Joyful July's No-Spend Days Challenge!

Dizzycap

@ Changeyourlife25 & @  IRunFar - Welcome aboard the NSD fast train! Wishing you both all the best with your July 10 NSD target - You can do it! 

And we're off!  Declaring a very early 1/20 NSD Tuesday - Far too hot for me to go out & I can't be bothered to shop online as I seem to be stocked up on everything for now xxxxx

Wishing everyone a Terrific NSD Tuesday! 

beanielou

One today. First of the month. 

laurenh1

Morning MSE'ers. Please can I join in for July, starting with 1 for today (target 18 please ) I  had a lot going on personally last month but I have managed to stick to budget  and I have managed to add to savings. Hoping for a fresh start today and to keep on with the budgets and savings. I have been listing clothes on Vinted and so far have £60 for treats for the kids over summer, hoping to get that to £100 by the time they break up. 

QueenJess

I usually don't count necessities as a spend day like food or medicine unless I am frivolously buying.  Today I bought myself what is effectively a car booster seat for adults as I am too short to sit comfortably in DH's car.  When we go on slightly longer drives (or holiday) in his car, it really hurts my back as the lumber support digs into my middle back and forces me to continually arch.  I often sit on a coat or a blanket, which is a bit hit and miss.  Given we are driving 4 hours to holiday, I decided to fork out on a comfy seat for myself so I can be backache free.

Not planning on any other purchases, so do I count this as a NSD?  Need a quick show of hands

BridgetTheCat

This is more complicated than I thought. I’m trying to figure out what counts as spending. 

I imagine people don’t count things like rent/mortgage and council tax. What about groceries? I have an order coming today which has essentials plus a few ‘luxury’ items (I do like a fillet steak every so often 😀). I’d be inclined to count the luxury items as spending even though they’re technically groceries.

And then there’s the credit card bill. It’s mainly online ordering and always paid in full each month, but when do I count the money as spent? When I order the item? When it’s delivered and I decide whether I’m keeping it? Or when I pay the CC bill? I’m leaning towards when ordered because that’s when I decided to spend the money.

Just some thoughts and musings. Any input is welcome!

QueenJess

BridgetTheCat said:

This is more complicated than I thought. I’m trying to figure out what counts as spending. 

I imagine people don’t count things like rent/mortgage and council tax. What about groceries? I have an order coming today which has essentials plus a few ‘luxury’ items (I do like a fillet steak every so often 😀). I’d be inclined to count the luxury items as spending even though they’re technically groceries.

And then there’s the credit card bill. It’s mainly online ordering and always paid in full each month, but when do I count the money as spent? When I order the item? When it’s delivered and I decide whether I’m keeping it? Or when I pay the CC bill? I’m leaning towards when ordered because that’s when I decided to spend the money.

Just some thoughts and musings. Any input is welcome!

I would say, make it simple and align with what you want to achieve.  I want to limit spending outside of necessitiies to avoid frittering it away on a snack here, a drink there etc.  Groceries, medication, rent/mortgage, council tax etc are exempt.  I also ignore any direct debits as I've already got them down to the minimum.  

If I spend on a day, I count it as that day and not when I actually pay for the item from a CC.  Otherwise I could justify quite a bit of spending as I could lump everything on a CC since it only impacts one day a month!  If I order something and it turns out I don't want it and send it back, I add on another NSD later.  Equally, if I order something and have to send it back and replace it for something that actually fits, then I ignore the reorder as I already counted my spending on the initial item.

Hope that helps!

Doris17

NSD for me 1/15.

cathybird

@QueenJess my thought is that your back is something you have to protect from a health point of view so I think back support counts as a necessity. xx

@BridgetTheCat I count credit card spends on the day you incur the expense and don't include the day it's paid back (otherwise you'd be counting it as a spend twice)! Under the challenge rules, you don't have to count direct debits, bills, subscriptions/memberships that automatically renew, basic groceries, fuel/public transport or health expenses (including for pets - if you have them, vet visits are sometimes a necessity). But some NSDers do count some of these expenses, which is fine too, it just makes it harder. As to counting or not counting the steak/luxury items, it's really your call - if you feel these are frivolous or unnecessary expenses, and you're wanting to cut back on those, by all means count them. But I buy meat as part of my grocery spending and don't count it. Your call xxx

cathybird

July 2025 NSD challenge

Off to a start =  

5 days =  

10 days =  

15 days =  

20 days =  

Target reached =  

Target beaten =

July targets

AuntieL 18 

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BadBookkeeper 15 

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beanielou 1/19   

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BridgetTheCat 8 

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Caeraugirl 10 

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Changeyourlife25 10 

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cathybird 1/15   

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Crazybee787 19 

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Crazycatlady2 15 

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cuddlymarm 15 

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CynicalPinnacle 10 

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Dizzycap 1/20   

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Doris17 1/15   

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InDebtEnby 12 

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IRunFar 10 

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Jay1 2 14 

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KajiKita 15 

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laurenh1 1/18   

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library0602 10 

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LittleMissDetermined 15 

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Money Choices 12 

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Optimistic Saver 18 

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Pinkpieuni 10 

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QueenJess 1/15   

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short bird 18  

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thepurplepixie 15  

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Thriftymissus TF  

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VickyA 2 10  

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To see the updated results for June on phone or tablet, click here

🌞 🌞  Newcomers welcome! 🌞 🌞

CrazyBee787

BridgetTheCat said:

This is more complicated than I thought. I’m trying to figure out what counts as spending. 

I imagine people don’t count things like rent/mortgage and council tax. What about groceries? I have an order coming today which has essentials plus a few ‘luxury’ items (I do like a fillet steak every so often 😀). I’d be inclined to count the luxury items as spending even though they’re technically groceries.

And then there’s the credit card bill. It’s mainly online ordering and always paid in full each month, but when do I count the money as spent? When I order the item? When it’s delivered and I decide whether I’m keeping it? Or when I pay the CC bill? I’m leaning towards when ordered because that’s when I decided to spend the money.

Just some thoughts and musings. Any input is welcome!

Hi Bridget the cat, what I do; I set myself a challenge budget for groceries (£50 for two people every two weeks) and if I stick to it rigidly I will allow myself a no spend day but if I go over even by a penny I count it as a spend day! Personally I have saved £1300 doing this roughly speaking. Having steak is not a bad thing either, however to keep my budget the way I have I rarely have steak (If I do it is over the budget) and the groceries I have are mostly vegetarian, however there are no rules about what budget you set yourself, perhaps it is challenging to you.

With regards the credit card, the money you spend will take a while to difinitively appear on the credit card however the day you spend it is normally correct, therefore the day you use it is the best time to allocate as a spend day. As a little extra why not make yourself a spending spreadhseet on excel, this way you can add everything you spend, as you try and reduce your spending days you may find this list shrinks in time which can be motivating also seeing everything listed makes you wake up to what you are doing, this is the advice I was given when I first started out I hope it helps you as much as it did me.