A no spend January with limited grocery shopping spend

[MikeRafone]

Im needing a detox from spending for January

Ive cancelled my amazon prime account - for now as I rarely use it until easter so it saves £35

all my bills will go out by direct debit and standing order by 2nd of the month

Im going to set a limit of £4 per person per day for the grocery shopping so £28 per person per week. We have a lot of left overs, some of which im going to freeze for January.

Coffee at home rather than out in a coffee shop, no hitting the sales for stuff no-one else wanted!

Im wanting as many no spend days as possible for January

anyone want to join?

Me! I do a no-spend January every year, although maybe not quite as restrictive as that. I find it really sets me up for the year. This is the list of "rules" I keep in my phone notes:

No toiletries beyond direct replacements
No books - read from my shelves
No coffee
No meals out
No clothing, shoes or trainers
No spontaneous dinner shops (plan all meals)
No home items
No perfume, makeup etc

Alternative activities:
Library
Art and craft
Colouring
Puzzles
Board games
Gardening
Do nails
Meal planning and baking for the freezer

Me!
My car MOT, tax and insurance are all due in January, so need enough funds to cover that.
Cancelling Amazon is a good idea, I can never find anything to watch, just use it for shopping.
I'm going away for a few days in the new year, visiting family, so that will be challenging as I love treating my grandchildren.
My freezer is heaving so won't need to buy much food.

Good list @LoyalGreenHam

I would very much like to join.

I’m in! Great list above :-)

Such a good idea to budget food per person per - my food shops are always way out of control even in Lidl/Aldi! Would love to join!

I'm in . Got a bit in the freezer should last a good 2 weeks just need to stay away from asda for top up shops as go in to spend a tenner come out spending £100+

Spend more days at home and just top up on bread and milk from local shop after work .

It’s so hard to do no coffee outside. I’ve even bought a nice coffee machine but sometimes I want to go out and have a coffee. I think it stems back to being broke and not buying anything outside, ever. Being thirsty when I was younger is also a big memory.

I'm also in. No/low spend Jan will also mean I hopefully keep money saved from Dec in savings! Will check in regularly for accountability.

Great list @LoyalGreenHam

If anyone has a kindle I recommend bookbub - sends you emails with books that are 99p. I do mela plan but so far too many top up shops or realising I’m out or DS is out so have to re juggle. Also want to use all the products I have before buying new. I’m going to try and look k for secondhand clothes as well.

After clearing out my wardrobe last week, and the resulting trip to the tip, Ive decided I will not buy anything new unless I have thrown something away. So if I think I need new trainers, the old ones need to be binned. If I dont think they should be binned, I do not need that pair of new trainers.

I will join!
we are doing no pub January and we’ve bought new lunch boxes so everyone takes a packed lunch to work. Lots of eating up what’s in the freezer and no new clothes!

just top up on bread and milk from local shop after work .

just buy extra on your weekly shop and pop in the freezer

make no knead bread with white flour, yeast, salt and water

there are some great ideas here, I’m going to join I too!

I love bookbub but it’s dangerous as I end up buying too many as it’s ‘only 99p’ 😂

Also, this is a really good book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Year-Less-Shopping-Belongings-Discovered/dp/1401954871

I’m in !

me too!

I took £500 out of my savings just before Christmas - I want to replace that as quickly as possible by cutting back on general spending - and I have £150 Christmas spending on a credit card which will need to be paid off before January 18th. I get paid on Dec 31st so will be able to clear that asap but not if I weaken & start browsing sale websites. By the end of January I'll be out of the habit of shopping!

I’ve just checked my library catalogue and it’s available as an ebook for free 😉

Even better.

My DD would be thrilled with this. She’s 20, at uni. When I dropped her there end of September we did a shop of staples (pasta, rice, a few sauces, tinned tuna etc) about £100. Since then she’s spent a grand total of £30/month on food. She only shops at charity shops or Vinted. She even comparison shopped dentists (even though I was paying). She’d rather walk a mile up hill lugging a heavy suitcase than pay £1 for a bus.
She does het decent shampoo and is very careful with her skin. But she’s so frugal as to almost be mean, though it only affects herself.
My son however wouldn’t last a day. ‘No spend’ is just not part of his philosophy.

Following too! I have some debt to clear so I’m definitely trying extra hard. Someone recommended buying only needed itches not “wants” and writing down how much you save but putting the “wants” back on the shelf ect! I’m quite a visual person so might try this!

Hopefully not everyone will do the same as you. Our pubs are in a crisis and need all the support they can get.

Yes! I’m in. It’s the takeaway coffees that kill me.

We really need this. Just need to get DH onboard.