The ‘Replacement Basis Only’ Challenge: 5th update

Replacement Basis Only Challenge Wk9 Wk10 money saving low spend

We’re almost into the final stretch of the ‘Replacement Basis Only’ Challenge, this time with a progress report for Week Nine and Week Ten. It’s been a very interesting way to try out a longer period of low spending without running out of anything important.

Another way to look at it: this is as probably as close as you can get to carrying out a ‘no spend’ or ‘zero spend’ challenge for a month or more without cheating. Unless you’re living off ration packs in an underground bunker (unlikely), you’re going to need fresh food sooner rather than later.

It’s a practical way to cut back hard on several household and/or personal outgoings, although there’s sometimes an element of luck as we’re about to see.

Replacement Basis Only Challenge: Week Nine

The plan for Week 9 was to keep things as simple as possible, and maybe eke out as much as we could from what we already had.

Our local urban foxes had other ideas, and one of them jumped onto our mini greenhouse and went right through the roof. No foxes were harmed in the making of this minor budget setback, but we did have to find a replacement and it wasn’t easy.

In the end we tracked down one that looked like a great fit, all under a tenner and bought with store credit. It then proceeded to get lost in the post so it’s taken us a while to get a refund and order something similar from a different shop, along with a bag of potting compost for our latest seedlings.

We also had to do a quick top up shop, and kept it very small: bananas, own-brand tea, and Beau’s favourite soup. A couple of days later we did a standard groceries shop from our regulars list, and kept it within budget.

Week Nine Summary:

Potting compost & mini greenhouse cover
Top-up shop: bananas, tea, soup
Regulars-only food shop

In spite of the wildlife trying to sabotage us, we did okay in the end. However, it was clear that lots and lots of things were just about to run out at Golightly Gardens.

Replacement Basis Only Challenge: Week Ten

Yes, Week Ten, the week we ran out of everything. I knew this was coming, and at least it meant that we reached the threshold for free postage.

Somehow there was only one top-up food item this week, just some fruit for the fruit bowl as we ran out. The regulars-only food shop went well because I took advantage of bundle offers and discounts, but there’s no guarantee those will be around next week.

So the big expense was toiletries such as deodorant, dental floss and so on, and we did a Boots delivery. It included everyday skincare too: face serum, makeup remover, SPF. There were a few 1/3 off deals, and another £2 or so off here and there, but not that much by way of discounts. Advantage card points were collected though!

As with previous weeks, spending more made me want to keep on spending. I made the mistake of looking at their special offers and the ‘What’s New?’ page instead of simply checking my shopping list and sticking to that. This is clearly a recurring theme, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on it as there’s something to be learned.

Week Ten summary:

Top up shop: fresh fruit
Regulars-only food shop
Chemist: serum, makeup remover, SPF, floss, hair conditioner, deodorant

An easy week with the groceries, but the stack of toiletries wasn’t especially cheap even with discounts etc. Still, gotta keep up with the personal hygiene.

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The ‘Replacement Basis Only’ Challenge: 5th update