Monday
Today I didn’t spend anything. We are still in lockdown and I’m home schooling my two children and trying to work from home, so when it’s a busy day like this at home then I can quite easily avoid spending or online shopping!
Tuesday
It was a scorcher of a day today so I bought my two children an ice-lolly each from the local shop for a total of £3. I resisted buying myself one and in hindsight it would have been better value for me to buy a multi-pack.
Wednesday
No spend. A busy day working from home and with both kids. I popped to the shop for some groceries, but didn’t buy anything other than food we needed for dinner.
Thursday
I spent £11.40 on tea towels. They were meant to be a bit more, but I was able to use £2.50 worth of Nectar points. Not unnecessary spending as we needed some new tea towels after ruining some in some recent home renovations. I’m definitely trying to be mindful of spending nowadays and only buy things we need.
Friday
Nothing spent today. It was a busy day working on the laptop. Monday to Friday are busy workdays and I often work all day and evening, so there’s a lot less temptation to spend, especially now I’m always based at home to work.
Saturday
Today I really wanted to buy a kitchen bin! We just have a 12 litre cupboard sized bin for our family of four, so it fills really quickly. We moved it here from the flat we used to live in as a couple and we’ve lived with it for six years in our new house with a growing family! We have our recycling in an open tub next to the bin, so a neater dual bin would look much better and have more capacity. I found a great bin on John Lewis by Brabantia that looks great and fits the space we have perfectly. The only issue is it’s £135 which seems a lot for just a bin! I have shopped around and found the bin elsewhere with a discount code, bringing it down to £110. I haven’t bought it yet, but I am pretty certain I will buy it after this no spend week to help complete our kitchen interior and for the practicality it offers - 60 whole litres!
Sunday
Today I didn’t spend a penny. We did some painting at home with paint we already had and went for a country walk close to our home.
The verdict
I honestly didn’t find it difficult to not spend money this week. It definitely helps having the children at home, being sunny most days and me being very busy with work. This all makes it easier to spend time in the garden, which is free, and for me to be distracted with working instead of spending money to entertain myself! If the weather was poor then we’d be more likely to want to get out of the house and go for a meal or some entertainment so we don’t feel on top of each other in our living room all weekend! Sunny weather and a garden definitely makes spending less money, or no money, easier. Plus, when the kids are at school then I don’t always work at home. This makes it more tempting to spend money whilst I work in a business lounge with café on site.
In other ways though, a no-spend week can sometimes just delay spending. If there are things we need to replace or buy to make our lives easier, then the spending is just delayed rather than not spent at all. I’m sure I’ll buy the new bin, so for this item it is just delaying the spending and not saving me the money!
Compared to a normal week when I might buy hot drinks at a café, a takeaway, perhaps lunch or a drink with a friend or my husband, I expect I’ve personally saved around £30. Going for a day out with the kids can cost up to £100 with fuel costs, entry fees and food, so by staying at home we’ve definitely saved money as a family. We’d not have an expensive family day out every week, but sometimes once or twice per month, especially in the summer.
When popping to the shop to buy groceries I did stop myself from buying any extra treats that I might usually be tempted by. It’s a great way to save money by only buying the ingredients you need for dinner and other meals and not any extras. I also snacked on more fruit instead of unhealthy snacks I might previously have purchased. We’d usually get a takeaway once per week, sometimes only chippy chips which aren’t very expensive, but we can definitely save money by skipping this weekly takeaway. Pizza is usually our second takeaway option and these are really expensive, even with a deal. It’s much cheaper to make our own or buy an oven pizza instead as a treat.
I’m always looking for ways to save more money and I’ll continue to have no spend weeks on a regular basis. Committing to a no spend week does make you value what you have and makes you realise you don’t always need those extras. It also makes me realise how expensive it is to eat food and drink in cafes and restaurants on a regular basis, as well as buying snacks that I don’t really need. A no spend week has encouraged me to make more sensible choices with my spending and realise where I am sometimes wasting money. It’s also a good way to think about large and expensive purchases and stop impulse buying.
Your No Spend Week?