Just essentials June

[Disneyland2022]

Here we go people..
A June thread to keep us all accountable.
Let’s keep striving for minimal spends.

good luck everyone :)

I read an article the other day about how brits shorten everything and the cost of living crisis is known as the "cossie livs" 😂 now I think of cossie livs whenever I see or hear cost of living crisis!

That's funny @windysocks - kinda sounds like a new sort of swimming costume? 😅

Update from me. Overall have been doing OK. Two NSDs so far this week. Yesterday was a low spend lunch with a work colleague who is going on maternity leave in August. I also bought two birthday cards for ds school mates - very short notice but the trampoline party today should be fun. But less than £10 and that is low enough spend to keep me on track.

However, I did end up buying a new bag for my trip with a 60% discount. I have got rid of 2 others (old and very well used) recently and this one ticks all the boxes for me as a replacement that I can use year-round. Seeing it as two out, one in, which is good.

My banking app says I've spent £16 less than at this time last month. Hard to believe we're almost 1/3 through July now and school breaks up next week! Where has the time gone?!

Good luck today everyone.

Ended up being slightly spendy yesterday! £23 coffee shop treat for mums birthday and then thought I’d get the LOs feet measured. He’s gone up a size so new sandals needed -£13 which isn’t too bad.

hoping for Nsd today as haven’t had any in July yet!!

Managed a NSD yesterday, just about. My mum took me out for dinner but she always pays.
Planning a Low spend day today - need to go out at lunchtime and may grab a coffee as I need something to break the tedium of being at home.
Done ok so far this week despite a spendy start. My spend week currently runs from friday to friday for budgeting/accountability purposes but I'm thinking of changing this to start from a monday or tuesday as I can feel like i have some money left over at the weekend rather than spending it all on a saturday and living off nothing until the next week.

£2.30 yesterday on GS's playgroup fees which included a tea cake and a brew!! Last of the big spenders!! 😅
I'm not planning on any spends today so fingers crossed it will be 6/10 NSDs.

Monday was £20 petrol. Tuesday was NSD, yesterday wasn't. LUSH have a sale on, I spent £50 on five gift sets for teacher gifts, two gift sets for birthdays and a wrap to put DDs LUSH things in. Had budgeted £50 for gifts this month so it is covered in the budget. I used the Moonpig free card offer for teacher cards, so a small win for the bank balance.

Hope everyone is doing well with their finances this month 😊

you've done well there! Can’t go wrong with Lush!!

Nsd for me Wahoo! Feeling very proud.
also booked 2 day trips for next week using my annual passes- local farm and the Zoo.
hoping to entertain the kids and look after my Nsds 👍

LSD today. Spent £4 on my daughter’s swimming certificate and badge as she has moved up to the next stage and my dh has spent £4 on lunch at work today.

Not a NSD today, I went out to the local village and the pub were doing a special lunch deal pint + steak sandwich for £10 and I succumbed. It was a good deal, but not as good as walking by would have been.
I did stop at the one though, so something to be said for that.

NSD. Worked 12 hours today so no chance to spend anything.

Well done everybody! Good to hear others are keeping on track!

I had a NSD yesterday, which is 3 this week - woohoo.

Today spent £5 on a bnwt swimsuit from a local charity shop that will not be much use here, this summer 😩, but good for our holiday to the U.S. in two weeks. Also £5 on lunch at work because I didn't pack anything to eat this morning apart from a packet of Percy Pigs - oops!

Had to do some food shopping yesterday
Apart from that, I haven't spent anything this week. I sold something on Vinted so that will be some money in.
I need to buy some toiletries for our holiday and have a birthday gift to buy.

After another spendy weekend I reigned it in this week and have managed low spend days since Saturday.

I tend to have a daily coffee out, which is budgeted for and probably doesn't sound very frugal but it's a way to break up the monotony of being at home all day + a fix for my coffee addiction.

Haven't bought much else this week except essential food which comes out of the family pot.

This week is going a little bit like this >> 😬😬

I really wanted Nsd everyday but it hasn’t worked out like that. I’ve been using my summer passes to get the kids out & about for free however it’s the extras I keep being stung for , ice creams, bouncy castles etc.

Darn summer holidays 🙄

You’re all doing brilliantly.

Ooof, I'm really struggling at the moment - I do enjoy reading everyone's updates but still don't have a clue how to get my spending down! It's not like I spend megabucks every month because I don't have them but food shopping, clothes etc are all more expensive than previously. I went to Lidl at the weekend and thought wow, this used to be loads cheaper than Tesco, now there's not much in it! And the chocolate I like which used to be 79p is now £1.15 - that's gone up just over the last month

Oh also, I was recording all my payments coming out via my iPhone calendar and now the calendar has crashed - so frustrating!!

Anyhow, I will hopefully be back on the straight and narrow soon, just needed to get my rant out of the way!

Hi everyone, good to see that progress is being made, even if it seems much harder this time of year!

I've met my goal of 2 NSDs this week and my bank app says I've spent £35 less than at this time last month, which is a win.

@ElizaBalfour Could you try meal planning around what you have already in the cupboards/freezer (grains, pulses, frozen or tinned veg) to reduce the cost? Or introduce meat free Mondays / Xdays each week? I know this isn't always possible, but it's often cheaper.

Tomorrow we're going down south to see friends for a 50th birthday, which will be fun, but spendy since we'll be staying in a hotel. But it'll be really nice to see them.

Then our trip to the US starts next Friday. Feeling a bit apprehensive about the long journey there, but it'll all work out. We'll be there for 3 weeks, but by taking care with spending all year I've got enough saved up that we can relax and enjoy ourselves. Once we arrive, ds can have a lot of fun with my niece and nephew and the rest of the family. I'm sure they'll have a blast. 😊

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather today...finally some warmth and sunshine!!

@Disneyland2022 I hear ya! There's always a rogue ice cream van waiting to pounce, I'm keeping my freezer well stocked as bargaining chips for this very reason over summer!

@ElizaBalfour Hang in there, it's rough on the food price front currently.I don't know if it will help but if you eat meat, it's worth checking out your local butcher to see what offers they have. I always find butcher meat doesn't shrink like the supermarket ones do, and they fill you up with much less.

@moimichme So exciting, lots to look forward to for you. Makes it all worth it in the end doesn't it. I hope you have a wonderful time!

Haven't spent anything this week and have a weeks worth of petrol still in the car somehow, only £10 but better in my pocket (or tank if you will). I'm a bit wary work may dry up a bit over summer and with the kids off, I have been working so hard this week to try and compensate. It's looking likely that I will be able to put away savings this month despite the study materials I had to buy but haven't used due to how full on the kids have been. I have some extra work line dup next month which I am hoping will ease the likely slower income.

My husband was toying with Paris over summer, and a break away this weekend which luckily hasn't happened. Not because I dont want to go, but we would need clothing and no doubt everyone will need 'something' and it's just not in budget yet. He has decided to take the kids to the Haribo shop at the weekend, I love how fun the idea is and grateful it's not me footing the bill. We also have an event which will be 'fancy dress'. Not Halloween, so will need to be pop culture of sorts, for seven of us.If anyone has any great ideas, do let me know as I am stumped - and obviously don't want to spend much unless its items we can/will wear again. So probably not beach barbie and ken in their flourescent work out gear and skates! 😂

You could try Village People - most people can cobble together an Indian or cowboy outfit. Hard Hat and work boots, borrow a crash helmet for the police outfit - you get the idea?

I've done quite well this week. Only spent on essentials and the birthday gift I'd accounted for.Had a NSD yesterday as DP paid for lunch.
I need to get travel money sorted this week. I thought we had more than the EUR28 I found but never mind.
Should be a low spend week and I have a few days cat sitting.

Not having a great week as we have both had to put petrol in the cars and I hadn’t accounted for. Amazon Prime has come out of the joint account for the year and made us overdrawn so I had to take money out of savings. Before we got it free with our life insurance so we never had to pay it. Not long until payday😫

Well we have provisionally planned a very expensive holiday for April so into serious money saving mode here.
NSD today which is unusual on a non-work day and I posted a Vinted item off.
Hoping for another NSD tomorrow.

Oh and I picked up a new (to us) toy off Facebook for my daughter for free.

Not NSD today but low spend £4 on returning some clothes.
Partner spent just over £100 though on his passport renewal.

Took myself to the cinema on Monday to see the Blur doc. Got my final holiday toiletries so spent about £25 in total.
Other than that, and some fruit and milk, I've not spent anything this week so doing well.
I am out tomorrow with a couple of friends but it's free drinks and nibbles at a pub relaunch. I will have travel costs and may pay for a drink after the freebies have finished. It should be a low spend night though.

Very, very high spend day today😫 a root canal £750. I went to the dentist yesterday and then went back today to get it sorted. I had been dreading it as my tooth had been hurting for awhile. Just glad it is done now. It was easier than having a normal filling. Also spent £24 in Dunelm on towels and flannels.