If you need to get control over your finances, try doing a no spend challenge. A dedicated no spend month can help you re-prioritize your spending, curb unnecessary costs, and save money! Learn how below.
Have you ever heard of a no spend month? Have you ever taken part in one (or a no spend challenge)?
If you are wanting to save money, a no spend month can really help you do that. It is also really helpful in lowering your monthly spending budget!
According to USA Today, the average American lives beyond their means and carries debt.
That means that many people are in debt! In fact, according to ValuePenguin, the average US household carries $5,700 in credit card debt.
That number doesn’t even take into account other common types of debt: mortgages, student loans, medical bills debt, and other debt.
Many people find themselves sticking perfectly to a budget throughout the week, but when the weekend begins, all hell breaks loose. Meals out, trips to the shopping mall, movies…sound familiar?
We all have things we have to spend money on (think food, shelter, bills), and there is even some debt we choose to take on (think mortgage or student loans).
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However, many people make unnecessary purchases on a regular basis, sometimes every single day.
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These unnecessary purchases can lead to not being able to save money, and worse, even adding to your debt.
Having debt can negatively impact you for years, even decades, and sadly for some, your entire life.
And, this is why a no spend month can help!
What is a No Spend Month?
A no spend month (or a no spend challenge) is where you don’t spend money in one or multiple categories for a certain amount of time.
It’s an effective way to cut out overspending in unnecessary areas, which has many benefits, such as reducing debt or saving money.
Now, a no spend month doesn’t mean that you are literally spending nothing.
Basically, you Stop Throwing Money Down The Drain Drain by cutting out these 13 Budget Killers To Avoid.
If you are like me, you have bills to pay each month such as a mortgage, maybe other sources of debt, food, electricity, heat, water, etc.
Instead of thinking of a no spend month in terms of not spending anything, think of it as a period of time where you don’t spend money on anything other than your necessities.
Basically, you’re cutting out all the budget killers that make overspending too easy.
Examples of categories that you might choose to not spend money on include:
- going out to eat
- impulse spending
- grabbing coffee
- toys
- electronics
- getting manicures or pedicures
- shopping at the mall
- clothing
- books
- going to the movies
- going to concerts or other shows
- cable tv
(which I don’t recommend including as a no spend category if you are in a contract; however, a service like SlingTV or Netflix could be included as a no spend category).
I think no spend challenges are extremely helpful!
Some critics of no spending challenges may say that they aren’t beneficial because the person doing the challenge will simply push back purchases until after the challenge is over.
That may be true in some cases.
But at the same time, those spending urges that are likely to get pushed back until your challenge is over are just as likely to go away by then.
Benefits of a No Spend Challenge
There are plenty of reasons to do a no spend challenge – here are a few of my favs.
No spend challenges can curb impulse spending.
We’ve all gone to a store (Costco is my personal downfall) and spent way more money than we originally planned.
By taking part in a no spend challenge, you can prevent yourself from cluttering your life with items you really don’t need and saying goodbye to money you really do need to hold on to.
This benefit really shows the power of a no spend challenge!
Here’s why: if you aren’t going to the store in the first place, you are preventing yourself from making impulse purchases.
In addition, you have to think more about the items you want to buy. You just may find yourself purchasing fewer items when you stop to think about them (or better, sleep on it) a little longer.
You can finally declutter and use some of the items you already have.
Have you ever looked – I mean really looked – through your pantry and freezer?
If you are like me, you probably have tons of food in your pantry and freezer that you are not eating. It’s not pretty.
Other areas where you may be holding onto extra things include: those clothes you never wear, the toys the kids never play with
This idea can be applied to many other items in your life.
By taking part in a no spend challenge, you may finally use items you already have, instead of letting them spoil or completely forgetting about them. And in the process, you will be decluttering your home. Win/win!!
You will also realize what items you probably shouldn’t buy anymore because they are a waste of money.
A no spend month can help you change your bad habits.
I think one of the biggest benefits of a no spend month is the potential for changing your shopping habits.
A no spend challenge will help to illuminate the areas where you regularly overspend.
By participating in a no spend challenge, you will have to wait until the challenge is over before you can buy something not deemed essential.
I recommend documenting the things that you come across during your challenge that you need to say no to. This will help you clearly identify your bad spending habits.
Use the list I gave above as a starting point. Then narrow it down further until you identify your unnecessary spending areas.
Or, if you already happen to know where your problem area is, you can put a no spend challenge in place for that specific spending area.
This exercise can help you positively change your spending habits from this point forward!
When Is the Best Time To Do a No Spend Month?
You can do it anytime!
I personally love making January a no spend month for our family because we have just come off of a month crazy of crazy spending in December.
Plus, January for me is a time to start over. That’s when I clean up my diet, clean up my spending, clean up our clutter, and generally simplify from what we spent the holiday months doing.
What if the no spend period has birthdays or other special occasions?
Even though I love making January a no spend month in our home, my niece has a January birthday.
So the way I tackle this is that I add the special occasion(s) to my budget for the no spend period and strictly follow that budget.
That way I’m not impulse spending or buying excessively, but I’m also allocating some money toward the special occasion and acknowledging and participating in it.
No Spend Challenges Can Still Be Fun!
There is nothing about “no spend challenge” that says you can’t have fun!
When it comes to saving money, finding free activities that are fun, interesting, and actually worth spending your time on are the ultimate goal.
And I find that I often find activities that feel more simple and meaningful than some of the activities I choose to do when I’m not doing a no spend challenge.
Fun Ideas for Your No Spend Period
Sitting around the house doing nothing for a month is a recipe for disaster when you’re trying to cut out extra spending. Here are some ideas of fun things you can do to make the no spend challenge fly by!
- Go to free events around your town – various festivals and smaller events can be lots of fun and free!
- Go to your local library. You can borrow more than just books: music, books on tape, movies, magazines and more!
- If you love to read and have a Kindle, you can also borrow books from your library electronically.
- Play board games or card games with friends and/or family (this is one of our personal favorites).
- Look for free days at businesses. There are many days where businesses will offer admission or items for free. There’s National Coffee Day, Donut Day, Ice Cream Day, and many more. Don’t forget museums and arboretums!
- Look for coupons for free stuff. Similar to the above, you may be able to find free treats, free movie rentals, and more.
- Go to a state park or a national park when they are free. There are a few days each year when they’re free – yippee!
- If you have a membership to a zoo or museum, use them.
- Finally complete a DIY project that you’ve been pushing off.
- Have a potluck.
- Go geocaching (this is such a fun adventure!)
- Explore your town – on foot or bike!
- Check out new parks and open spaces.
- Go hiking or cross country skiing.
My System for a Successful No Spend Challenge
No spend months are fairly simple. Here’s a 4-step process to get you started.
1. Decide Why You Want to do a No Spend Challenge
Are you trying to pay off debt? Are you trying to save more money toward a goal, like a vacation?
Being clear about your why will help you stay motivated when you want to give in and spend money.
2. Decide What Spending You’ll Cut Out
This has a lot of flexibility to it, and you want to make these decisions based on your overspending habits.
You can be general with categories like:
- Eating out
- Entertainment
- Coffee
Or you can be much more specific:
- Desserts or Chocolate
- Getting manicures or pedicures
- Buying coffee shop coffee
3. Set a Timeframe
Will you do a no spend weekend, week, month, or year?
Designate a time frame so you have a way to monitor and track your progress.
I don’t know about you, but when I am feeling really challenged by something, having a concrete end helps me to refocus my efforts toward my goal.
4. Determine the Rules for Your No Spend Challenge
Lastly, you’ll want to set some rules for anyone participating in the no spend challenge with you (think: spouse or a friend).
Consider setting rules about your challenge:
- What’s allowed for purchase during the challenge (ex: if you aren’t buying clothing, does that include shoes?)
- How will you keep track of your spending
- Can you still use gift cards to make purchases?
- If you can push purchases off until the challenge is done
- And so on
Do you think a no spend month would help you? Have you ever taken part in a no spend challenge?
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