No spend or low spend February

[ivykaty44]

Here is a thread to keep check of spends in February

the idea is to have No Spends Days, weeks or clusters of days

im also going to be keeping my supermarket shopping low, eating what I have in the cupboards, to keep febs spends low.

Would anyone like to pledge an amount? and see if they can keep under that amount of money for the 28 days?

I pledge £200 for fuel, shopping and spending

Happy Friday all!
What a horrible day - got absolutely soaked on the school run but was good and turned down a coffee with a couple of the other school mums. Coffee is my weakness too - I make mine at home in a cafetière and have a milk frother.

I had to send the DC in with £1 each for a cake sale - usually I would pop into the shop and buy something to break a note to get change (I never use cash anymore) Not today! I planned ahead and got £10 in £1 coins from the post office.

Hopefully £2 is all I will spend today.

I'm not spending today 💪

Quite easy tbf as one of my dcs is poorly, so we're stuck indoors anyway. Will resist the online shopping

Failed today 🤦‍♀️ £4.90 on breakfast.

Meant to add yesterday's spend to my log, which was £30 on cinema tickets for dh, dcs and me next week

So that's about £90 gone! But still think I'll be able to stay under £300 this month.

Spent yesterday: £2.09 on a McDonald's milkshake (I blame third trimester...)
And today: £2.85 on a decaf oat latte - was meant to meet a friend but she had to rearrange so I took myself for a coffee and a walk anyway!
Have budgeted £20 for coffees/drinks out for the month so I've already used up this week's allowance!

Ive opened a monzo bank account a d hoping all the 'pots' helps. Im ashamed to say i live on benefits and have done for 16 months now. Hopefully temporary as have a disabled toddler who cant go to childminder etc. He needs 1 to 1 care and i have no one available to help. Im a single parent. Anyway i get UC carers allowance and DLA so some imcome most weeks. Im terrible for budgeting amd keeping some for the weeks when large bills are due.

At the moment i have around £500 in the bank but only £80 in my free money to soend bit for groceries etc. The rest is in pots and is spoken for ... rent, car, petrol, bills etc. Usually i would just see the £500 and think yay i have money lets spend it.

@Hockeyboysmum no shame at all, benefits are there for that exact reason. It must be hard being sole carer for a disabled child

@FrugalFrancine hope your DC gets better soon

@PigeonPigPie when are you due? I found food was my only pleasure in the third trimester.

Anyone get the urge to spend money sometimes? Friday is my worst time, I feel I need to treat myself after a busy week at work.

Another no spend day for me, 2 in a row

Also had a payment for some extra work I did, got a 4 more additional jobs next week so that’ll be nice when the money comes in

Not sure if I meet the criteria for this thread as February is an expensive month for us with three family birthdays, car mot, cats annual vet check etc but I’m trying to not buy anything other than the things I have to spend on and hope this will keep me accountable. And I obviously want to spend as little as possible on food etc but we’re a family of six with some specific dietary needs so our food bill is a lot! Feel free to chuck me off if not thrifty enough.

So aside from direct debits, so far this month my spends are:
Tue: £8 on bread, milk, veg, juice
Wed: £140.10 on big food shop
Thurs: £35.66 on birthday presents, £11.96 on lunch
Fri: £19.99 on fortnightly fruit and veg box, £42.70 on parentpay (one school trip, one d of e expedition, one textbook)

That’s loads already

Well done on setting up a Monzo system for budgeting @Hockeyboysmum. And benefits are there for when people need them, like you do now, no need for shame at all.

After all my fixed costs (DS rent, debt repayments, contact lenses, prescriptions, essential transport, contribution to joint account), the 'discretionary' spending for which I've budgeted (this month, that's my haircut, my train tickets to visit my parents, reupholstering a chair cushion), I will have £31 per week for each of the four weeks left until next pay day. I've opted to spend £11 of that this week for two cinema tickets at the local fleapit tomorrow. DH a bit dismayed that I would rather pay for cheap tickets than have him treat us to expensive tickets. But I will have more fun being frugal.

Chilli made with minced pork for dinner tonight. I'm making a big batch, half to freeze.
On the joint account, spent £14 on replacement hoover attachment, £9 on a sink plunger.

My Lordy, it’s been a spendy day!
I felt anxious and tried to fix it by buying things!!

And did that work, @Woodlandarchitect??

I might spend on the joint account tonight, if only putting things in my shopping basket (Pooky lights). We've had the second sighting of a mouse in a week, which suggests to me that they are moving in. DH has put poison baits in the cellar and under the kickboards in the kitchen, but three sightings and I'm calling in the professionals. Which will be fucking spendy.

@Quamora welcome! I don't think there is a set criteria to join, I think we are all just trying to spend less.

I don't count budgeted spending - me and DH have a spreadsheet going and as soon as we know a bill/ expense will be coming up we enter it. We already know DH will have a tax bill next Jan so that is on there. We then plan the month ahead to work out what we have spare. We have a spendy month too - 4 family birthdays, DC are going to 3 parties, half term, house insurance.
It is all that non essential fritter that I am trying to do away with, that and getting our food bill under control.

Posting on here is helping me.

@Woodlandarchitect - what did you get? (Living vicariously ) I have had big spending urges today too.

@BigSkies22 ugh. You have my sympathy.

@ivykaty44 well done on the work, are you self employed?

Thanks @Creditcardshame! He seems alright now thankfully. Hope he sleeps OK 🤞

I was dangerously close to buying stuff online a minute ago. Had a talk with myself and realised it was unnecessary. My weakness is 'practical clothing'. I need this you see 😌. Today it was (nearly) joggers and a matching hoodie for walking in. But...walking does not need special kit other than maybe footwear or wet weather gear, Francine, you twit! And I have that already.

Went to trampoline place last night. Had budgeted £13 and spent £13 so not too bad. Cold wet and miserable here today so wont be going out. Hopefully a no spend day! Ds1 who is 12 is at his dads this weekend so just me and toddler. STAY AWAY FROM THE AMAZON APP....

No it didn’t work and then my anxiety got worse. But like @FrugalFrancine I try and convince myself that I need practical clothing for work.

Anyway today is a new day! And my new frugal worry is Gas and Electricity. We spend £45 a month on Electricity on a Prepayment Meter (thanks to previous owner!) and a new direct debit approach would be £80 a month! literally double!

So we’re sticking to the prepayment option until things calm down, but that’s a worry because it’s a variable tariff.

I’ve also noticed a huge rise in cat food and children’s clothes!

@Creditcardshame I bought a navy snuggly hoodie to keep me warm in the office as the windows are always open due to covid (rightly so!)…. A client walked into the office yesterday and I was wearing a coat and scarf. I felt ridiculous.

So I thought a semi smart casual hoodie was a good idea but it was £40! and it can over my jumper (I always dress warm but still cold regardless!)

I’m going to try hard to make today and tomorrow no spend days, apart from a food shop which is much needed as cupboards are getting truly bare

Creditcardshame

It’s just extras that I do on the side of my main income and this week happen to have 4 which will provide some nice extra cash. I have two extras the following week, so will set me up for the month

@Woodlandarchitect - staying warm at work is not a luxury. I once worked in an office with the world's worst AC system - hot spots and refrigerator-cold spots. It made meetings quick! Have you tried merino base layers? I bought a long-sleeved top and leggings a couple of winters back ( to protect against both outdoor and indoor conditions - dog walking and the really shit central heating that we had a the time), and they're great. Mine are by Dilling, not too expensive. Comfortable, soft, not itchy, the top is nice enough to wear as an outer layer as well.

Actually, have just checked the label on the Dilling garments. Made in Bangladesh. Which probably explains why they are much cheaper than other merino base layer garments made in Europe where wages are better. I obviously wasn't thinking things through at the time.

Thank you @Creditcardshame.

I thought today was going to be a no spend day then remembered I had to buy beavers uniform 🤦🏻‍♀️ So that’s £27.00

I’m not very good at this!

I did walk past all the other shops on the way to get it though without spotting something else I ‘needed’

I had a no spend day on Thursday and Friday but I was at work so didn't have the temptation or time to spend any money. I spent £3 today on teabags and chocolate. I used change from the change pot so wasn't actually out of my budget. I've got to go and get ds some new school shoes tomorrow though as he's broken the ones he got in September. I also need to get him some new jeans as he's had a bit of a growth spurt. Hopefully I don't spend much tomorrow.

NSD

I met my friends for afternoon tea today - it has been in the diary for ages and was lovely. It was a set price of £15 and we were there 2.5hrs! I am just on my way home. Very full, I doubt I will need dinner.
I also spent £2.99 on a big roll of wrapping paper - neutral so it will do for all events.

£20 of my £100 gone.