plants/veg for free (from other jobs) and I feel he makes our massive garden manageable.

We meal plan/weekly shop but could defo be better. A trip for top up milk will often result in an extra tub of ice-cream /packs of sweets etc. Annoying as local shop considerably more than Aldi.

I am going to do the envelope system, I started another thread about it and have been recommended some links that I'm going to investigate today. We should have about £100 For extras each week (That includes gifts/hair cuts/school extras for kids e.g. trips). Really want to see if I can save at least half as think a chunk of it is wasted every week on non-essentials.

I have made basic scones and fairy cakes, for swimming tonight, aim to only spend £2.10 on child swim :)

First, thanks @StressedOutPa for mentioning my blog. Very kind.

@MeThenYouPlus4 Reckon it would help to change mindset.

As you've identified, all those little spends each day can be a killer when money is tight. My suggestions is to assume you're not going to have any spending money beyond your bills. Zip all. Zilch.

Then only add back stuff that seems really essential, and look for free or lower cost alternatives wherever possible.

I focus more on the kids, so can see why £6 for soft play would appeal, especially in this weather. But I'd take drinks, snacks & something to keep the kids occupied if bored, so I didn't have to spend any more. I'd also look for cheaper alternatives other days (eg library, museums, parks, galleries, visiting friends, country walks, baking or den building at home, gardening for kids in better weather).

Don't buy anything without thinking "is this helping me stay around for my son, rather than working more hours?" Suspect £5 honey wouldn't pass that test. Sounds like you're tempted to spend when you're in shops, like the craft fair, charity shop or extras during top up shopping in the supermarket. If you know that - don't go into shops! Start meal planning, write a list and stick to fewer, bigger supermarket trips or order online. And unsubscribe from marketing emails while you're at it.

Also, I swear by keeping a spending diary and writing down every single thing I spend. Makes me much more aware of all the little things, so I'm less likely to buy extras like sweets, sandwiches, charity shop hauls, magazines or whatever.

If you're used to spending more, I recommend shopping from the contents of your cupboards first, as you might be surprised what you already have.

So make meals based on the contents of your kitchen cupboards, fridge & freezer, then only buy extra ingredients needed. Rifle through your wardrobe so you can re-wear stuff you already have rather than buying new. Go through all the kids toys, games, DVDs, craft kits etc, then play them all over again before you buy anything more.

Find anything you don't need or want any more? Sell it. Obviously the stuff you already have won't last for ever, but might get you into the mindset of spending less.

Anyway sorry this is a bit long, hope some of it is vaguely helpful and good luck!

The best way is just stop going to the shops. Sounds too obvious I know, but it’s what I’ve done.
Last winter we were in a bad habit of popping into town on a Saturday because of having nothing else to do, then spending nearly £30 on lunch in m and s, buying the kids a toy in the toy shop, etc. We’ve knocked that on the head! Going to the park instead.
I’ve stopped going for a browse round the shops on my day off. I haven’t bought myself any new clothes since September and I don’t miss it. Because I’m not looking I don’t feel like I need or want anything. I have enough stuff, all I need are my library books. (Looking forward to a little spend in the January sales though).

Very good advice on here. I've stopped going to the shops for a browse. I only buy things I actually need now online or a trip into town and stick to the list. Have also started shopping online for bulky items and pop into the supermarket for fresh/items that get squashed on the online shop (i.e. bread, brie, etc.). Ocado I am looking at you!!!