Low spend / no spend / frugal June

[IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo]

Sorry if there is already a thread, but I've been planning to do a no / low spend June so thought I'd start a thread for anyone else who wants to do the same.

I've already failed today though 🙄😂

I've got a hideous stomach bug and had to cancel a cinema trip today (which had already been paid for). So I've let the kids buy a movie on YouTube to make up for it, which has cost me an unbelievable £16.99 😩.

Hope that's it for today and tomorrow though. We have groceries in and I don't need petrol till maybe Sunday.

I use Giffgaff and it is £5-£10 p/ month. No phone with that but I just buy the cheapest smart phone when I need one. Current was was around £70 and it's fine. Speaking to you on Mumsnet using it 🤷‍♀️

Not had the best day in terms of spending - ended up spending 26 quid in Tesco for a spontaneous top up shop (including ice cream and lollies for the weekend...)

Then went to a park and spent some money on drinks, chips and one ride on a steam train for DD. Was worth it though!

Today total spend was £9.40 which wasn't bad with few bits from charity shop and some cake. Should have really been a nsd though. Hoping tomorrow will be a nsd. Planning walk in country and swimming which is free with swimming lessons here in the afternoon. Bit sad about half term ending as weather has been so good for once!

I’ve managed to not spend any money today and not used the car this week, so still have half a tank. I’m clocking the miles up on the bike though.

I also got an extra shift today, so that’ll be more in my pay packet

Time for my confession:

groceries £160, but we had to throw everything away due to fridge accident. Need to meal plan properly from what we have as I budgeted £320 for June
£10.98 for stuff like loo roll, gloves etc.
£57 cat food
£83 for big Tropic order- shampoo and shower gel for me, shower gel for husband, SPF cream for face etc. Should last us quite a while, but there's always something we need.

I had very upsetting news recently. My colleague from school passed away. We weren't close friends, but definitely would stop for a small chat if we saw each other on the street. She was complaining about having stomach pain, went to a hospital, was supposed to have laparoscopic surgery and something happened during the procedure, her kidneys and pancreas stopped working and after 4 days that was it 😥Such situations really put things into perspective.

Thanks, @IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo unfortunately I'm not going to get better, and I've barely worked in about 8 months now. I do get PIP, and my DH earns ok so we're not going to be on the breadline or anything, but we're over £1,000 a month down compared to a year ago so it's a massive adjustment.

I ordered the DC some socks and underwear from Sainsbury's this morning. I put something for myself in the basket too but took it out again. Proud of myself! That's all I've bought so far apart from food shopping.

The children did go to a club 2 days (a cheap and cheerful one, paid for months ago) and to a friend's one day but otherwise they've seemed quite content pottering at home this half term thankfully.

Sorry to hear that @MadEyeMoodysEye. Amazing willpower not buying yourself something from Sainsbury's! I find their stuff really nice and inexpensive so end up buying things on a whim

I'm really sorry to read about your friend @xogossipgirlxo. That's very sad and I agree, things like that do out everything in perspective

I've transferred some money into savings today so I can't spend it. Hope I don't regret that!

Can I join too?
Been really good since feb not buying anything for me apart from a 5 pack of pants but with DC birthday last month plus feeling exhausted so buying prepacked sandwiches and ordering too many takeaways I need to rein it in.

Was doing well until 7pm when I took dc out for ice cream and ended up buying an overpriced cake for myself.

Groceries arrived today and freezer is full but we seem to be wasting food a fair bit.

Yes, everyone is welcome @Glorieta ☺️

I'll join please! Lots of big expenses coming up - high school uniform this month, hotel for our summer holiday next month.

This weekend I've spent £45 on petrol, £25 on tickets to a show, £25 on lunch.... it all adds up and I'm a bit horrified I spent £50 without really thinking about it 😬

Today will be £6 for a kid's activity. This week I'm away for work and I'm going to stick within the meal allowances I can claim back - they aren't very generous so it's easy to end up out of pocket unfortunately - but I'm not going anywhere expensive this trip.

Food shop wise I've allowed £50 per week for two of us, we'll see how it goes - freezer needs defrosting so we will be emptying that out through the month!

I always have such good intentions, let's see how it lasts 😑

Sunday - went to visit DM:
£2.50 on a drink,
£2.00 tip in restaurant,
£7.35 travel
£11.85 Total.

Got DS birthday this week so have to get something for that. I’m trying hard to resist buying stuff for myself

Ok frugal June starts today for me. I am going to head out and fill the car up, get groceries and all the bits we need in and then I should not have to spend a cent till at least Friday. Fingers crossed anyway.

Welcome new souls.

I resubscribed to netflix, so that's £4.99. Tomorrow I need to go to Asda or Lidl for top up shopping as we ate most of fruit and veg already.

Can I join in please . Would be nsd but I need milk soon £1.50 done big food shop end of last week so ok . Bloody home bargains kills me Go in for 1item then £200 just needed to stock up on absolutely everything all laundry items etc

I would like to join please!

Small things are that I buy too much takeaway coffee. I'm also going to try Aldi today rather than Sainsbury's.

Hope everyone is doing ok.
Have spent £35.61 on groceries so far but need to do a big shop tomorrow. Was a bit tricky putting the packed lunches together this morning, had no fruit or veg (well I did have potatoes , parsnips and spring greens but they’d not go too well in the lunchbox)and not much sandwich filling.

Oh, I opened the thread a couple of days ago but never got round to posting and now that I have there are a load more posts!

so sorry about your friend @xogossipgirlxo

@Decafflatteplease we are similar with groceries, large family and different requirements really make it add up. Last month was a real shocker so trying hard to get it down a bit more this month. Today we’re having a very frugal fridge end veg stew but I know 2 of the dc will pick at it and moan and 2 others will moan there’s no meat. And it still probably costs more than I think once you add it all up -tinned tomatoes, tinned beans, stock, herbs plus all the veg. Sausage pasta is a fairly cheap one we do, chopping the sausages means you need less of them (you’re meant to de case them but that’s far too much effort for me on a busy weekday so I just chop them small 😳)
We do a pretty cheap chow mein -soak egg noodles in cold water until soft then marinate with bean sprouts, onion, grated carrot in oil/soy sauce/garlic/ginger/pepper then quickly fry in a hot wok. This is a good one if we have a little bit of leftover meat from a roast to mix in otherwise I do with mushrooms. Mushroom or carrot biryani is another cheap one and really easy in the instant pot. Younger kids do mainly just eat poppadoms when I do this though! Sometimes do chicken/paneer tikka on the side. I usually try to get at least one cheap meal in a week but it’s not always easy.

@Homeeducatortoone i need to go to home bargains but I’m putting it off until absolutely desperate! Will have to go when I’m pushed for time so I have no option other than to dash in for what I need and straight back out again 😆

Ok so car is now filled to the brim same as cupboards and fridge/freezer etc. Have in enough dog food for the month, cleaning stuff, toiletries and all the usuals because if I have to pop out for something like soap i spend a fortune on other things so this way I am preppared for my own overspending. Day one was a spendy one but if it keeps me out of the shops then it will have been worth it.

Apart from a direct debit, today was a NSD for me. Really trying to reduce outgoings so that I can throw as much as possible towards a debt before August.

Good luck and keep up the good work, everyone.

Hello all!

NSD today which is a good start to the week. I brought sandwiches from home for lunch and resisted the work café. I'm going to make iced coffee for tomorrow as it feels a bit more treat-y. I wasn't organised enough today and lunch was pretty boring

I need to do some groceries as we are out of things we can realistically make into meals now

Totally forgot about a large monthly bill sp £200 down on where I thought I was.
Fuming with myself as we are still two weeks from pay day and no credit left either.
This is the part of being a one adult family I really struggle with. I've fucked up and my girls are going to suffer as we have no safety net

Bit of a spendy day for me yesterday but my fridge is full now.
Nail stuff £6.50 (not strictly necessary), Travel £5.25, Lidl Food shop £28.74. Total 40.49

hoping for a no NSD today