Low spend March

[Orcubed]

Following on from February.

I’m trying not to spend outside of our existing direct debits, standing orders, birthdays etc, also trying to keep groceries etc low. I failed badly in February, hoping March will be better!

All newcomers welcome!

This is very good advice, I think on money saving expert they advised to try own brand and eventually go up if you don't like something. I normally do it, but I don't think I'm brave enough to try it with coffee. I don't mind ketchup, mayo, fish fingers etc., and the idea of buying branded frozen veg is crazy to me 😬

xogossipgirlxo
Yes frozen veg is a good one to switch and I think supermarket cheddar is fine too .There are certain things we wouldn't want to switch either .

£42 in Aldi. Will need bread, coffee and cream on the weekend but nothing else until next week.
I love Aldi salted pretzel chocolate but would eat the whole bar - so I give it to my DH and get him to give me a finger of it each day.

grannycake, that sounds delishious.

I agree re cheddar. Don't remember when I bought cathedral. Always Lidl or Asda's own.

I am in again.

Thank you for the much need motivation and low spending tips.

February didn't go quite as planned but it was a lower spend than January so that's something I guess. Going to stock up today to do some batch cooking over the next few days. Planning to make more from scratch, like pizzas (they have gotten so expensive for a decent one).

@Orcubed I have a 8 year old that struggles to use a knife so you aren't alone. Just normally uses a fork. School have flagged up some motor skills difficulties but hoping he just needs more time and practice.

No spend day today and got some muffins from work for breakfast tomorrow.😊

Also nothing spent today. It is a tiny step for me.

I'm in too.

February was pretty good

Today I've only spent budgeted items
£66 fuel (£110 monthly budget)
£100 approx supermarket and Amazon for a huge tub of fabric conditioner. Included wine, washing tablets, toiletries to last ages.

NSD for me too, just few direct debits. Cats insurance and DVLA.

Lots of spending for me today 🙈😱

£14 on gardening gloves & a paint brush
£15 on seeds online
£5 on a balloon, card & sweets as a congrats to my son for school allocation

I collected free manure for the garden & free pastries & bread from olio.

Even though we're broke, I have paint etc at home so trying to spruce up the house on the cheap. Plus I have a fairly good veg patch so need to grow more to try & save money.

Can I join please?

My state pension is paid every 4 weeks, next due 14 March. A work pension is just kicking in, £300 paid on the last day of the month, paid yesterday, with back pay for January. Live alone with dog and cats, mortgage free.

I got some groceries and filled the car yesterday. March is a good month with no water or council tax. But… teachers striking meant my little grandson came here for the day and we went out for a treat.

Tomorrow is another day… bring it on!

I'd like sone accountability- I've done a lot of diy/home improvement spending so my Jan and feb spending looks appallingly high and I still have a holiday to pay for!

Unfortunately Christmas is closely followed by eldest son's birthday in feb and middle son at end of March - thankfully I put money aside throughout the year for these but it means the coffers are depleted at this time of year so I need to rebuild!!

I was aiming to keep costs down in March anyway but am getting very worried now as I haven't been paid yet... money is usually in my account on the last working day of the month but here we are, two days into the next month and nothing

I definitely need to get my head around meal planning - DTS1 (ASD) is soul destroying to cook for, essentially he wants to live off chicken nuggets. I try to make our own and get him involved with it too but urrrggghhhh, it's so dull.

Ordered a cheap trial box from Simply Cook so will see if that inspires me for everyone else's meals!

I bought on vinted another pregnancy seat belt adapter, paid in total £5.25. New one costs £38! We already have one, but we have one car, so moving it between passenger and driver seat gets annoying and I bought cheaply another one.

Other than this, I think there will be no more spending. Fridge is full etc. Expecting refund from Dorothy Perkins though and I switched banks recently, so £200 will come my way woohoo. Will go to baby savings pot.

Checking in. Yesterday was spent sorting money for the month. I have managed to save a reasonable amount but every month the credit card bill is just too high (it’s not debt per se as we do all our monthly spending on fuel, food etc on a credit card and then clear it each month to get rewards). A coffee here, a top up shop there, some random thing needed for the house, it all adds up. DH is especially bad for “just nipping in for a pastry/coffee/treat for the kids” as well as having a penchant for overpriced wanky craft beer. Also I realised that I didn’t factor in the cost of getting passports for the DC for our holiday this year. So that’s another £110 I’ve got to add to the holiday budget!
Going to try for a NSD today.

I would like to join! The food shop is done so I’m going to try and not spend any extra. It’s my baby girls 1st birthday at the end of March so I will budget for that but try not to spend any other day

NSD today £31 refund from old energy company. Moved my monthly savings to their pots - travel, presents & car/ van expenses.

Bad spending day today. £20 on a haircut, but its the first one since October. My bob had turned into a lob, and then into a sort of head hedge. Popped into the charity shop, which was a mistake. Spent £2 on four side plates, and £3 on an antique cod bottle with the marble still intact for DH. So £25 today on non essentials.

I’m in. We’ve got shocking debts and sadly, most of them have just had to be shifted onto my credit cards as I’ve got loads of interest free deals. DH was paying about £200 in interest alone per month 😬 So, today has been a NSD so far and nothing planned for later. We’ve done our budget for the month and with absolutely everything paid, we’ve got £360 left until the rest of the month. That includes £200 for food (spent £273 on Monday) and £300 for fuel but the tank is already half full. The £360 is just for whatever else comes up so should be doable. Hoping to put the additional on debt at the end of the month.

I'm in! February was an expensive month as I booked flights for a long overdue flight to see my family...My last trip was pre-covid!
I will need to fill up my car tomorrow, but will be spending nothing this weekend hopefully!
Meals are planned and I have leftovers for lunch, kids school dinners are all paid for, so I think I can do it!

@MissVeronicaSpeedwell hope all is ok. That's what happened to us and 2 months later company gone bust.

£11 on hair cut for son today. £1.65 on milk. £2.50 on sweets.

Nothing else spent so not too bad. No sign of new job for DH.

Joining too!

Got to get my spends even lower this month, potentially might have to move due to landlord selling so need to find a deposit and removal costs again. Not sure where we can find 2.5k as we only moved a year ago!!

So far spent £12 in aldi and £4.50 at our community food place (gets you loads of food)

Total spent £8.15 today, lunch £3.20, milk from Aldi £1.65 and too good to go magic box from Aldi £3.30

Almost managed a NSD today but didn’t take a water bottle to a meeting and ended spending £2.60 on overpriced juice. Fail!

However I did also do a projection of our finances for the next 2.5 years (until our low mortgage rate ends, eek) so feeling vaguely on top of things, for now.