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?

Following - thank you for all the tips. Incredible the amount you spend on toiletries/washing up stuff

A small win. Instead of getting a salad/wrap in on deliveroo for lunch, I made a chicken/sweetcorn soup with left overs from a couple of days ago. Homemade satisfied more than the take away would have

Lidl dishwasher tabs are rubbish, but I think Morrisons ones are great and a fraction of the the branded ones.

Ah sorry I missed it down thread, thanks so much for reposting. I think I might try a no-spend 2026 if January goes well.

Here for tips! I dread January 🙈 DS has a birthday at the end of December and has his party in January after schools go back (otherwise it all happens within a week and it’s a huge let down going back to school) and DD has a birthday at the end of January. So it’s absolutely no spend January other than those things. Bonus though is that I get to buy decent party bag fillers in the sales. I do also try to buy reduced Christmas items to store for the next year.

I’ve been meaning to look into Smol.

No spend today, so that’s two done. Tomorrow is an essentials-only grocery shop to last me till Saturday when I can get to Aldi (2.5hr drive there), Must make sure I eat a good breakfast tomorrow - I think you’re far more likely to buy more if you’re hungry whilst you do it, even with a list. Lentils are a priority, love how versatile they are.

We don't pay council tax in February and March so that's £580 for savings 👏

I had to buy dc3 a new winter jacket and dc1 and dc2 new welly boots. We are due heavy snow on new years day so all were essential. It cost £43 in total on sale in matalan which is actually pretty reasonable. It wasn't a planned spend but never mind.

I haven't done any food shop yet except a very minimal one a few days ago for bread etc. I plan to meal plan totally around whats in the freezer and cupboards.

I agree with this. I spend far more if I am hungry when I go shopping.

I will join please

Definitely on for this. Aiming to minimise spending this year as we have some expensive roof work to do. I need to stay in budget for groceries as I always go over. Also aiming to spend as little as possible and what I do spend to be done mindfully.
I've cancelled Amazon prime as I'm way too trigger happy with the buy now button. Plan is to put anything I want into the basket and at the end of the month review with DH and see what's really needed.
My big downfall is stuff for my kids, just seeing something like a book or a top that they'll like or a cinema trip, McDonald's, that kind of thing. I justify it that it's normal kid spending but really need to cut it out.

Best tip I have read is to split food money into the number of weeks in the month, but to buy 8 days worth of food with each week’s money. Eventually you get a ‘free’ week.

Good job it’s not January yet as I’ve just been on the Roka London sale. Did get 3 freebies though and the whole lot will cover 6 birthday presents plus a much needed everyday bag for me. Zip has worn out on my old bag. We do have a separate, fairly strict budget for birthdays so I’ve not strayed too far from the path.

This weekend, I'll be going through the fridge and cupboards to see what I can make to freeze.

I know (because of afore mentioned sack of potatoes) I can make stuffed baked pots - ends of cheese, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, an egg, good as either an accompaniment or lunch. They freeze really well, and efficient use of the oven to do lots. I found a 'sprout bhaji recipe' in the Guardian. Leek and potato soup (BBC good food recipe) is really quick and also freezes well. Going to try to limit food shopping to milk and bread, and fresh things later in the month.

I used to do this but started clearing out cupboards etc so I could see exactly how much clothes and toys etc the kids have. I realised they had more than they could ever use or wear. I also started leaving my card at home and carrying cash. It soon stopped impulse buys.

Do they get pocket money? I’ve found it’s so much easier to resist saying yes to DDs requests when she can choose to buy it with her own pocket money (talking about toys etc, not necessary things like shoes or clothes). When it’s coming from her card, suddenly she’s much more discerning! She gets £5 a week (age 10) and tbh saves most of it.

Made £60 on Vinted this week - once the balance comes through I’ll throw this at my debts.

£500 refund coming through soon also. I’ll save half and put the other half to debts.

I’ve meal planned the next few days and will go to Lidl to pick stuff up soon. We normally get a takeaway NYE which is about £50. I’m doing steak instead so still an expensive meal but a lot cheaper than takeaway.

At a families Saturday night, got lots of wine as gifts for Christmas which I don’t drink so will take that with me.

Sunday I will do a cupboard and freezer inventory. I usually write this in my notes app so I can glance and see what I don’t need to add to the food shop. I haven’t done this for a good 6 months so hopefully lots of meals can be planned around what I already have.

Expecting around £500 from my side hustle too and have accepted another days work at that which will be around £300. I’ll keep it aside incase January is a long month but if not it’ll be going to debt payments. I’m so motivated to reduce my debt next year. Managed to pay off 25% of it this year but I wasn’t very strict at it.

I’ve also been unsubscribing from the relentless emails coming through with sale offers. I’m a big impulsive spender so if I can’t see it it’s less tempting.

Ive also made a rule to add anything that I want to buy to my notes wishlist app. If I’m still thinking about it after a month I will allow myself to purchase but see if I can get it cheaper on Vinted first.

Why do you save some though and not pay off more of the debt? It should reduce your interest payments.

I guess it depends on the debt. I have £2k on an interest free credit card, and more than that in savings, so I could pay it off but my savings accrue 4.5% interest.
Also it’s useful to have some cash available in savings in case of an emergency, which stops you having to use your CC again.

I like the idea of a cupboard inventory, I usually put the stuff i want to use up out on the side which then gathers dust and gets in the way.

We have no Christmas leftovers left except some red cabbage in the freezer. I suppose that means I didn't over-buy.

My problem with January is all of the "bargains" (70% off crackers, wrapping paper for 10p etc) that I can't resist buying (its a saving! We have plenty of storage! Etc)

No they don't and it's definitely something I need to bring in, 10 and 8 so they'd be a perfect age.

I use Sainsbury non bio, its £4 in a carton and is the same exact ingredients as a named brand..

I use 60p white vinegar to soften clothing/towels and get rid of any mussie smells - works a treat

Ive just phoned my water company and got the DD lowered based on my usage so saving £7 a month - and got a credit being returned which will come back to me on 12th January for £60

Now to tackle my phone and internet provider....

@Ihaveaskedyouthrice We use HyperJar for her which works really well as it comes with a chip and pin card she can use. And it’s easy for us to pay her, or for her to transfer us money if we’ve bought something for her and she owes us £.

I like to have a buffer of at least a few hundred just incase any unexpected expenses come up.

seeing my debt go down is encouraging so I don’t want to add to it if I don’t have a buffer available. If I have leftovers in the buffer which I often do then it’s transferred to debt.