No Spend 2024....

[meemawww]

Or at least the first couple of months to make a dent in my credit card debt!
I feel like I need a thread to encourage me and hopefully get some tips anybody like to join? I earn an alright wage but my god am i frivolous with money since my earnings went up!

I'm in too. I’ve already joined the NSJanuary thread but ideally want to keep going through the year.

We set aside a fixed amount each month and build up a reserve pot to cover various necessary expenses like petrol/car service/kids birthdays so they’re already accounted for, so I’m not counting them in the No Spend.

It’s the other frivolous stuff we have trouble with, like other people we(looks at dh) have a bad Amazon habit and quite often a quick trip to the shop for some bread costs £20. Fortunately the freezer is well stocked so we should be able to work through that and reduce the food budget a bit.

I’m already finding this thread helpful and @MrsShortbread has reminded me I’ve got a stash of soap nuts I’d forgotten about. That’ll save a small fortune on washing powder.

I’ve failed a bit by ordering some sunglasses (£150 🙈) but I’d been eyeing them up for a long time and they were on a great offer..
I also bought some trainers when returning husbands present but they were on sale at £8 and my gym trainers are about 5 years old!

I think I’ll struggle a bit more with soft plays etc. once schools are back. I’m not going to stop myself going because I think it’s important to enjoy these things but I need to organise lunches etc better so I’m not randomly spending in shops and cafes where the bill ends up about £25.

I got a £5.99 refund from Amazon for a Kindle book I already have in ibooks (the Swedish Death Cleaning one!)so that has gone straight into my savings

I am officially starting tomorrow but in reality I've only spent on essential food since Boxing Day. No spend today and got enough food in so could postpone shopping trip until Tuesday if weather is foul tomorrow. I don't drive any more, and live
less than a mile in a straight line walking to city centre. I find if I shop too frequently I pick up 'extras'. Unfortunately I wrenched my back on Wednesday carrying too much shopping home so I've given in and decided to do a fortnightly to monthly home delivery for staples and heavy stuff and will try to pick up bread, milk and fruit a couple of times a week when out anyway. I can pick a cheap afternoon delivery slot so the pick and delivery charge will not be much.

Happy NY. Here we go!
My rules are buy only necessities that we need within the next month. I did buy a TV last night in the sales 🤫. We've needed to replace ours as the smart tv is out of date and most apps no longer work on it but we've put it off for years, I'd finally had enough.
Expected NSD here. I've had a monthly subscription paid out of my CC but that will be reimbursed by work so not really a spend.

Happy New Year everyone!

31 Dec update: a NSD! Had a lazy morning at home, then a trip to the park in the afternoon. Stayed in for NYE and watched a film.

Starting 2024 with £231 in the bank, which needs to cover my personal spends plus any top-ups to the joint account this month (I’ve already transferred my half of the bills to the joint account). I’m going to be focusing on managing my personal money first as it seems to slip away. Later in the year, I’ll be looking at our joint finances.

I will join this too. I need to focus on my relationship with money as I am fed up worrying about it constantly. I have been listening to some money podcasts and am determined that this is my stop overspending.

Hello, I would like to join, I started no / low spend today . I have started a budget planner to help log spending. Best of luck everyone and happy new year

Podcasts sound good, can you reccomend any ?

The Money Love Podcast is a good one.

I've started a spreadsheet to track my spending. Nothing fancy but hopefully inputting the data will help me be more mindful. Spent £39 on a dog suit which I've wanted for ages and £8 on brine shrimp eggs to replace ones that didn't hatch at Xmas, so not a great start so far!

Day one of no spend.. just transferred £3.65 into my savings account for the 365 yearly save.. really motivated to get some savings behind me so I don’t need to panic about if anything goes wrong with the car/house/dog etc x

Kids asking for fruit smoothies for lunch, would previously have gone for ingredients as healthy but had to say no as not got a great amount of milk in - but we’ve chopped up banana, popped it in the freezer and will blend it into banana “n”icecream later. They’ll be just as happy.
Also resisted looking for secondhand magnatiles for them - it’s been their most enjoyed Christmas present but could definitely do with more…but I’ll buy it in March as present for youngest’s birthday.

I might list all the things I’m avoiding buying, work out approximately what I’m saving.

@MrsShortbread yes good idea.. I’m trying to avoid things I don’t need in shops like b and m. Air fresheners, candles, cleaning products etc

Mid week is hectic for me as dd dances 3 times a week and I have my mum to check on so need to be organised with meals to stop me grabbing a chippy when I can’t find anything quick to cook

I've just read the electricity meter and calculated costs for the past week. I have no gas in my flat and can't have a smart meter because meter box too far away to get good signal. I've just increased direct debit by £5 month because that will keep me nicely in credit and I won't be worried if it's a bit cold and need to put radiator up a notch. I can always reduce the DD if we get a warm spell before Easter.

I'm in too.

I've got a sainsburys delivery arriving today with basics then its no spend for as long as I can. The fridge and freezer will both be temporarily full and it will be careful meal planning.

In terms of personal spending I have an xmas gift jumper to return to M&S and I need tights for work so hoping to be able to get a replacement in the sales plus tights for work without having to add more money.

Getting my hair cut and coloured on Thursday but I have the money put aside as it was a rescheduled appointment.

I was paid Jan wage 19th Dec so put it into savings but moved it back in to my account on my normal paydate - no direct debits off yet but credit card cleared.

DC has a bowling play date weds but we can walk there and back and will take snacks but its my turn to pay so will be £24 lighter

I'm watching my friends dc for her on Friday and had promised lunch out so thats another 20 quid - ouch!

NSD today. Sorted out stuff that was stored in our spare room during renovation ready for a tip run.

Made tomato sauce which we'll have with filled pasta today and with meatballs later this week.

No spend day here, grocery shopping was done on Friday and should last me 2 weeks with a top up shop.

not intending on shopping today!

I saw earlier on TikTok a lady who put £2 in a separate account every time she walked or biked instead of using the car. £600 saved in a year. Sounded good, as the car is still available but the incentive not to use it would be good

I force myself to keep a spreadsheet. This encourages me to see the balance not alter all that much, and helps stop me spending because the very act of logging in daily to update is such a faff that it stops me wanting to spend!

NSD too. We went for a walk with friends but passed on the lunch they were going to afterwards so saved £40/£50ish 🙂

I'd like to join in please. I spent too much in December, so have started January with a no spend day. I'm getting my bike back this week (I let someone borrow it ages ago) so that should keep petrol costs down a bit.

Another NSD here 🙂 Just skimmed my account and popped into savings too 😊 Love this thread 🫶

Keen to join in as our bills seem to have gone up and income gone down. Might find it hard to cut down as we don’t eat out very often - generally birthdays only and rarely have a takeaway - usually once a year on holiday!! I don’t buy fancy coffees. I usually meet up with my friend in a halfway city every few months so have to budget for train and meal.
my biggest vice this year has been buying gym gear on vinted. I’ve just listed a load of stuff today to try and recoup some
cash as I’ve used my credit card a fair bit on a holiday deposit and emergency vets fees so I need to tackle that

it’s big birthday for me in April so would like to have some nice things planned but will depend on money spare