No spend November

To say we are skint we be an understatement. With one thing or another, and me spending money to try and buy peace and happiness (doesn't work) we are currently in quite a lot of debt. So to try and dig us out of it a little before Christmas I have decided to try 'No spend November.' During this time unless it is NEEDED, for example bills, milk, bread, veg etc it will not be bought. Hopefully this will stop me:
- Going to Asda for milk, and spending £25 on other things which catch my eye or are on offer
- Taking the kids to the shops and buying £6 of sweets because they want one and there's a £6 minimum spend on cards.
- Thinking 'oh thats half price, Cait would like that for Christmas!' When she already has WAY too many gifts!
- Getting home from somewhere, too tired to cook and ordering a takeaway
Ok so I expect it will be hard, was tested today when I went to TKmaxx and saw glittery ribbon! But I need to get back into the routine of not spending. I used to be great at saving, never had any credit cards, then I got one and it all went wrong lol. Plus there will be exceptions to the rules, such as
- Caitlins dancing lessons. £3 a week. Wouldn't be good for her progess to miss a month.
- Upcoming school events £10 per child. Don't want them left out. Plus I'm hwlping run them so bit mean if I get to go and they can't lol.
- My weekly Costa visits with my mum. I NEED these for my sanity! Plus my Mum pays for 2 weeks out of the month and I have more than enough points on my card to pay for my turns so not tecnically spending :p
- Perishable foods, or foods we run out of. All the cupboards, fridge, freezer etc are full, but I'm dreadful for buying more because its half off, or I fancy it, so while I aim to run down what we have we will need to buy more milk, bread, fruit etc. Also if we run out of staples, such as cheese, then thats ok. Non staples, like wine, chocolate, crisps etc well once those are gone they're gone.
To help me stick to this I've made a meal list for the month using items we already have, plus I've set myself the aim that if I don't manage it, I won't go on the trip to York I have booked at the end of the month with Mark, my Mum and my Gran. Its a coach trip we booked months ago to cheer up gran and I'm really looking forward to it so its a good incentive :)
The 'no spending' idea got off to a good start today anyway. First I resisted goodies in TKmaxx, then resisted cheap xmas decorations reduced in argos (£10 to £1.50, it was hard!!!!) Then we accidently got free coffee at Costa lol. Well we went in and sat down, my Mum sent me up with her card to order and pay because shes lazy, but I was told the machine was down they could only take cash at the moment. Oh, we didn't have any :( Thats ok, I was told, just come up and pay before you leave. Fair enough :) So enjoyed our drinks (mine was a spiced apple drink, yum!) chatted for an hour or so then left, saying bye the staff as we went. :) Wasn't until we got home and Mum asked me for her card back I remembered I hadn't paid! Oh well, will pay next time we go in. lol.