Fiscal Fast – 7 days no spending (at all)

boultdj

:DGlad I reminded you of the current's GQ, and yet another no spend for me, The only thing I need to get is cat food,but adopt-a-cat is off meat at the mo and going barmy for biscuit's,and I'v got tin's of tuna and mackrel in so she should be fine for a few day's.

alfsmum

craigywv I think you can absolve yourself of sin with a haul like that- I am impressed!

NSD for me yesterday and small spend in Lidlee today on fresh stuff. I too am getting glimpses of the back of my kitchen cupboard:rotfl:

GreyQueen

:beer: craigyw, don't apologise, that is most excellent yellow-stickering, I would have expected nothing less of an old-styler with a growing boy to feed. Well done. I'm not a bit envious, not a bit, I tell you (checks nose for Pinnochio effect, lol).

Been to work and home, visited briefly with a neighbour and have spent nothing today. Hopefully I am now safely indoors for the rest of the day and spending opportunities are limites (don't do online shopping).

For reasons too tedious to enumerate, I have the two pieces of bedroom furniture in the living room until at least tomorrow and I am loving looking at the bit of bare floor. Whatever is the matter with me?

Still, unless I choose to have no more by way of clothing than will fit in a shopping bag, I will have to put the chest of drawers back. Oh, but I dream of empty floors but my tiny flat doesn't look spacious even if you don't have a stick of furniture in it.

Hokay, onwards and upwards!

GreyQueen

Hmm, have just done my personal accounts for June 2014.

I spent a total of £527.06, of which £420.26 represented rent, service charges, heating and hot water, council tax, internet and landline and home contents insurance.

I spent £47.92 on housekeeping, which includes non-food items like loo roll and cleaning products. The remaining £103.88, listed in order from most to least expensive; archery, gifts, food out, transport, a haircut, books, a cushion, DVDs, clothing and toiletries. That ranged from £30 down to 89p.

The food out category is one I have for stuff eaten outside the home and includes naughty treats like chocolate bars. My intention is that should be nil in July. And hopefully thereafter as it's spending with nowt to show for it bar a big fat backside.

Archery would have been higher but I skipped one class as ill that night. Took 3 classes. Gifts are for family, one birthday in June and others stashed for Xmas gists. The haircut was a tenner and the books and DVDs together just over a fiver, and the clothing was £2 (4 items as good-as-new).

Transport was high. I don't have a car and family are too far to bike, plus with my Nan in hospital, I was making extra visits across 2 counties to see her. Don't begrudge a penny of that.

With the exception of food and the toiletry item, everything was secondhand, unless it was the services I bought (tuition, hairdressing, transport).

My non-utility bill spends per month are anything from £60-ish as a low to just over £200 as a high. The higher figure was for a month when I replaced a broken mobile and a knackered computer fan. Pooter is 12 years old this autumn and needs the occasional repair from a pal at mate's rates.

Even though I consider I run a tight ship, and have the personal accounts going back to the late nineties to prove it, I'm still falling down by wasting nearly half as much again on snacks as I spend on proper food.

Grrr! Must do better.


July 3rd - 2 NSDs this month.

craigywv

Snacks...gq"....I am astounded I have you in my mind as a person who wouldn't succumb to such things lol"..........But you are human after all....note to self .....just cos she a brain box doesn't mean she doesn't have a sweet tooth. Xxx

GreyQueen

craigywv wrote: »

Snacks...gq"....I am astounded I have you in my mind as a person who wouldn't succumb to such things lol"..........But you are human after all....note to self .....just cos she a brain box doesn't mean she doesn't have a sweet tooth. Xxx

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Oh dearie me, ya never know how people might perceive you.......FWIW I am about 4 stone overweight, and have a very very sweet tooth. I also have a lot of clothes I can't fit into at the moment.:o

It's pure self-indulgence, eating too many sweet things whilst working a sedendary job and not being well enough to 'do' exercise - the old ME business. And being menopausal doesn't help.


Today I have enforced loitering on the premises all afternoon until my two tradesmen show face. Different trades and can be any time up until 5 pm. Hope it's sooner rather than later as getting a bit stir-crazy in this tiny flat, but not within my control.

Have sorted out the countertop basket where I have the last of the 2013 homegrown red and white onions. Have binned a couple as too far gone but some others were so-so. With onions, the outside layers can be squidgy but the inner layers are still good. Fastest way to check is to slice from top to bottom. I chopped up 4 onions to get a lot of goodness and had a sort of frittata-thingy for lunch.

Have also decided to use up some of the canned coconut milk this week, I have 2 cans in the cupboard. Have a couple of recipes which use this but don't cook them frequently enough to recall if they need anything else which isn't on the premises normally, so may have to do a little bit of spending that way.

Pootling around at home has also caused me to have a LBM about something in there, which may be fixable by trading out something from my shed; I shall have to take measurements before I bother bringing it down on the pushbike.

D'you find the determination to use what you already have, whether food or other items, rather than just go out and buy something to fix the problem to be intellectually-stimulating? I feel like my personal CPU is whirring along creatively today.

ETA; the recipes just needs garlic and a carrot. Then I can make a big pot of curry which will do several meals. I am allowed to break the fiscal fast for such a worthwhile cause? Everything else is storecupboard supplies.

boultdj

Day 3 of not spending,and picked more blackcurrent's,gooseberries and strawberries, and it look's like I might get some blueberries next week.
And yes to the 'how to use this rather than buying' enjoyment

Ninno820

Evening all - had a small spend of £6.91 on eggs, fruit n veg yesterday and today. However I am still looking through the freezer and the store cupboard - the mushrooms, for example, were to supplement the OOD mushroom risotto mix that ahs done for tea last night, lunch today and lunch on sunday.

GreyQueen

Went to the library and then the market and got a couple of carrots and a head of garlic. 41p altogether, which is all I spent today.

Time's got away from me a bit, due to isshews with the tradesmen - like buses, you wait for ages then they both arrive at the same time - so I'm not going to do the big pot of curry until tomorrow. It will mean I can add some allotment veg to it, as well.

craigywv

gq...the last curry I made with coconut milk the brood ranted about it I added a tin of drained peaches tescos basics they were lovely. also I have started a thread about my glut of oats just found if anyone can help I would be grateful many thanks xxx