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

[IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo]

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.

Huge groceries again this week £181.55
plus wgac subscription went out which I didn’t realise was about to happen or I’d have delayed it as we still had plenty of rolls. So that was another £48

Then I bought some (more) drinks bottles for dc because school has come up with a ridiculous rule that they can take a drink with their packed lunch but only if it fits in the lunchbox. The ones I had just bought were too big so I’ve got two smaller ones just for in the packed lunches 🙄. Better and cheaper in the long run (I hope) than buying cartons etc. £13.58

Ds is leaving preschool next week and I want to get the staff something because they’ve been excellent but I don’t know what. There are 8 of them so even something really basic each adds up to a lot and they deserve better than a crap gift!

eagerly waiting for baby news @xogossipgirlxo (I know it could be another 3 weeks yet but new babies are so exciting)

We’re away at an event this weekend so are going to have to spend on food out, hopefully not too much but these things usually have overpriced stalls. Going to take as many snacks as I can carry!

Groceries: £380.97
Other: £115.98

@OrcubedI had 2 days where I had lots of abdomen tightening and back pain, but nothing happened, I think it's just my body gearing up for birth. It put me and my husband into panic mode regarding cleaning, laundry, tidying up house and garden 😂I am currently finishing up the assignment that is due on 17th of July (I have started a course about caring for children and young people).

We also spent quite a lot on groceries recently (cashier in Lidl asked if it's last shopping before baby arrives 😂) £174.69, but cupboard, fridge and freezer are full now, so it puts my mind at peace. I can send husband to top up fruit and veg later on, but he won't have to run around the shop looking for spices, pasta, cleaning products etc.
Also husband bought on ebay second hand baby bjorn bouncer £84 (paid from baby stuff savings pot) and I paid for strep B test £37.50 which turned out positive 😐Money well spent I guess given the result.
£39.99 for new roller blinds in B&Q (our old one in bedroom broke so we only have curtains and sun wakes me up). We need one for bathroom too as it broke and doesn't fold.

I am looking into buying TV stand on Marketplace, as my husband is stealing my desk, so we need a place to put soundbar, router, DVD boxes etc. I found nice one from Ikea for 40 quid, just waiting for reply if it's available, so that might be another spending. I am bit over with buying new or expensive furniture. We rent, so I'd rather keep the money on the stuff I like once we have our own house. I want this house to look nice and tidy, but I don't even dream about having finance on sofa etc. JYSK sofa or second hand TV cabinet will do.

Managed a NSD yesterday, which was much needed. £7 the day before on a few groceries.
Today spent £30.50 on clothes including uniform shirts for ds.
We've also booked a wee holiday visiting family in Scotland at the very end of this month, which will be a bit spendy. But it'll be nice to see them - and I'm still on track with my debt repayment by staying on the straight and narrow with 'optional' spends. Also helped by finally receiving a £110 travel reimbursement from March!
Hoping this weekend won't be too expensive and sending frugal positive wishes to all!

Hi all!

Another mad week at work and I am shattered. Trying not to give in and order takeaway and All The Booze this evening.

Today has been a nsd but had a miserable lunch because I was really scraping the barrel making my packed lunch this morning. So tempted by the canteen!

Anyway, we desperately need groceries so that writes off my nsd. Also had to pay the window cleaner yesterday which was expensive.

We are also planning a 'holiday' / visit home to NI this month if we can which will be £££ due to flights / ferry

@xogossipgirlxo yes that is money well spent! So much better to know now

I bought tv cabinet, for 20 quid ha! Girl from marketplace didn’t reply and I found cheap furniture shop where I bought ex display unit. My cats like it, both are sitting in it right now😂

@IWonderWhereThatDishDidGo needs must, sometimes fridge is so empty that you can’t have another nsd, because it begs for grocery shopping!

Yes all need food although it's getting so expensive. 99 spend in aldi today and 12 in farmfoods. 8 on some bits in asda including chocolate and card for teacher gift. Working tomorrow so planning on a no spend day Saturday and hopefully Sunday.

NSD Thursday, today's spends were £14 in cafe and £25 eye test, but both budgeted for.

Have screwed up my courage and applied for promotion to the next level at work, just heard I am getting an interview so fingers crossed on that.

Weekend should hopefully be low spend, visiting family and going to an NCT sale tomorrow and a batch cooking day planned for sunday to replenish the freezer. Anybody have any ideas what I can do with 102 sausages? We have a chest freezer and it seems OH bought a 12 pack every time he went shopping for the last 6 months but they were buried in with other things 😖

Hoping to have a low spend weekend but already paid £18 for soft play 😮 for two kids. Plus £8 yesterday for an overpriced playgroup that was definitely not worth it.

Got a top up shop on Wednesday that was £58 and it was shocking how little food I got for that. Literally three bags of shopping, no meat or fish or treats, just fruit veg milk yoghurt and cereal basically. Will need to do another shop by Monday at the latest 😩

£90 on groceries yesterday, which is a lot! However, it was a big shop and it included presents for some birthday parties the kids are going to this weekend.

The 8yo is still complaining that she wants to do 'something fun' this weekend despite having a party and a hobby club this weekend and despite me being shattered 😩😂. Fun and games.

May manage a nsd today 🤞

Seems like NSD for us too, as husband is working and I'm at home so no possibility to spend 😂Yesterday I also bought on amazon medjool dates for £12.99. Gosh, they're so yummy. I'd rather get them instead of chocolates for birthdays etc., as they're nicely packed.

Didn't manage any NSDs over the weekend, but today I did. Hoping to do the same tomorrow.
Spent £15 on groceries top-up yesterday and £9 at soft play for ds + £32 lunch out on Saturday. The weather has been very rainy of late so it was nice to get out of the house for a bit.
We've re-arranged our holiday to Scotland a bit and are now going for the whole trip before August and my next payday so I'll definitely be dipping into my temporary savings for that. We've had a rough few years so it'll be really nice to visit family without it being for a funeral or another sad occasion.
Hope all is well with the rest of you!

Morning. How's everyone doing?
I only spent £3.48 on McFlurry on Sunday and that's it, so pretty good. I am calculating our budget instead, short and long term, to see where we are. I can see holidays are off the table for now etc. as we want to start saving for 2nd car. I also decided to postpone buying new sofa. This one is not falling apart, just isn't comfortable to sleep on anymore. If anyone wants to visit, we have big mattress, so it's our guests' choice if they want to stay or not, but I can't justify spending £800-1000 just for sleepovers when I'm on SMP. Once baby is here, I need to get my head around free activities and we can always go for short trips with our own food and coffee. Luckily we're not very fussy people and enjoy simple things in life, or maybe our priorities changed since we're expecting the baby. No news on baby front😬Currently 39+3.

@xogossipgirlxo completely agree on the medjool dates, I developed a slight addiction in the later stages of my pregnancy!

2 NSDs here so far this week, had my interview today for promotion and I got the job so thats good news. Also had a letter from the gas and electric company to say our bill will go down and we are in credit after winter, so another bonus there.

Need to get some more stuff listed and get organised for the house being photographed by estate agent next week, so hoping the combination of that, a very busy week at work and lots of raiding the freezer will make for a cheap week, though we will need a top up shop on milk, bread and fruit in the next couple of days.

Hi all!

NSD here today, but I ended up buying some new flip flops for me and youngest dc yesterday. We do need them and they were no expensive, but still.

Cannot wait for the weekend already and can't believe it's only Tuesday 😂😫

Must not be long till baby's here @xogossipgirlxo!

@Sunshineandlollipop good luck with the house sale. That's a great excuse to get rid of some stuff. We aren't selling a house but I do want to spend some time over summer holidays doing a bug clear-out and reorganise

Not doing well with Nsd here. Thinking about moving to cash envelopes for as much as I can next week and next month. So once the money is gone it's gone! Booked some activities for school holidays but everything is so expensive now. Any baby news yet? @xogossipgirlxo

@ChristmasComing123 Thank you for asking ❤No change, due date on Sunday! I keep telling baby that his eviction date is Monday, I hope he's listening 😂I am bouncing on the ball, doing workouts, walking etc., trying to play the odds to avoid induction or sweep.

I also had some spending days, £57 in Lidl and Asda, £4.50 on amazon. Used my vouchers for free coffee in Costa today, as today and tomorrow is my husband's weekend. I lost track of days on maternity leave, feels like weekend for me and then there's traffic between 5 and 6pm.

Congratulations on the promotion, Sunshine ! 🥳
Good luck @xogossipgirlxo ! Try to rest when you can, too - it's called labour for a reason. Fingers crossed for you.
Managed 3 NSDs this week, including yesterday. Spent £29 less than at this time last month, according to my bank app.
Weather has been awful so we've been chilling out at home a lot. And running down the fridge/cupboards because we're on holiday in Scotland this coming week, so that will be spendy. I've had to unpack some warm jumpers from winter storage since it looks like rain and cool temperatures for our entire trip. But it'll be nice to see family in happy circumstances and also hopefully see the reindeer in the Cairngorms with ds (6).
Good luck all!

Hope everyone is well. @xogossipgirlxo sending positive baby vibes!
Very spendy here, but it's to be expected since we're on holiday. Lovely trip overall though! The reindeer were so cool. We got to feed them. 😊
Returning home Monday evening and then time to pay utilities bill, water, and credit card. Not looking forward to that, but at least I'll be paid on 31st!

Aaarrgghhhh! Completely lost track towards the end of this month, but want to make some cutbacks next month, despite going on holiday for a week which is always spendy. Think I'll have to haunt the 'make £10 a day' threads...

I cannot believe how expensive July has worked out.

Courage, friends! The summertime is naturally more expensive in some ways - far more socialising, time with kids asking for ice creams etc., and holidays if we're lucky.
I spent more than expected this month, but not an insane amount. Direct debits gone out today (payday yesterday) but I'm still trying to keep to a reasonable budget as much as possible. Spent £67 less this month vs. June according to my bank app.
Will try not to overspend this month - hen do in a week and a half (mostly paid for and booked already, but it's in London...) and also my final debt payment before the 0% rate disappears (woohoo!).
Good luck all. I will try to see if there is an August thread and post the link here, if so.

Well, my budget for July totally went out the window as my elderly cat needed treatment at the vet and was then subsequently put to sleep a couple of days later. But she was worth every penny of £220 as she was a 20 year old lady and we loved her to bits. 😿
There is always next month!!

Is there an Augst thread I can join? I really need it

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/cost_of_living/4862924-frugal-august