It has been the second full week of January (but I included the first three days as Week 1) and the third food shop of the month as part of the No Spend January 2026 Challenge. We’re still doing well, but the contents of the freezer is now very low and I know that we will need more frozen items in the food shop next week.

A point to note: I am not including my mandatory expenses for the month (rent and bills) in my No Spend Challenge. All rent and bills have been paid in full and on time for January andat the beginning of the year I paid off the remainder of the Council Tax for the year (the next annual bill will start again in April).

The food shop

My knee still isn’t strong enough to walk on over longer distances so The Bloke did the food shop. Frustratingly, we accidentally threw the receipt away, but the weekly shop came to £21.35. We still have some eggs and salad items left, a few things in the cupboards and have pork mince left over from last week still in the freezer, so it was still a relatively small shop. This week I added a few extra frozen items included as treats (I’m particularly partial to onion rings), and the photo doesn’t show that we also got a loaf of bread.

Other expenses

We haven’t been quite as diligent in our No Spend this week. 

The Bloke woke up late one morning and so went to Tesco on the way to work for lunch items. £10.00

We haven’t ordered a takeaway, but after The Bloke and I had several challenging days professionally, he picked up fish and chips on the way home to cheer ourselves up mid-week. £14.00

Additionally, this week I had to go to the hospital for X-rays on my knee and had to get a taxi there and back. £14.00

The taxis were necessary, but the chips and Tesco lunch weren’t. However, I don’t consider anything to be excessive and we decided to see it as a treat for the month. I am hoping that by the end of next week, I will be strong enough to go and do the food shop myself – I am going stir crazy by being forced to sit in the house all day!

Total spend for Week 3: £59.35

Total spend for January 2026: £96.97