Anyone want to join for a No spend January

[ivykaty44]

As done in other years, a no spend January

But also perhaps a budget cooking month, to really keep costs down

the idea is we only spend money on transport & food shopping - so those items don't count, but lets try and keep the shopping spends low

I shall be following the likes of cardiff mum and taming twins for budget ideas for food, especially using slow cooker and doubling up recipes.

I shall also be cooking some slow cooker recipes in January and doubling up, that way can cook for the first 2 weeks of January and freeze for the next two weeks

Purchasing birthday present for January on Black Friday next week, that way getting a good deal.

Its a reset on finances which will be especially needed in the household to curb some unnecessary spending and leave me with money in the bank on 31 January. I did this about 4 years ago and had an extra £110 in my account.

doing free things, , freecycle after Christmas, walks, cycling, library trips, free talks etc

Some take it into February

Jumping in late! I've been following the thread and also aiming for no-spend Jan so thought I would post for a bit of accountability.

I managed 6 NSD but Saturday we took DD back to uni & I paid for lunch for us both. £12 for 2 rather than a big meal & drinks for 4 of us like it usually is, so I'm counting that as a win.

Also went in to Matalan to use a refund voucher I found in my purse - I needed underwear & they had some in the sale so I thought i'd use the voucher up. Only I got to the till and it had expired (no idea they had a 12m expiry date 😖). I returned one set and kept the other so that was a £15 spend, for 3 bras & 6 pairs of pants I didn't think that was bad. I have transferred that amount from my Vinted sales though.

Then last night I had to spend £34 on new school shoes for DS. Technically a necessity but not budgeted for so for me that's not a NSD.

My rules are bills / food / fuel / necessary spends only. Bills are in a separate account like @ivykaty44 so I don't have to think about them. Groceries I am trying to reduce as much as possible and use up freezer / cupboard stuff. £105 spent so far this week - I was planning to hold off as long as I could but got a 20% Ocado voucher so I used that for delivery yesterday (£75 ish) and hopefully have enough for the next 10 days or so, will probably need bread & milk though. The rest was in Lidl. That's 3 meals a day for 3 adults & household / cleaning products.

£1.25 just for bread today. I have finally sat down and made a list of my debts 😢 total owed over 10 different accounts is £3781.54. All of them are active with me always making the minimum repayment so it’s not unmanageable in the sense that I have debts I can’t afford but I would obviously be much better off if I wasn’t paying so much towards them each month. I am not really in a position to up my payments on a permanent basis but once I finish uni and go back to full time work this summer I would like to have them cleared in 12 months. Until then I have decided to put them in the order I want to pay them off and try to chip away just a little bit extra wherever I can. I do think having it as a list on my phone that I can edit and update will help as I can physically see the balance reducing rather than just having them go out direct debit and not being sure on the balance. As I clear them I will close all accounts except for next which I use for clothes and one credit card but I will not be using them again until all debts are cleared

NSD today, had h/m leek and potato soup for lunch with h/m bread croutons, and h/m tuna fishcakes planned for tea. So much homemade food, its getting on my nerves now.

Thanks @ivykaty44 I'd seen you mention that somewhere near the beginning of the thread too. That is a really good idea. What might seem like a hassle to change the payment details of all my accounts would probably be a good exercise as I go through and review them etc.

I've definitely been living day to day which is why my spends are all over the place.

But I'm really looking forward to quieting down this year, going at a slower pace and being a lot more in control of everything- not least my meals!

I've been planning to change to a more part time lower paid job to help me cope better.

Which is why I'm trying to actually live within my means before I face a possible income reduction.

I'm also considering my partner moving in at some point (prob in about a year) so really want to get a handle on both our spending before we consider merging anything.

Neither of us buys anything in particular- eg we never buy clothes, I never buy make up, eat out maybe twice a month. I think it's just lack of any planning which sees spending go over the monthly limit each month.

@Grigorisangel I'm using the Dave Ramsey debt snowball idea of overpaying the smallest debt until it's clear, and then transferring that monthly payment to the next smallest one and so on. Might be helpful?

@Grigorisangel as well as priority for higher interest first and the snow ball ideas about have your heard off the standing order trick?
change your dd to a so of the last min payment if you can afford to then you pay the same each month iyswim so you pay the capital as well as the interest

Well yesterday I spent approx £40 on some essentials I forgot to get the day before and I bulk bought some toiletries which should last us at least a couple of months. I know it works our cheaper bulk buying but I hate the bigger initial payment if that makes sense.

Today I dropped my son off to meet some friends in the next town 20 mins away, I had decided to wait for him and just read my kindle in the car and had made a tea to take with me but left it at home 😩 so bought a takeaway tea for £1.25, not too bad but annoyed with myself for forgetting. Does anyone else try to be organised and do silly things like this? I drive myself crazy 😂

This old thread explains it better www.mumsnet.com/talk/legal_money_matters/3432890-Standing-Order-Trick-for-Credit-Cards

Forgot I had the Chiropractor this morning too 🤦🏻‍♀️ that was £45, it every 3 weeks just now but to me essential, I'll keep going as long as we can afford it.

Thank you both @MastieMum and @lifelongfrugaleer i will definitely look at both of those options. 4k of debt seems like a lot for me but I reckon come summer with the increase in wage I’m expecting I should be able to up my payments by a few hundred pounds potentially. I am through to the final round for a graduate scheme job that is essentially another 2 years of training but is an extra £800p/m compared to what I’m currently earning and as I am surviving on my current wage (just) that will be able to go towards debts and then savings. I think even if I’m not successful in my applications for graduate jobs that even an entry level full time job will give me a few hundred extra to throw at it. It’s just a matter of surviving and paying off extra if I can until the summer

Went in Neros today. Ended up buying my drink and my daughters, but was pleased to realise I had a voucher on my app so that brought the cost down to £2.35.
Pleased with that.
MOT due tomorrow 😬

NSD here today. V wet dog walk and got really chilled for a few hours after…didn’t even think about spending lol. Coop food delivery tomorrow of £40, am determined to keep it at £40 a week this month - not easy with their prices for three adults and two children. Lentil bolognese for dinner. Mushroom omelettes tomorrow.

Ouch that was a painful day. No disallowed spends but…

£100 to fill the car up! and new school shoes for ds2 and ds3. 😭. allowed as a necessary spend but still!
And car MoT tomorrow. 😟

Nothing other than essential spends today.
£22 Lidl. Loads of food as used the Pick of the Week fruit and veg, stuck to what was needed etc. Only extra was basil tofu but that'll be used in midweek lunches or next weeks menu plan. Will only needs essentials rest of the week.
£23 window cleaning.
£60 cleaner. At present, with DH in hospital long term, working lots of hours, they keep me sane, one less thing to try to manage.

Nothing other than essential spends today.
£22 Lidl. Loads of food as used the Pick of the Week fruit and veg, stuck to what was needed etc. Only extra was basil tofu but that'll be used in midweek lunches or next weeks menu plan. Will only needs essentials rest of the week.
£23 window cleaning.
£60 cleaner. At present, with DH in hospital long term, working lots of hours, they keep me sane, one less thing to try to manage.

NSD today. Walked to the house from work to pick up lunch, so also increased my overall step count. Happy days! It's looking like it's going to be a spendy weekend (DD has a birthday party to attend so gift and travel expenses, but they've been budgeted for. The way I'm going I'll have money in the bank come payday, which is utterly unheard of!

NSD except bus fare home £2.50. Usually walk but it was a stressful day and just wanted to get home rather than the 40 min walk!

Chopped up sorry looking vegetables in the bottom of the fridge ready to stick in the slow cooker for dinner tomorrow. Will use the leftover part baked baguettes from Christmas. Leftover curry for lunches tomorrow in our thermos'. The girls will have the naan bread and ive got the last 2 poppadoms. So hopefully no spends tomorrow.

Wednesday might be a bit spendy, dd2 has a hospital appointment and we need to get a couple of presents for her friends birthday parties at the weekend as we are in town.

Another NSD! Yey

DH on the other hand spent over £100 on new tiles for our kitchen (needed, we were going leave it til next month to budget more this month but he has more time to do the work in now than waiting til Feb)

Yesterday was another NSD. Builder caqme around for quotes on some major work so just waiting to see approximate cost now

Going to be a speedy day for me but can’t be avoided, off to the dentist this morning for a wisdom tooth extraction… not looking forward to it and feeling very nervous

£7.40 spent yesterday on bus to work and lunch. Lunch because I forgot to account for going into the office in my meal plan, so lesson learned for next week. Today should be a NSD though.

£29 in Aldi yesterday, expect to spend a few quid in Sainsbury's today. However, keeping a firm eye on grocery spends this month, and eating the freezer/fridge/cupboard before topping up.

Did, however, spend a tenner on 'admin fees' for two ballet tickets which came up on a free/cheap tickets club I use. Going with DSiL - will be a nice treat for us both after a busy few weeks with family stuff.

£84.70 on dentist plus travel. Was planning to get the bus but the one to get me there didn’t turn up so needed a taxi and afterwards it would have been a 25 minute wait then 2 buses to get home so I opted for another taxi so I could get home quicker. The extraction itself was fine but I’m in a bit of pain now. Dentist also said to continue with the antiseptic mouthwash for a further 2 weeks I avoid infection so I will need to buy more of that and at £6 a bottle it isn’t cheap

NSD here today, the remains of the soup for lunch with cheese on toast, and pasta, salad and garlic brad for tea. Feeling not too bad, but there are a lot of things I'm going to have to buy in February. Fabric for a quilt for my friends 60th next year, a dentist appointment and a weekend away to visit family. At least its a no council tax month.

I made a new recipe yesterday but only used 200g of beef and had 500g left over, so popped that in the freezer for next week - I can make a chilli con con carne and cottage pie.

I am running out of a couple of things but desperately trying to wait until shopping day to replenish. I wanted more oranges but have apples so will have to make do with them instead

I think tonights meal will be about £25/£30

but apart from that plan on a NSD today - though till Friday at least!