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Fiscal Fast – 7 days no spending (at all)

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  • JAMIEDODGER
    JAMIEDODGER Posts: 4,339
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    I am planning a fiscal fast for as much of January as I can. Been to sainsburys this morning, after writing out a meal plan and a freezer inventory. Bought milk, fruit, veg, bread and some ingredients I needed to be able to make certain dishes. Hoping to stay well away from the shops for at least a week, using up as much as I can from the freezer, which was tbh stuffed full! It's a promising start but I am sure there are probably a few items I have forgotten. Even if I have to go again next Friday, the shopping list should be very small. I have been saving bread bags, so one of the loaves I bought today I split between two bread bags, as of next week the kids are back to school and eat much less bread in term time as they have school dinners, this should hopefully stop wastage:)
    November NSD's - 7
  • catznine
    catznine Posts: 3,192
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    Hello again! :)

    How is everyone doing? The first week of the year is a great one for making new resolutions and changing habits. How many of us are having a go at the Fiscal Fast this week?

    I'm back in again, after a huge tax bill for dh we are having to pull in our belts and use every trick in the book to get by. I saved quite a bit last time we did the fiscal fast so here goes!

    We have just had 3 days of no spends, living on the Christmas leftovers and making packed lunches for dh. Tonight we have to spend some money at the vets as pooches vacs are due and also need to get another bag of food for her and some milk and eggs! So we start the fiscal fast tomorrow!

    Tomorrow we are off for a swim, already paid for (belong to a gym) and we take our own drink and snack and eat that back in the car! Walking the dog so no temptation to spend there. Home made soup is already made up for lunch and then visiting friends for a cuppa. Dinner will be the remains of tonights pasta bake (using up some more of the Christmas cocktail sausages and cheeses). Sunday we are at friends for dinner, we would normally take flowers or a plant but will take a bottle of wine from our rack and make some cookies for their grandchildren. Monday I am at the dentist but the treatment is all paid for in advance, then back to voluteering this week so hopefully have enough ingredients to take in some baked goodies for everyone! Will avoid my sewing club this week to save £5 plus there so hopefully will make it through the week!

    Jamiedodger - a meal plan if def the way to go. Planning in general is good! I joined the Jan grocery challenge and put down an amount (£200)without even thinking it through, discovered it was a 5 week month and forgot about the £50 a month we save up for a quarterly bulk food shop! and the £26 on a couple of veg and fruit boxes :o So £50 a week went down to £24 a week pretty quickly! :eek: Good luck with your January fiscal fast! Just think of the pennies you will be saving! :) Great idea with the bread, off to do that now...........

    Catz x
    Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.

    Jan grocery challenge £35.77/£120
  • pinkypig
    pinkypig Posts: 1,814
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    Hi everyone and Happy New Year :j

    Catznine I feel your pain re; the tax bill. Mr PP and I have both had one that are due at the end of the month. I have just paid them online so I can get myself straight and the bank account looks very low and it is weeks until pay day:eek:

    Got some YS bargains today and a few essentials yesterday and so we are def going for a FF starting tomorrow and lasting until next weekend (I hope).

    The freezer, pantry and fridge are looking nice and full with bargains, left overs and batch cooking so we should be fine. We all take packed lunches so there is no excuse if we fail!

    Good luck, I am looking forward to seeing how we all get on - the support on hear to keep focused is brilliant :T

    PPxx
    Original mortgage £112,000 . Final payment due August 2027.
    Mortgage neutral achieved August 2020 - 7 years early!!!
  • sweetilemon
    sweetilemon Posts: 2,243
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    I am going to relutantly ask to join in. Reluctantly because although I know I have no reason to fail ( just done a shop, no days out planned ) its just so easy to think, oh, run out of diet coke - i'll buy more, fancy some wine - will buy some for tonight, can't be bothered making mash - i'll just get chips! The worst one is when I pop into OH work after mine ( shop) i buy a can of juice & crisps! In my shop I bought hummus for after work, forgot breadsticks - i'll make carrot & cucumber sticks instead! Fingers crossed!
  • JAMIEDODGER
    JAMIEDODGER Posts: 4,339
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    Day one of fiscal fast completed:) various bits from freezer inventory now crossed off. Did some baking but plan to do a bit more today. Hoping to keep my food purse shut for another 6 days at least x
    November NSD's - 7
  • catznine
    catznine Posts: 3,192
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    Well done Jamiedodger! I survived day 1 as well:) Did a small shop on Friday for milk eggs and dog food and started the fast yesterday! We had some of the Turkey curry I froze last week and used up the leftover dips and crisps for a starter. Porridge for breakfast then we are out later today visiting friends but have a bottle of wine left on the rack to take as a thank you for our dinner!
    Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.

    Jan grocery challenge £35.77/£120
  • catznine
    catznine Posts: 3,192
    I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    I am going to relutantly ask to join in. Reluctantly because although I know I have no reason to fail ( just done a shop, no days out planned ) its just so easy to think, oh, run out of diet coke - i'll buy more, fancy some wine - will buy some for tonight, can't be bothered making mash - i'll just get chips! The worst one is when I pop into OH work after mine ( shop) i buy a can of juice & crisps! In my shop I bought hummus for after work, forgot breadsticks - i'll make carrot & cucumber sticks instead! Fingers crossed!

    One of the good things about the fiscal fast Is that it certainly highlights where pennies disappear to! The challenge of finding alternatives can be fun though! Good luck with your fiscal fast! sounds like you are doing great so far!
    Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.

    Jan grocery challenge £35.77/£120
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 17,413
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    I started January with £30.00 in my food purse and great determination to see how far I can get on it without replacing more cash in there (I only have a cash purse for food stuff that is kept specifically for food and nothing else)Its now the 6th Jan and so far have spent just under a fiver yesterday on fresh fruit and veg.No more shopping for me to buy hopefully for at least another week.Tomorrow I am doing a food inventory of my freezer as it needs re-doing and I will work out how many meals I can get out of it before its empty (still medium full, but can now get the baskets in and out without too much effort.I know my food cupboards are stuffed full with tins and odds and ends as I came home from my two Dds with lots of left over bits and pieces from Christmas so Christmas may last until the end of January in my house (foodwise :):))
    By utilising what I have in store instead of buying more stuff I am hoping to put the extra I would have spent into my August Holiday fund.Its going to be more walks in the park instead of walks to the supermarket.Makes my purse fatter and my waist thinner (hopefully :):))
    Good luck everyone with the New Year Fiscal fasting
  • donnajt
    donnajt Posts: 1,085
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    I really need to get back into NSDs desperately!

    Starting today.....
  • Oh well, a fiscal fast has been pushed on to me :(
    I have £75 to last me 3 weeks!
    £45 is earmarked for fares to work,
    so have £10 a week for food, baccy and other bills.
    This is going to be a challenge!
    The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
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