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Original poster

No spend January

696 replies

ivykaty44 · 24/12/2021 21:06

anyone up for a no spend January?

just the normal utilities, food shopping and transport costs

then put the purse/wallet away and don't spend till February

a good way to rebalance the balance after xmas

OP posts:
Original poster
ivykaty44 · 10/01/2022 21:19

CheeseMaiden

I adore soda bread, far to much

my dd2 works in an artisan bakers, so it appears at home and I never tend to buy bread, the croissants are fantastic so I tell her not to bring them home otherwise ill end up the size of a house!

another job is looking like it might be booked for February, so im doing well if I get this one as well.

OP posts:
DrRamsesEmerson · 10/01/2022 22:07

NSD here (but I haven't done brilliantly this month so far!).

ancientgran · 10/01/2022 22:16

[quote TabithaTittlemouse]@ancientgran I don’t but I emailed them and they said any old sealed bag would do and the post office scan the QR code. I’m rubbish with technology so this sounds space age Grin

You’ve just reminded me that I need to order my repeat prescription too![/quote]
I thought you'd be OK but it is nice to have it confirmed. Hope your refund comes through soon.

Thanks @BigSkies22 I think you're right but I really want to be in a good position at the end of the month. I'm quite pleased as I got another study from prolific and I've made over £20 this month which is pretty good going and I've got some follow ups this week so it will be close to £30 by next Monday even if I don't get anything extra.

Not spending and making a bit extra is cheering me up as it is all going in the right direction.

Creditcardshame · 11/01/2022 09:18

Morning all!
I did badly yesterday Sad
Back to work for the first time since 17th December and as my team were all in the office it was decided we would all go for lunch to a nearby cafe. £7.60 spent there which was annoying as I had brought my lunch in with me. Will have it today instead.

Then I took DC to their swimming lessons after school. I brought their snack and a drink but usually we get hot chocolates afterwards. DS threw a wobbly about the hot chocolate (suspected ASD, we are in the process of obtaining an assessment) and so I relented but explained that next week we will not be getting them. I got them one large hot chocolate to share and I didn't get one so that saved a couple of £ but still cost £2.40. I need to test out my thermos to see if I could make a hot chocolate at work before I leave to get DC from school and whether it would still be warm two hours later....

My DC are my weakness. Far too many "treats" have snuck in and have become expected.

Hoping to not spend at all for the rest of the week as I will be at work and no plans after school. I have bought plenty of lunch things to have in the weekly shop but might need fresh bread.

CheeseMaiden · 11/01/2022 10:09

@ivykaty44 croissants!! Sounds like heaven! My work has a delivery of fresh pastries every day, it’s the one thing I miss when I’m WFH Sad

BigSkies22 · 11/01/2022 14:23

OK, just spent £41 (including delivery) on a double duvet and pillowcase set for DS from La Redoute. Opted for pay after delivery on my Paypal account, and hoping by the time payment comes around I will have offset at least some of the cost with Prolific income. To be fair, he does only have one duvet cover here since he took the others off to university, and topping up makes sense in the January sales.

Have otherwise distracted myself from thoughts of spending by cleaning all the floors. Now I have to take the dog out and somehow get us back in the house afterwards without mucking everything up again.

BigSkies22 · 11/01/2022 14:25

Just to say, @ancientgran, your rate of earning on Prolific is impressive. I can manage the short surveys, but the higher earning, longer studies always seem to pop up at the most inopportune moments!

ancientgran · 11/01/2022 14:29

@BigSkies22

Just to say, *@ancientgran*, your rate of earning on Prolific is impressive. I can manage the short surveys, but the higher earning, longer studies always seem to pop up at the most inopportune moments!
I got another £2.09 today with more follow ups promised. I think it might be the nature of the two studies I've got on, they are about memory and cognitive abilities and I might be in the target age group. I suppose there has to be an upside to being in the dementia age group.

I don't think I've ever got through to something ongoing like this before, was so pleased to get through the screenings for both of them and being a dual national might have helped as one was for EU nationals and I am British/Irish. I knew that passport would come in useful one day.

TabithaTittlemouse · 11/01/2022 16:04

Today was a spend day.

Two lots of parking for two different appointments. £6.

New wipers for the car £16.

So spends for the year are £50.

Woodlandarchitect · 11/01/2022 17:13

I spent £2.39 in the shop on an assortment on sweets as my DS did well in his maths work today and DH was stressed so it cheered him up.

I can’t believe we’re getting through the month ok so far!

I’ve got 3 interviews lined up now so hopefully by next month I’ll be back to earning a little bit and paying off a credit card ASAP Blush

Original poster
ivykaty44 · 11/01/2022 20:34

£6.20 coffee
£20 wool
£12 presents
£6.10 today a Starbucks with dd

makes a total of

£44.60 this January - so far

And today was a NSD

OP posts:
DrRamsesEmerson · 11/01/2022 21:45

£5 on some stuff for packed lunches, and my Tube fare to work and back. Not bad this week so far.

chimichangaz · 11/01/2022 22:09

No spend day as I was once again tied to my desk!! And I got a refund for a present my ds didn't like of £18.75. He'd said I'd spent too much overall on him for Christmas so that's just back into the bank account. He has so many clothes anyway! Parcels always arriving!

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 12/01/2022 05:34

Rargh. I said I wasn't feeling deprived...Well now I am. Covid is rubbish. DCs and DH driving me mad. I want to buy pretty things to cheer myself up 😫 this is silly as I don't need any of it. And now I can't do overtime because of covid so I need to be more careful.
4 NSDs in a row
Total January spend £43.15

incognitodorrito · 12/01/2022 05:49

£30 for tutor yesterday and £1.60 for a coffee during a long drive home.

Thelongdarkteatime · 12/01/2022 07:29

£4.59 on McDonald’s breakfast. Rough night with dd who is poorly and on antibiotics so I’m counting it as essential!

BigSkies22 · 12/01/2022 10:22

£4.40 on apples and spinach in Sainsbury's. Popped in during my walk with every intention of buying daffodils if they had them - but no, not yet. Saw them in a florist yesterday, at twice the price they usually are in the supermarkets at this time of year. But I might cave and buy them anyway.

I am reading (library loan - free!) the Marie Kondo 'Life Changing...' book and working myself up to apply her principles in a more wholesale way. She recommends 6 months to do the lot. I think tackling my things will be fairly straightforward - I'm in the zone, mentally. But I don't live alone, and DH does love his CDs and photo albums, even though they are never used or looked at. So not sparking joy, even though he claims he wants them.

BigSkies22 · 12/01/2022 11:40

£48 on dog food. Pet insurance goes up to £30 per month at the end of the month. Plus we have a payment of £18.60 for regular pet stuff - flea treatments, annual vax boosters, a couple of vet checks. Dog ownership is not cheap. On the other hand, we probably go out less as a consequence of owning him!

Really, really want to spend money on something lovely, for me or the house. Just sit with the desire and it will pass...Might paint my nails later, to see that quells the beast.

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 12/01/2022 11:41

@BigSkies22 I decided to treat myself to a homemade banana milkshake and a bath with nice products when the spending urge hit. It soon passes. Painting nails is a good idea.

tigerbear · 12/01/2022 11:45

Have totally fallen off the wagon last night.
Had a takeaway and booked a holiday 😬😬😬
Was conscious that there’s hardly any accommodation left on Air BnB, so if we left it any longer for booking at Easter, we’d be left with nothing, so bit the bullet.
Bank account not looking great now…

BigSkies22 · 12/01/2022 11:51

Holidays are essential, tigerbear! And getting in early makes financial sense (once left booking the family summer holiday in France to DH...results were predictable). Can you make some savings between now and Easter?

tigerbear · 12/01/2022 14:23

@BigSkies22 indeed! We didn’t go away last year, so desperately in need of some sun!
Certainly can make some savings between now and Easter. Am selling everything I can find on Vinted and FB. Have made £60 this week 👍

ancientgran · 12/01/2022 14:33

@Thelongdarkteatime

£4.59 on McDonald’s breakfast. Rough night with dd who is poorly and on antibiotics so I’m counting it as essential!
Sympathies. I had to get hold of the out of hours doctor last night, DH suddenly in pain, vomiting, shaking uncontrolably. Looks like a bad UTI, I had to do a late to the late night pharmacy and when I got there the pharmacist had gone home, not sure if she was unwell or what but obviously I couldn't get the med so carried on to next town and got it. He had a bad night but seems a bit better, I'm hoping so anyway.

I had to go back to pharmacy this morning for another lot of med as GP phoned to check on him and sent a prescription over. So while I was in the supermarket with the pharmacy I had to wait so what could I do? Well I could buy cake obviously plus a couple of other bits and spent £10.19 but I used the giftcard I got from topcashback from my house insurance last November so at least my hoarded wages/pension are still sitting pure and untouched.

I've earned another £2.09 on prolific and have another £10 in studies booked for the next few days so I think I will have enough prolific money to pay for my hair appointment so I don't need to feel guilty about that.

ancientgran · 12/01/2022 14:34

[quote tigerbear]@BigSkies22 indeed! We didn’t go away last year, so desperately in need of some sun!
Certainly can make some savings between now and Easter. Am selling everything I can find on Vinted and FB. Have made £60 this week 👍[/quote]
Well done on the £60, I love making money and having a clear out at the same time.

PigeonPigPie · 12/01/2022 15:03

Can I join? Trying to make this a habit for 2022 but starting with January so as not to overwhelm myself as I am naturally someone who loves to buy things, especially in charity shops...

We use monzo pots in the joint account for food shop etc so only counting my 'personal' spends. We did switch to Aldi and strict meal planning though so are actually on target to spend the budgeted £200 on groceries this month which we usually go well over! Aside from food and regular bills, we have only spent family money on parking/petrol. I also spent some money out of our 'baby' savings pot on some second hand sleeping bags on Vinted (essential we hadn't bought yet).

So far I have done NSD on 8 days. In January so far have spent:
£10 on second hand storksak nappy bag
£15 on a fish and chips while at the seaside
£6.50 on coffees for DH and I at the seaside
£5.60 on a mcdonalds lunch on a day I was feeling particularly rubbish and WFH (third trimester!!)