NO SPEND 23

[LaurieFairyCake]

I'm going HARD CORE. There's already a no spend January - I want to go ALL THE FUCKING WAY as far as possible

And I want to take YOU down with me

I confess it's easier for me as I am literally drowning in stuff even now. I've lost 6 stone in weight and I've got rid of 15 black full bags of clothes in last six months so I'm on a roll.

I also work all the fucking time so I have about 50 books to read and all the tv I want to watch. And I can't be arsed doing anything to my house so that's out.

I also want to do this for the environment - I already buy second hand as much as possible as I'm obsessed with EBay - but I could still do with buying much less

I've no idea what the rules could be, let's decide that if I get anyone on board.

My own thoughts are to get as FAR as possible.

I have bought a jumper in the sales already I don't need 🤦‍♀️ which is what kicked this off in my mind today - yadda yadda half price blah blah but I have 20 jumpers! And I had drunk half a bottle of port last night when I purchased it online...

So given my flawed premise anyone want to join me???

Yay @LostCats, I bet this makes such a difference to you going forward! Might mean a morning of phone calls, but probably worth it!

End of week 9 review:-

£10.00 gift voucher for DD2's friend
£10.00 tea & cakes for friend's birthday
= £20.00 spent + 5 x NSDs

March total spend @ end of week 9 = £20.00 + 2 x NSDs

I've blown the budget this week- took teens to a uni open day. Took drinks and snacks but still spent on extra petrol, parking, toll road, coffee and then a drive through takeaway. Strictly speaking the takeaway was a luxury but I wanted the day to have a happy positive feeling.

Then I bought the other teen a takeaway the next day 'to make it fair'.

Yesterday was a NSD though and so will today be. Aiming to not spend anything until at Friday now as I have a busy work time coming up.

Just wood for stove yesterday. £109 house insurance. My renewal was £203 so happy with that. I always compare if the renewal has more than a £20 increase

Well done everyone! @CrapBucket, I think that sounds like a reasonable spend for what you were doing! Well done on the home insurance saving @grannycake! Mine was £205.00 this year .

NSD today. I went to a cafe after a windy walk with my Mum and DD1 but I just had a tap water and Mum bought DD1 a hot choc with all the trimmings. I resisted the chance to buy some homemade soup to warm me up and ate at home afterwards! Hopefully it'll be a NSD tomorrow, then on Tuesday, I'm meeting a friend at Starbucks in the evening so will likely spend around £8 on a couple of coffees .

NSD today.

I've been feeling low though and realised though that spending money is intrinsically linked to my mental health. I feel so low when I can't/don't/won't spend. I need to find ways of making myself feel better that don't include spending money or eating! Even the hobbies I like to do are expensive! I've texted a few friends today to see if we can arrange to meet for a walk (need to avoid the inevitable coffee afterwards) and will do some skincare this week.

I found the emotional tie to spending a bit of a shock realisation too. I hadn’t realised how much I had entwined (is that a word) happiness and spending.
But I was so proud and so calm when I hadn’t spent for a while and had enough in the bank account.
However I took my DS into town on teachers strike day and just bought a few things. It was all so expensive!! And my lovely cushion was gone and now I realise how sad I am when I do spend 😁
Also how much that financial cushion (even though it was so small) made me so much happier and secure.
I’m really grateful for that realisation - literally only this week - as it will spur me on to spend less going forward as I want that feeling back.

£3.85 spent today on a hot chocolate in Starbucks while meeting a friend

Still here too! Been super busy so been reading but not posting.

Biggest spend in ages today at £400 for holiday deposit but I've budgeted for it since January and had the money.

Really need basic pants and vests but it'll wait another month.

Food spending could be better, but we rarely go out and like to eat well.

Discretionary spends £15 on Aldi champagne to celebrate DD getting a funded PhD placement.

£0.64 spent today on 2 x morning rolls from the newsagent.

Discretionary weekly spending so far = £4.49

P.S. @needastrongoneagain great news well done DD and enjoy the champers!

NSD today.

Discretionary weekly spending so far £4.49.

I've been paid for various bits of s/e work recently so have paid a massive £857.00 off my debts in the last 10 days, yahoo!

@bridgewateremma that's outstanding!!! Massively well done!!!

And congratulations to your DD @needastrongoneagain

I have just had 4 NSDs in a row and feeling good about it, although I have a list of things I need to buy/pay for related to hobbies, that can't be avoided much longer.

I've been saving for a while and have realised its all going to get wiped out soon. I am hoping to change jobs and I think I'll need to juggle start/end dates and pay days... but at least it will mean I can afford to move jobs and in the long run it should work out OK...

End of week 10 review:-

£3.85 Starbucks
£0.64 rolls
£6.99 toys for DD2 (Easter headband & game from charity shop)
£3.15 Mothers' Day card
= £14.63 spent + 4 x NSDs

March total spend @ end of week 10 = £34.63 + 6 x NSDs

I had passport photos taken this week and applied for my passport, but my Mum kindly paid for this expense for me (we are going on holiday together in 6 months time).

I also spent £47.00 on a car wash and new windscreen wipers - long story that basically boils down to asking someone for screenwash and they put petrol/oil (?) in my screenwash thing (and to make it worse, its a leased car). It was a genuine mistake, this person is kind and would be mortified and the bottle said screenwash but had clearly been refilled at some point. Anyway, my windscreen wipers basically corroded/melted and we had to spend hours feeding water/detergent/vinegar through the system to clear it out. Anyway, I didn't spend any of my ready cash sorting out this problem as it (luckily) came from our joint car expenses budget. I just hope that's it and it hasn't melted something else inside the screenwash thingy...

NSDs Sunday and Monday this week.

I picked up and put back lots of books in Asda yesterday. While standing in the aisle, I made a (silent) deal with myself that I was only allowed to buy a new book when I'd finished the 20 or so on my bedside TBR pile! I'm now very pleased I didn't spend this money.

I'm still spending too much on food, a constant problem. Its a combination of having (semi) expensive tastes, not spending any of my 'own' money on treats/top-up shops like I used to, the fact I have some eating issues and the huge rise in grocery shopping prices. I wonder if I should put myself on a ban from visiting supermarkets in person and rely only on online deliveries once or even twice a week (using the £1 saver delivery slots), I wonder if this is possible with a busy family life and always running out of stuff?! Or I stick to a strict list each time I go, hmmmmm.

More posts please! I'd love to hear how everyone is getting on, it's an echo chamber in here!

I like to think I'm doing ok with the no spend year 2023.
Takeaways seem to have crept back in but not as much as we were having previously. I've taken on some extra hours at work. Only 4 a week but it will be useful for holiday spending money when the time comes. We have been to the shops a bit more than in January and February but I've only bought what I went in for and when we've done the food shop the crazy price rises have me questioning if I really want to buy something and we've decided against a lot of things. When I think of the mindless spending we used to do on things. Not expensive things but unnecessary things that just take up space in the house and get used eventually or end up at the charity shop. Still working our way through toiletries and cleaning products that we have rather than buy what we'd prefer. I think I have enough for a good few months..maybe the whole year. All things that add to the weekly shop.

Can I join? I've been cutting down the spending since January but could do better. Mainly spend on food ehen out and about. If it's a planned day out I take food, but if we go out for longer then planned I end up buying food. Should really just make lunchboxes daily and if we end up home for lunch then we can still eat the lunchbox.

I'm doing OK. Bought some stuff in IKEA yesterday but was planned. Also bought our new kitchen! I do have the money for the kitchen as it's a project delayed due to COVID.

The only way I can economise on food @bridgewateremma is to meal plan ruthlessly, stick to my list and if we run out of anything other than bread milk or coffee we do without until the next shop

I've also been trying to shop my freezer and that has decreased my spends as well

I’ve had a few lapses but thankfully not too many. Mainly during a week I was ill (more than usual) but I am incredibly surprised how much our spending has gone down. A work in progress as still nowhere near perfect but I’m pleasantly surprised how well it’s gone.

Hello!

Lovely to hear from you @Norfolkungood, @grannycake, @LostCats and a warm welcome to @ItsTheSmallThings! Thanks for all the chat and support.

I've had a decent week, a bit of a blip om Friday sweets today but I'll get away with it as I've made £98 by matched betting on Cheltenham this week, yay! I have done it the last few years but always used a subscription help site before, which eats into profit. This time I had a wee scoot about and used the free bets emailed to me daily - a few ££s here and there turned into £98, risk free! I also did a couple of sign ups and have one (football) bet to settle over the weekend and a free bet and some free spins from that to come meaning a conservative estimate of my profit for 7 days is £120!

Spending wise, apart from today, I've been ok. I'm trying to interest friends in a walk rather than coffees or breakfast in a cafe, now Spring is nearly sprung. Or having someone over for tea rather than a meal out. I'll do a proper round up at the end of the week tomorrow.

I am definitely being more mindful about what I spend, on Tuesday evening I went to T K Maxx as I had an hour to kill while DS was at an activity and I have recently been given a £60 voucher for my birthday. I picked up and put down so much and there was so much I could have bought - even with 'free' money - but so little I actually needed so I left with the whole voucher intact! I did buy some face wash and a card but didn't use my voucher as it didn't seem worthwhile. Similarly I killed some time in a big Tesco superstore this week too, and at one point, had £50 or so clothes in my trolley for DD2 and I. I put them all back. I'm like a moth to a flame around brightly coloured new clothes! So I am getting so much better.

I am trying to eat from the cupboards/fridge/freezer too. I unearthed some nice beany lentily packet things the other day and have some sea bass and pork and sausages in the freezer. DH and I are also discussing how to eat healthier as a family and eat together more, so fingers crossed that will all help with food spending.

Oh and I got a parking fine for overstaying on an electric charger too - aaarrrggghh. I have emailed to appeal, fingers crossed.

I hope everyone is OK!

Well I stuck to my plans. I made packed lunches first thing this morning and took them with us as I knew me and DD would be out for the day. Saved money by not buying food. Did buy a coffee though.

Had a day yesterday when all I seemed to do was spend. Hair cut, petrol and dentist. All the effort of the last 3 months seems pointless when the specialist at the dentist gave me a quote for dental work of £3200! I almost laughed at her. Glad everyone is doing so well. @ItsTheSmallThings We're going out tomorrow and the plan is to take food/snacks and drinks with us. It's nice to buy a coffee when we're out but i refuse to spend stupid amounts of money on water/soft drinks.

@ItsTheSmallThings well done on taking food! I found when we did it that the kids were actually happier as the food we took they liked and I find that 99% of the time that the food on offer is overpriced and limp (sandwiches) and so a bit bleugh.

I’ve got sodding Covid again and as I’m high risk I’ve had my IV infusion and again the next 2 days so that should be free as parking free too.

Sorry. Covid brain. What I meant to say is that the next few days should be no spend.

Hi all, sorry I've been missing the last few weeks!
I think I've been doing really well, I'm much more mindful and out what I'm spending money on. I've barely bought any food or drink out of the house for the whole year so far, I've been consciously taking snacks and a packed lunch if I know I'll be out. I've resisted getting hot drinks out as I have a nice Nespresso machine at home!

I've not been keeping track properly so I think I'll start that this week. I know I've had enough money in my account this month to be able to spend £50 today on CBeebies at the globe theatre tickets which my son loved last summer. I've not out anything on my credit card for two months and it feels good! I just keep thinking I would rather spend my money on experiences and days out with my children and the odd treat for myself than waste it on food and stuff I don't need!

I've started couch to 5k nearly two weeks ago and do need some clothes for this as I have one pair of leggings I wear for yoga and I borrowed my sons football jacket! Instead of buying new I've been looking on Vinted and will find something there. If I carry on with it I'll definitely need new trainers but that's something I can afford if I carry on the way I am!

Nice to catch up with everyone, and with raged to the food shop question I plan for 2-3 weeks at a time, make sure I'll use up veg/potatoes etc and 'shop the freezer' (where I always buy anything on offer/yellow sticker that I know we will use). I pop to the local Tesco probably once a week for more salad and occasionally fruit but I'm getting better at just making them eat what's left rather than always having a huge choice!

Great work everyone!

End of week 11 review (to Saturday 18th March):-

£9.99 3 x cards
£4.99 face wash
£2.45 postage
£2.50 pencil case
£1.49 2nd hand book
£8.30 taking kids swimming
£20.95 junk food/sweets
= £50.67 spent + 2 x NSDs

March total spend @ end of week 11 = £85.30 + 8 x NSDs

I've spent too much this week but have listed everything above for full transparency. I definitely didn't need the sweets or the pencil case and I could have waited to buy the cards. However my grand total from 1 week of matched betting + offers was £135 so I've got away with it this time and am still £££ in profit.

I'm on track to repay another £489 to the debt from invoices due at the end of the month. I'm miserable, skint and tired but the plan is working!

I have an interview for some freelance work tomorrow which would really help boost the coffers, fingers crossed!