April - starting No Spending Days

[HawthornFairy]

Anyone else? I’ve never really seen the logic of them before as if something needs buying it needs buying, but feel with the cost of fuel/food prices it’s time to at least try!
We break up for Easter holidays today, not sure if that will help or hinder tbh 😂
Would love if others join me, support each other.

I think the No Spend Days are about non essentials, like coffees, lunches or 'stuff' that you don't really need (clothes, bits from B&M or whatever you tend to buy that you could do without).

If that's what's derailing your budget or causing you to not be able to afford bills/food or the things and experiences you actually want, then it might be worth doing.

But probably more constructive is to review your budget, make sure you have money aside for emergencies and annual and irregular expenses like Christmas, insurance, car running costs, white goods replacement etc. Also that you're getting the best price on everything you buy and you're not wasting money on things you don't value like subscriptions you don't use.

When you do spend, do it mindfully and think about how to reduce the cost. For example if you went for a day out over the Easter Holidays, you could just go to an attraction, pay full price for entry and buy lunch for everyone in the cafe. Or you could look for a deal and book ahead, take a picnic and perhaps just buy an ice cream while you're there. And the day out will probably cost under half the amount doing it that way.

Or you could look for somewhere that you could visit regularly and does annual passes, which often cost hardly any more than a single entry ticket. Also look for other free or cheap things to do, lots of places like libraries or museums often have free events in the school holidays, so do as many of those as you can. The no spend aspect would be not automatically buying food and drink while you're out, so see if you can take it with you, or if you're only out for a few hours, just wait until you get home.

Yes please.
I was doing well yesterday but then had to renew a membership before I got thrown out (I didn’t get the renewal email).
So £15 for that.

I would like to join. Though today I will be spending money on hair cuts for my husband and daughter. Yesterday was a NSD though.

I would join in but it's impossible over the holidays with kids.

What I am doing this month is binning off some higher expense stuff that I really don't need, like a storage unit. I'm going to go through my direct debits.

I have been through my finances. I am just about ok month to month, but I was banking on freelance work boosting my income. That’s dried up for the time being. Hopefully will resume, but it does mean working 7 days a week. I’m an experienced professional. Lone parent in my mid 50s. It shouldn’t be like this. If my job can’t increase my salary I will have to look for another position, but there’s not a lot out there.
I have modest outgoings, but really want to do more than just live. I want Spotify, to enter races, to have new clothes, to take Grandad to concerts.
I’m sitting tight until end June and will then decide.
I do have a small buffer, but I don’t want to keep chipping into that.
DS2 wants driving lessons.

Welcome everyone, it’s nice to hear what you’re doing/thinking of doing.

@Bjorkdidit some very good points there, thank you. I think being more mindful day to day will make a big difference - I know I buy more if I go to the supermarket unexpectedly and am hungry for example, so I’ve started keeping some food in the car to make sure I don’t do this. I also always take our thermos with us everywhere we go, to have a cup of tea without paying ridiculous prices.
@BringBackCatsEyes that’s annoying about the email! I hope the freelance does build back up again soon.
@Starlight40 well done for yesterday.
@IncessantNameChanger that’s really proactive, the storage unit. You’re right about the holidays being a challenge!

Managed a NSD, quietly pleased as I am full of a horrible cold and could have easily bought comfort food or quick-dinner items.

There's no such thing as a no spend day when you don't have a car and are relying on public transport to get you where you need to go. So maybe be grateful if they are an option for you on the days in between filling up with petrol.

As PP said, it doesn't mean not having any outgoings, or not spending on essential things.
Any independent adult must have some outgoings every day.

I just got the invoice for DS's 6th form transport. I can't not pay that, can I?!

I have however not bought anything - not popped to the shop for some M&Ms, chose to reserve a book in the library rather than buy for my Kindle. I think it means those sorts of things.

Obviously by simply running the car you are spending something by using fuel from the last tank you bought. Same with eating food, that’s obviously spending money as you have to then buy more food. By simply existing in this society we are spending.

I live incredibly rurally - there is zero public transport here, and the (small) supermarket is twenty miles away…it worries me constantly what will happen to my wee family if I can no longer afford a car or be healthy enough to drive.
Days where I can reduce costs by not buying anything APART from what I’ve chosen to consider as staples is a win. I’m sure we can all find things to be grateful for, and do.

Did a very mindful grocery shop, nothing else. Already completely seeing the point - it’s the little drips of spending that it tackles. I also used cash rather than card.

I don't really understand. Surely most days you spend nothing
Do you mean not spend anything except essentials for the month?

@intrepidpanda some people buy coffee and lunch every day. Or they might go and browse the shops for something to do. Or look online and buy things they don't strictly need.

Reducing the number of times they do that is what some people do if they want to improve their finances. If you're not a spender it will seem alien to you but a lot of people are and it often means they struggle to pay for essentials or expensive times of year that need saving up for like car repairs or Christmas.

I will join you. Hard times in my industry, and likely harder in the future, so I will be trying to squirrel away as much as I can as you never know

@intrepidpanda if you Google the idea you’ll see it’s a common practice.
Personally, my kitchen and storage is so tiny that I can’t do large supermarket shops so have to do more top up ones unless I’m very thoughtful, and due to my very rural location a lot of things simply aren’t available and I have to buy online (zero children’s clothes shops for seventy miles for example)…it can all become little drips of spending that maybe aren’t as mindful as they could be. I buy the children and I secondhand books a lot (no library for thirty miles), and art and craft supplies, things for our garden, etc but these aren’t essential and at the minute I’m choosing to not buy them.

I'd like to join.

I have gotten into the habit of when I go to town for groceries etc I might stop off at a cafe for a coffee or the pub for a wine because it's 'only a fiver **and I don't do much for myself' and that is really adding up. It also won't hurt my waistline.

I agree it's the little drips of spending. I was always quite frugal in the past and very mindful but then started frittering without really noticing. Problem is,DH's company is relocating abroad and I have a life limiting illness which means my ability to work a full time job is curtailed so we need to REALLY start paying attention.

I also need to work through my larder but lately have been doing a very good job of working through the freezer.

I take cash out of the cash machine on Mondays and that is my budget for the week. That has helped because I can see with my own eyes that I am over-spending. It's harder to notice sometimes when you just wave a card around.

**we have a cute little pub where a glass of wine is £5.60. Cheapest around

@EssaDiTractor96 hello, that’s very sensible of you.
I’m considering it a financial MOT.
I’ve been firm cancelling things I don’t need (goodbye kindle unlimited), and reducing things as well (not as much bird food for example, although watching the birds is something my disabled daughter and I both enjoy). It’s a chance to find a better balance, do some tweaks.

I suppose one thing you're already well versed in, being so rural is planning ahead to reduce the number of times you need to trek out somewhere, both for time and the cost of fuel? Can you get groceries delivered or are you reliant on the 20 mile away supermarket? Is this a cheaper one or something like a Co-op? If the latter, is there anywhere a bit further away that's significantly cheaper so worth a bit longer trip?

As an alternative to Kindle Unlimited, unless you read a lot it can be worth just sticking to the 99 p offers and looking everyday to see if there's any books you want to read. Even a few of those a month would be cheaper than KU. Also, KU is often on offer so if you miss it, you might find you can sign up for a cheap deal to get it back for a while.

@GetOffTheCounter welcome 😊. You could make your cafe/pub visit less often but planned, that way you could look forward to it still.

I think it can take a while to realise it’s all crept in sneakily, if you’ve got in your head that you are careful because previously you had been. And illness gets you down at times, I know my own condition leads to times where I’m very fatigued and that can negatively affect my bank balance if I’m not careful (I’m lucky we have no takeaways near us!).

@Bjorkdidit thanks for the questions and points, always worth double checking you aren’t missing anything. So yes, I’m reliant on a Coop 20 miles away…the nearest large supermarket is a 2.5 hr drive away and I could go once a month say with the car seats down (a few neighbours do this) etc but my storage space isn’t great and with the increases in diesel costs I think it’s better to simply reduce the costs/number of trips at the Coop. Yesterday, for example, I looked at the beef mince, then the Quorn mince, then simply bought lentils 😂. I use them regularly so it’s no biggy, but it will make a difference.

I started doing NSD in January, found it really hard but managed 8
February was easier managed 10
March I've clocked up 12 and barely noticed.

I don't count essential bills, parking or bus fares (dc school drop off isn't walkable and is in a pay parking zone, plus I sometimes have to pay to park for work stuff). I do count snacks/food/drinks/craft items when out, Vinted purchases, Amazon impulse buys, etc.

Would love to follow along with you as I'm trying not to slip into new bad habits. Will definitely be harder in the school holidays, although mine are still at the age where a trip to the park or beach with a packed snack is a fun outing if the weather is OK.

Our nearest supermarket is a 15 minute drive away and they deliver to us once a week. We do have a Co Op less than a minutes walk away and I’ve worked out that last month we went 16 times and spent £65. So I’ve put a stop to that and overpaid £50 off the mortgage. We want to overpay the mortgage but keep putting it off as we have no spare money but we clearly do. I don’t buy groceries from the Co Op just chocolate, biscuits and crisps.

Today i have already spent £23 on beetroot, butter, mayonnaise, chicken, cat food and easter eggs. But no extras at all such as wine as I'm not drinking any more either. Aldi had run out of easter eggs so i had to go to the little co-op which bumped the price up a bit.

Nothing else today planned, although I do have to top up the DCs bus passes before too long.

Overpaying the mortgage is a brilliant thing to do. I was planning on putting any savings at the end of the month into Premium Bonds or my ISA.

So far so good for me.

I’ve been doing this for a while and for me it started because I was spending without really thinking on online (mostly Vinted). Now I’m much more focused. I plan for the month so know what’s coming up and have already put money aside for planned spending such as birthdays or appointments (hair, wax etc).

At the start of each month after putting money into my bills account and various savings I sit down with my diary and work out what I need each week and move it weekly to a different account with a small buffer.

We are also far away from shops so have to be good at planning and like you @HawthornFairy we don’t have much room so buy only what we need rather than bulk buying. I’m not sure if I would cope being closer to shops, I would probably be tempted to spend if it was on my doorstep!