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Original poster

July, July, the month of no buy! No spend/low spend/frugal July

125 replies

IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo · 30/06/2023 14:31

Hello all

Following on from last month's no/low spend month, I am planning to carry on being more frugal 😇 and trying to do a no buy and low spend month.

All welcome.

OP posts:
Capricornandproud · 02/07/2023 11:14

Hello!! I’m so glad I found this… July marks the beginning of a new era for me in that every bill thats listed on my credit rating will be cleared!

I did a bit of online shopping for things in the last few days that I need and now this is IT. I have to change my attitude to spending and learn how to save. Anyone have any tips about that?

i think online banking, and being able to transfer funds willy nilly, is what’s not helping me. I need an old fashioned book account and a transfer to that at the end of every month to hide my savings.

good luck everyone!

Orcubed · 02/07/2023 11:25

£27.36 in the supermarket today. Should see us through til midweek

totals:
groceries £27.36
other £8.49

123wdcd · 02/07/2023 11:34

Please can I join.

Trying to meal plan, to cut food waste and spending. Aim to just buy fresh veg and dairy until the cupboards and freezer are slimmed down.

Full freezer - trying to use as much as possible from it. First thing out was a big bag of cauliflower. Making a soup (with potatoes, onion and stock, then cream) which will be dinner tonight and lunch for a few days. Defrosting some meat to go with it.

Original poster
IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo · 02/07/2023 13:22

Welcome @123wdcd. I like your freezer raid soup idea. I might make soup today to bring to work for lunches. Weather seems to have cooled down a bit now, so soup doesn't seem quite so bonkers!

OP posts:
Rainbow1901 · 02/07/2023 13:47

Well NSD so far. Been pottering in the garden and picked a bowl of strawberries to share with DH after tea - already have cream in so a nice treat to look forward to. I made Rhubarb Crumble last night with ingredients from the garden/freezer - smothered in custard - was lovely!!
For those who have children and the summer holidays coming up - have a look at the app Kids Pass. It has ideas for discounted days out, meals out and in some cases free meals for kids. Also just to do something different with the kids perhaps after a play at the park - Asda are doing Half price Adult meals after 3.00pm and kids meals are a quid so a family of 4 could eat for £8.50 according to their website.
There are lots of free activities to do locally during the holidays as have been looking around for when we do have the grandkids and in need of something to do.

mushroommummy · 02/07/2023 14:15

I really need to join and save some ££ this month. We have a big birthday party for fil next month which involves an overnight stay and dinner so we need to rein it in. COL is hitting us a bit harder due to my hours at work being reduced (no other options) food costs are through the roof right now.

dd is going to uni in September so no doubt that will impact things. She also needs to get a summer job to help with that.

roundcork · 02/07/2023 19:44

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the request of the user.

Handholdplease85 · 03/07/2023 08:56

Please can I join. We had our holiday last month which was lovely but it meant our credit card bill was huge (we do all monthly spending on a CC then clear at the end of each month). Meant that I had to dip into savings to pay it off so I need to replace those at the end of this month. However it’s going to be tricky with car insurance and MOT due this month 😬 and of course school holidays. Fortunately mine are preschool age so I’m only missing two days of childcare a week (use a childminder for the others) but that will still be two days per week of extra spending. Going to try to do play dates and cheap stuff as much as possible but it does add up especially when DH is a massive softie and says yes to every ice cream request

Handholdplease85 · 03/07/2023 08:58

Oh we are also visiting family next weekend so will need to pay for fuel and a takeaway as a thank you for hosting, and then we are hosting friends in a couple of weeks so will have to cater for them. No spend July isn’t looking great for me is it 🙈

Rainbow1901 · 03/07/2023 11:02

Well, the milkman took his weekly payment and paid a couple of small extra payments to debts. So not a NSD today but a small step in the right direction to pay off debts.

Original poster
IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo · 03/07/2023 12:22

Hello new joiners! Everyone is welcome.

Ended up buying something (when I swore I wasn't going to 😫). But it is an essential piece of clothing I need for my sport. It is also a replacement for a broken one so I am allowing it 😌

Nsd today though. I will need petrol tomorrow I think. Should not need any groceries

OP posts:
thereallybigsteelcorporation · 03/07/2023 12:58

We are a lot worse off than anticipated this month. This week I only have a packet of ham (16 slices), a pack of eggs (6) and an iceberg lettuce as my main food for the week. Snacks are strawberries, but my DC loves these so only maybe only a very small handful for me, to give DC the rest

thereallybigsteelcorporation · 03/07/2023 13:03

Edit to add - there is also bread too, which adds to the options:
eggs on toast
ham toastie
egg & ham salad
egg or ham sandwich

Although not nearly as many strawberries as I had thought, so DC will have them and I will get just 2.

Handholdplease85 · 03/07/2023 13:11

@thereallybigsteelcorporation is that for the whole week? That’s not enough food for two people, is there any way you can get to a food bank or do you have Olio locally? Even if you could supplement that list with a couple of tins or beans and spaghetti hoops it would be a bit more filling.

thereallybigsteelcorporation · 03/07/2023 13:18

@Handholdplease85 Yes, that is for Monday to Thursday this week. Looking at our finances and the cost of food, I refuse to buy any more, even if I had the budget to. We have a few carrots etc so I can make the salad a bit more interesting with grated carrot, a dressing, small piece of grated cheese. But predominately it is just eggs/ham/lettuce with whatever else I can find from the cupboard. DC have decent meals for the week. I will be fine.

msssm · 03/07/2023 14:27

Thank you @IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo

Too many to list @xogossipgirlxo but mainly that I cannot have any credit for 6 years.

msssm · 03/07/2023 14:30

Thank you @MissVeronicaSpeedwell I will have a look at that just now. Desperately needed.

Feel like I've already blown this month. Had a few days away with grandkids and spent all my money on non essentials. Just came home and bought 3 Xmas pressies thanks to the Xmas bargains thread on here. Tbf I do have lots of kids to buy for and no savings at all, but I should probably stay away from that thread for a while!

thereallybigsteelcorporation · 03/07/2023 14:34

@msssm sorry to hear about the bankruptcy. Debt can be an evil spiral. I know as I am currently up to my eyes in it. Trying to keep our heads above water until xmas 2024 when the loans will finally be clear. There will still be credit card debts but with the loans gone, we will have more breathing space to clear the cards.

msssm · 03/07/2023 14:35

thereallybigsteelcorporation · 03/07/2023 14:34

@msssm sorry to hear about the bankruptcy. Debt can be an evil spiral. I know as I am currently up to my eyes in it. Trying to keep our heads above water until xmas 2024 when the loans will finally be clear. There will still be credit card debts but with the loans gone, we will have more breathing space to clear the cards.

Thank you. Good luck with getting your funds back under control. I hope it gets easier for you soon.

msssm · 03/07/2023 14:47

Sorry @IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo if I derailed your thread a bit.

So my spends for today were 3 x £10 Xmas pressies.

Did a big shop recently so will try to use up my freezer and cupboard supplies this week and not spend any money on food.

I actually itch to spend most days so this is going to be hard for me. Doesn't even matter what it is on. I have ADHD so know that I am predisposed to this and have to try harder to resist.

thereallybigsteelcorporation · 03/07/2023 15:04

@msssm exciting to get going with xmas gifts. Last year I felt that my close friend was disappointed with the gifts I got her. I brought her a L'Occitane beauty skin care set and a few other little bits but cant remember what. This year I need to do better. She spent more than usual on me last year. If I start buying early then I can spread the costs.

Original poster
IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo · 03/07/2023 20:39

No need for apologies at all! It's a chat thread really, so chat away 😁

Managed a NSD today. Will need petrol tomorrow though. I have leftovers from tonight's dinner for my lunch tomorrow, so won't be tempted by the canteen (which actually does lovely food)

OP posts:
roundcork · 03/07/2023 21:54

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the request of the user.

MissVeronicaSpeedwell · 03/07/2023 22:30

@msssm do have a look at CAP Money (or one of the other debt charities like Stepchange, but I only have personal experience of CAP Money!) - they are so helpful and all the advice is free, so all it will cost you is a bit of time researching things.

@roundcork depending on where you go, would something like a Tastecard be worth getting? It looks like you can get a 30 day trial for £1 at the moment - would make eating out a bit more affordable!

Try tastecard | Food Card | Restaurant Card | tastecard

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https://www.tastecard.co.uk/subscribe?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=&utm_keyword=tastecard&utm_matchtype=e&gclid=634b49b92a451810c0c62d1a17cb0172&gclsrc=3p.ds&&utm_keyword=tastecard&msclkid=634b49b92a451810c0c62d1a17cb0172&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=TC-Brand-Exact&utm_term=tastecard&utm_content=Brand%20-%20EM

xogossipgirlxo · 03/07/2023 22:35

thereallybigsteelcorporation · 03/07/2023 15:04

@msssm exciting to get going with xmas gifts. Last year I felt that my close friend was disappointed with the gifts I got her. I brought her a L'Occitane beauty skin care set and a few other little bits but cant remember what. This year I need to do better. She spent more than usual on me last year. If I start buying early then I can spread the costs.

Wow, what did she get you then given she was disappointed with L'Occitane? They're not the cheapest brand.

My spendings today:
£24 in b&q (will get 33 refund though as we returned 2 buckets of paint)
£49 in Polish shop and Asda. Already 150 quid spent on food and it's only 3rd of July! Meat will last us whole month though and we still have decent amount of fruit and veg.