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.

Stealth post 😅yeah 3 entire glorious months I have to feed and entertain and give money to my darlings. By September I may have plotted my own death.

Seems like quite a few of my friends are just in their gardens tonight. So I don't have any FOMO ! Tbh I cba anyways to go out out get ready anymore (I'm 50).

Just done a shop in Tesco which did include a new shirt for DH and shorts for me (£49.31) and Lidl (£27.58) - we also had Fish and Chips for the first time in about 5 months - shock horror!!
We used to pay £9.50 for one Fish and Chips and a Kids Sausage and chips - it is now £12.80!! That's kind of the first time that I have really seen food price rises in their shocking reality!! A penny here and there isn't really noticed but £3.30 wow!! Good job we don't do it too often!! Oh and had £25 for petrol too. It's been NSDs all week so far apart from GS's playgroup - certainly made up for it today!!

Wow, I didn't realise you can have 3 months of school holidays. Nice for kids, not that nice for adults 😂I remember my parents had to work, so my sister was looking after me. I was 7, she was 9. I don't think many people do this nowadays, but times were different then 😬

£287 in Ikea. We only bought what was needed. No unnecessary stuff like trays, mugs, tealights etc. Just changing table, mat and protectors, cot, mattress and protector.
£20 for food, because there's no trip to Ikea without meatballs
£10 postage label for sister's birthday gift
£68 dentist for both of us, luckily no work that needs doing, just check ups

@xogossipgirlxo apologies if I'm mistaken but aren't you pregnant? If so I think dentist is free or it was when I was last pregnant. Apologies if I'm mistaken, I've read about you saying about buying baby stuff and assuming you are pregnant?

I am pregnant, but I go to private dentist. It’s almost impossible to find nhs dentist where I live 😥.

Right? Ikea know what they do, their stuff is very much in fashion and everything matches re sizes etc., so it's really easy to just spend too much there. I decided that if I need anything I can always come back, but I have big expense coming next month (aka baby) and very basic maternity pay.

Lost my way a bit over half term but am back in for June!

Main expenses so far this month (apart from the usual ) have been some 'new' clothes via Vinted - my wardrobe is terrible as I still haven't managed to lose the weight I need to, but I do need to replace a few bits...

@Rainbow1901 our local chip shop has put their prices up too (2nd time in two months!) - they did put an apologetic sign up to say it was out of their control, but blimey, it does put paid to fish & chips being a cheap takeaway!

@xogossipgirlxo we don't live particularly near an Ikea otherwise I'd probably be in there all the time we went a couple of years ago, bought a few decent things including a lovely wok with a lid. Two weeks later I dropped the lid and smashed it 😖

Still reeling in horror here at the idea of three months' school holiday @Neverinamonthofsundays !!

Failed miserably this weekend. The kids looked like they were going to kill each other so we decided to bring them to bowling (38.50) and then crazy golf (30) and then we ended up bringing them out for dinner in a local chinese meaning we could walk but it cost 130 for dinner and drinks so basically 200 quid spent on saturday. We did a big pancake feast for brunch at home yesterday so that cost nothing for that thankfully as we had all the bits at home and then for dinner last night it was stuff from the freezer and we shared a bottle of wine that was in the fridge so thats something.

Broker than broke today I have to say. All bills have gone out, mortgages have been paid and we both have full tanks of fuel and loads of food in so a no spend day today but realistically we do not need to spend anything between now and Friday but we shall see....

Just short of 3 weeks to pay day and I've got : a family bday dinner (pre costed my meal at £20), annual (family tradition) fathers day breakfast out plus gift & card, bday gift to purchase (£25) plus afternoon tea (family thing, I have to go).

I don't have the money for any of this

NSD today and yesterday. £2.50 on ice cream in the park on Saturday and £51 something on groceries as we have quite a bit of food in and won't be eating at home Wednesday-Thursday this week.

We did have pizza on Friday but I didn't get any extras this time! So £23 for 2 meals (dinner + lunch) seems OK to me.

Trying to keep on track now, since it'll be a bit spendy during our trip to London.

Good luck all!

@roundcork we have this air fryer, I do like it but with hindsight would have bought a two compartment one instead! I haven't shopped around for one for a while, but if you keep an eye on the 'Feed your family for £20 a week' Facebook page, they often post latest prices and/ or discounts on them. Unless you cook a lot in the oven at the same time, it's definitely worth getting one - I very rarely switch my oven on now, just use the air fryer and slow cooker.

@Neverinamonthofsundays kids are flipping expensive!! I don't know if it's higher expectations or prices these days, but when I was little a cinema trip was quite rare and a definite treat, whereas now it's more expensive but kids still want more entertaining afterwards...! We had a letter today asking for money for an end of term school trip, so that was another £45 gone

Is there any way you can do those things on a budget @thereallybigsteelcorporation? Would your family (and anyone else involved) understand if you said you couldn't make it? I've definitely been in your position and even now never drink on a night out because I just can't afford it, drinks + taxi home would be waaaaay out of my budget!

roundcork That's amazing about the oven spare part! Air fryers seem like a good idea (maybe for a Christmas gift?), but I think the oven (though far more expensive to run) is more versatile. E.g. I often make muffins, bread or a cake while it's heating up something else for dinner. Though I guess you'd still have your oven if you want to use it - suppose it depends on how you use it, and how often.

My DH has begun asking if we need a new hoover, but although our hand-me-down £££ Dyson one has broken down twice in the 8 years we've had it, it has only cost £10 to fix the part each time and then it works great again, so I'm loathe to get a new one (for now).

Our London trip is business, not pleasure, but we should have a bit of time between the official stuff ending and our return train journey - so I'm hoping to visit a museum or something. But DH gets twitchy about making too many plans so I'm playing it by ear.

I agree that it can be important to be honest with family if you can't afford to do certain things. Wouldn't think they'd want you to rack up credit card debt just to spend time with them, right? Family traditions are important, but maybe you could eat your meal first at home, then go along and only buy a starter or a fancy dessert or something? They love you, they will understand if you're on a budget - things have got much tighter for loads of people in the past year or so. It's not fun especially if you feel like the odd one out, though.

Sorry I should have pointed out we are in Ireland (Dublin) so while 200 euro is a lot of money it actually was fairly standard pricing here.

Hi all

Agree with pps' advice re being honest to family when you can't afford things like expensive days out or gifts. I'm sure they will understand, as I'm sure you would if the roles were reversed.

Nsd today but spent £40 on petrol yesterday. That took me from the light being on to a full tank though, so should last me a while.

I don't know why but I can't stop watching fashion hauls on YouTube. I'm not buying anything but am weirdly enjoying watching other people shop. Living vicariously clearly

Two weeks on Friday till payday for me. I've got a couple of dds coming out of my account and fathers day to deal with too

I really struggle not spending money. My income is £3500/month and it just seems to go at the moment.

I'm trying to save up and it's so hard. This week I've only spent money on antibiotics and ice-cream so far.

I would never go out again for the next year to save cash, if I had my way. DH couldn't stick to that. My friends would probably drop me - who wants a mate who never goes out or does anything. I (we!) Just need a year off doing anything to get straight. We would both work hard for a year and could easily clear debts. But DH won't do that. My sister has just told me about a local event she wants to go to with me. Its before payday and will cost £30 a ticket. Ffs. She was really excited telling me about it and saying we will love it. We would. But another £30 to fork out for, plus drinks

Can i join?

Im terrible for wasting money on clothes DC dont need or random shite.
Ive lost my job this month so only have my seasonal one which starts August ( if they want me back) 😭. Really struggling with my mood worrying about money.

Today i spent 2.00 on a toddler group. Tomorrow will be a NSD and probably the same Friday unless i get DD a ice cream from the park.

@moimichme MIL bought us a Dyson a few years ago as our Christmas present. It's possibly my favourite present ever

@thereallybigsteelcorporation I would hope your friends wouldn't drop you just because you're trying to save money! And depending where you are, presumably there are cheap/ free things you could do and still see them, or you don't think your friends would go for that option? Honestly I don't think anyone should feel bad about saying they can't afford things at the moment, with prices going up left right and centre - but I agree, it's a hard position to be in I've signed up for a magazine delivery round (one of the free magazines you get through the door) so hopefully will be next in line when one is free, I'm hoping to earn a few quid and get fitter at the same time! Would something like that be useful for you?

@Namechange192727171 welcome, and sorry to hear about your job!! I hope you get better news about the seasonal job soon!