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?

@AlexFurbison I bought some of the cream/transparent giant baubles from Nkuku- they're gorgeous. Bought them in December sale. I don't want to lead you astray though! It's the sales that I find most tempting - not opening any marketing emails.

Pleased with myself as ive come out for a dog walk with a coffee that i made at home, and a snack. Had got into a habit of treating myself for going out in the cold.

How are people coping with seeing things in sales? I admit that I've got an amazon wishlist growing...

I've got an ever growing wish list, then reality of length of said wish list gets put onto a 'do I really want list' but so far none have made it to the need list. So doing fine here.

How are people coping with seeing things in sales? I admit that I've got an amazon wishlist growing...

Honestly, I’ve realised for the first time ever that I don’t need anything, and buying more stuff doesn’t actually make me happy for longer than the dopamine hit it provides.

@GalaxyJam yes, i know that I don't need anything. And I actually want to get rid of things.

It's definitely that dopamine hit though. I don't know how to recreate it.

I’m trying to recreate it with the dopamine hit of saving money but I’m not sure how successful it’ll be!

This is an excellent idea!

£20 in boots on kids vitamins (did the recycling scheme so got £5 worth of points on my card plus £2 worth for spending over £10 on vitamins.
DD did an activity with a friend - £15 but well worth it as she was picked up at 9:30 and won't be back til 4:30
£38 in M&S, I decided against a full tesco shop as we're cracking on with sorting the boys room so didn't want to spend ages shopping. So went to M&S next to boots and just grabbed a few things for the next couple of days. Will do a full shop on Tues when the kids are back at school.
DS2 needs new gloves. I've found some in sainsburys online so I'm going to pop there tomorrow and hope they have them in stock, if not I'll have to spend a bit more to get the free click and collect.
We went to B&Q for more paint for the boys room but the queue was soo long so we're jsut doing the magnolia wall today, and I'll go down tomorrow to get the green paint we need. I've got £18 left on a voucher so it shouldn't cost me much out of Jan's budget

Another no spend day today im determined to empty both freezers before I do a shop ... my poor fridge looks bare tho so will have to do a fridge shop at some point but will hold out for another day or two .

Was going to pop to asda after work today even tho I dont realy need anything but the thought of dragging myself round it loading it all in the car then dragging it Into the house didn't seem an enjoyable experience today . I think I might start doing online food shops meal plan the week and just buy what's needed .

You are leading me astray! I’ll leave them in the basket for 48 hours then see how I feel.

It’s a bit sad but I’m getting a dopamine hit from finding ways to not spend/reduce spending. I decluttered the cupboard under the stairs today (living the dream!) and found it strangely rewarding.

This is something I struggle with. I’ve not bought anything in the sales. I’m deleting all emails and unsubscribing from mailing lists as they come in and swiping straight past ads. I’m not visiting the shops either for the whole month.

to get a similar feeling I try and ‘shop’ in my house. Basically go through wardrobes, cupboards, makeup etc and find bits that you’ve forgotten about and make a bid to use them in the upcoming week. Sometimes I’ll pop them in a little basket so I remember to make use of them.

Too late! I've been unwell with s nasty cold since New Year's Eve and have resorted to retail therapy as I have been stuck inside. I have binged on eBay - all sale items, but I bought four Seasalt summer dresses, a Seasalt jumper, and a ring. I also ordered three sets of Carrie Elspeth jewellery, some thermal tops and some snow boots as I return to Norway in February. Writing this down has made me feel terrible!

I’m in and going to start tomorrow. It’s been a spendy few months with Christmas and some white appliances needing to be replaced so trying to replenish the savings account accordingly.

Which thermal tops? I need some… 😅

If you have Instagram perhaps take a look at Orjenise. I’ve been doing her organising challenge. Am also finding it strangely satisfying, and have discovered things I had forgotten about! 🤣

We need an intervention 😂

Went supermarket shopping and spent £23 for food until Tuesday including today and lunches for all of us until
then. Managed to use up some larder and freezer stuff. I might just had cheese, crackers and salads or soup for lunches after that as well have so much cheese leftover.

if things carry on this way I might come in under budget.

I’ve also sold a few things on Vinted and a beauty appointment I had booked has cancelled so I have asked for the deposit back. Just as well as I’ve found a place that uses the same machine but cheaper so I will be pursuing that.

We are generally purging and decluttering so using up ends of shower gels, condiments, candles etc.

I’ve been listing 2 items on Vinted per day since 27th dec and I’ve made £160 already

They are on the Trespass website and are really soft and a sort of knitted fabric. They're only £12.99 each and I think there's an online discount. I already have a couple like this and they are warm and comfortable.

I also went shopping today for essentials. Spent £30. Milk, bread (was reduced, win!), lozengers (awful cold), apples, oranges, cheese etc.. Dinner stuff i have loads of..

thought i had a good deal, buying pyjamas for dd from argos, free delivery to sainsbury's and nectar points, only to find they are bottoms only, no suitable tops for sale - i bet i am not the only one falling for this.
will take them back
and have bought some cheaper full set from M & S, unfortunately not a free delivery and I cant guarantee i will drive to the shop, weather forecast,

I prefer primart pjs to M&S, they are far more comfortable

the M&S pjs look lovely, but I rarely wear them

Do you have a recipe for your bars? They sound lovely!

Spent £47 on food yesterday. That should last for a week i hope.

I'm still resisting- only just. Almost bought an online dollshouse making course. But i can probably find the same info on YouTube, and tbh i already have plenty of unfinished craft projects to keep me going for years!

Saturday and Sunday were both NSD 2 down 13 to go

Today I have had to get petrol and also some groceries total spend £41.34
Thursday 1st spend £13.20
Friday lunch out spend £21.92

so a running total for the month of £76.46

I don't follow a recipe as such!

I use cooked, grated, defrosted frozen or tinned fruit, mashed. I've used apples, pears, bananas, peaches, plums, apricots, prunes, rhubarb, gooseberries, grapes, all work fine. A mixture of a couple is also nice.

I put the mashed fruit into a bowl, add a big spoonful or 2 of peanut or almond butter, and then keep spooning in oats and mixing until it looks the right sort of consistency - like a flapjack.

I stir in mixed spice/cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger/allspice, a couple of teaspoons usually.

I then usually (but not always) add some chopped pecans/walnuts/almonds/hazelnuts, and/or raisins/currants/sultanas/chopped dried figs/apricots etc. Some frozen blueberries also works well at this point, if you put them in frozen they end up as whole berries in the finished bar, rather than just disintegrating into the mixture.

Then taste. It's usually sweet enough as it is but if not (for example if I've used rhubarb or gooseberries as the base) I add a spoonful or 2 of honey.

I press it down into a lined baking tin, and then bake at 180 fan for about 25-30 minutes. Cool, slice and enjoy! They freeze well so I usually wrap up a few in clingfilm for the freezer.

Sorry to be so vague, it's one of those recipes that always works no matter what. It still works if the mixture is a bit wetter or drier, just makes more or less squishy bars.