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?

I’d really love to join - but a book for £26.48 is not encouraging me not to spend 🤦🏻‍♀️ but will defo look for it if it’s free!

Bloody hell. What you people are planning as your no spend tips are pretty much my normal life!

@capybaraforlife could you tell us more please!!

Please can someone post encouraging hints! I don’t do so bad with our food shopping spending but I do struggle with impulse buying other stuff

I feel like i could do with a no spend decade right now!

I have a lot of financial commitments at the moment and am definitely feeling the pressure, so would love to reduce my spending in January (and hopefully beyond!).

I had to take out a loan for an unexpected and cannot live without purchase, and would like to overpay on that to reduce the interest. I also have a £500 plus travel/accommodation commitment in the early autumn that I need to budget for too, plus the equipment I'll need 😬

As you can probably guess from my username, takeaway coffees are also a big spend for me. I could easily save 40 quid a month just not getting one on my way into the office twice a week.

I can definitely get away without buying toiletries. Ive just counted 15 bottles of shower gel, 3 bottles of shampoo and 2 bars of soap just for me. Kids and husband are also well stocked and we have a good supply of toothpaste, deodorant etc.

I buy some things in bulk with Amazon subscribe and save as its the cheapest way, things like my specific oat and soya milk, dog food etc and i double ordered because we were due to run out over Christmas, so those are all well stocked.

I need to get back to meal planning and batch cooking to prevent those spontaneous impulse shops which also don't help the diet!

Plan to pick up some overtime too!

I always do "freezer diving" in January, use up all the bits I have in there and in the cupboard and find that I eat some really nice, if slightly unusual meals. Aim to spend as little as possible so happy to join

Count me in.
I do this every january. It's a great way to start the year.

1. Home cooked food only
2. Cook from scratch more
3. Meal plan
4. Bring own drinks out
5. Meet up with friends once a week. Take turns hosting. It's important to be social but with no/low spend
6. To avoid purchasing unnecessary stuff, take a photo of it. Guarantee you will have forgotten about it by the time you get home.

@Dogladycrazywhat aspect do you struggle with? Is it online shopping or in person?

if it’s online then unsubscribe from emails and delete apps

if it’s in person eg grocery shopping then move online.

also - do your grocery shop online in your kitchen. You can easily see what you’ve got and plan accordingly.

an easy lunch/ quick dinner option is the omelette/fritatta -put any leftover veg/ham/chicken in with lots of seasoning and herbs and you can get rid of a lot of the last bits of things in them.

also leave the lastmday out of the
meal plan -use what you’ve got or keep it simple with a jacket spud and chill out of the freezer

We never go to the pub. Plenty of people dont. If some close because of low demand then they are clearly not necessary ones, its no different to any other place shutting down.

I’d like to join! Like a few who have already posted, it is the drinks and food out that seem to sap up any spare cash I have. Things like crisps, muffins, coffees etc. so hopefully a nice by-product of not spending on these things will be a small weight loss too! 😃

Grief strikes people in different ways, doesn't it? When my DH died I 'lost the habit' of eating, & had totally no interest in cooking. Had to train myself quite mechanically to eat something daily, starting with buying ready-made quiches eaten cold with a few leaves of salad.
Now: fridge always full of salad ingredients; green veg/broccoli; roasting veg/courgette, etc. so I can quickly scratch together a tray bake of roasted veg or quick pan-job of spinach&eggs, or pan-fried salmon or chicken breast - quick & easy, generally cook once for two days.
Totally off ready-mades. Took time to get there.

Thank you yes it’s mostly online, I’m terrible for thinking whatever I see advertised will make mine / my family’s lives better 😩 Social media small businesses, Next, M&S, EBay, Amazon etc. it’s will power I need. I try the taking photos and see if I’m still thinking about it later, and usually I am… are there any mantras / mottos anyone knows to make me stop and think? I’d love to do a January no / low spend. I delete apps or hide them but inevitably go looking for them again 🤦🏻‍♀️xx

Sorry for your loss. I was exactly the same but lasted a good year before reigned in both. Big hugs x

I am doing it , I signed up online , last year I saved £400 in January.
I wrote down everything I put back on the shelf in the shop and didn't use my Amazon account or Vinted.

Me! I've just booked a holiday for end of May and i want to pay it off (booked on credit card) by the time we fly out. So count me in. Im doing a 5 month super-saver stretch 😆

We are lucky. They are very busy here. Part of the community. After carol singing in the market square on Christmas Eve, everyone goes to the pub. Standing room only. Christmas Day lunch was sold out months ago and most of the villagers support it.

IIm thinking of taking a packed lunch to work every single day, walk when possible instead of driving, cutting out sugar and treats (tough for me), not buying new clothes unless absolutely necessary..what else?

Can I join please?

As per my username, im on mounjaro and although I'm lucky to be able to afford it, it's still a heck of a lot of money each month so could do with cutting back in other areas to have more money in general.

We had a low key Christmas which is just how we like it so not going into Jan with debt but we could do with building up our savings for unexpected (and expected) bills/things need fixing etc.

Although in Jan I do have a nail appointment and a hair appointment booked so not very "no spend" but good for my wellbeing.

Today we went to the cinema that was only £15 as was the £2.50 kids club thing. We took our own drinks (I took a coffee) and our own popcorn to save money.

I recently started adding things I see online to my basket but not checking out. I then move the money it would cost from my current account to my savings account as it takes seconds to do on my phone.

If I'm still thinking about it a day or two later and really want it I will move the money back and buy it but I'd say it has cut out 80% of my impulse purchases.

Keep your coffee. When i was on mat leave and mat pay (about £650 a month) my partner insisted I keep my coffee. He knew how much I loved it and it also got me out of the house either baby. It is a ritual I loved so I just scrimped elsewhere!

Funny idea but have you tried using cash for your shopping? Can’t do online but if you start taking money out, psychologically it is more effective at helping you spend less. The easy tap and go of card/ phone really removes that ownership and accountability of spending.

I'm in!

2026 is the year of being debt free so think 'No spend' January is the best way to start!

I do think you need a budget for treats if you can. These can also be done frugally. So if you like a coffee out then get the cheaper one. Books or wool for hobbies from
a charity shop. Go out with a friend for a drink rather than dinner.

Obviously people have different lifestyles and spending habits. Some peoples ‘frugal’ will be someone else’s ’extravagant’. That’s just life!

I actually find the opposite. What matters to me is how much money I have in my bank account. Therefore if I take £200 out in cash, I feel like I’m free to spend it because it’s already been taken off my bottom line. If I spend on my card, I spend as little as possible to keep my balance as high as possible. It’s also much easier to track my spend via card as I can see each transaction on my online banking app, whereas to track cash spend I have to write it down.