There are a number of bloggers who share their experience with a No-Spend month...so I can't attribute it to one in particular, but I love the idea that it can help give you that extra push you've been needing to accomplish your financial goals. The general concept....you go an entire month (or if you're doing a week or day or whatever is feasible for you) without spending money.
We've actually never done a No-Spend month before. One year before Kevin and I were married I challenged myself not to purchase any clothing for an entire year...and that was actually a pretty cool challenge. We decided on January as our no-spend month because December was just not going to be a reality with the holidays. I didn't want us to set ourselves up for failure.
What does a No-Spend month look like? It's just that, you don't spend any money apart from the very essentials. The essentials includes your mortgage (or rent), utilities, basic bills (medical etc.) and any other debt obligations (credit card, car loan, student loans etc.). There is no spending on household items, clothes, gifts...anything.
There is one thing I'm not okay with going without...fresh fruits and veggies. We plan to budget a small amount towards the purchase of fresh fruits/veggies for Lorelai and the rest of our family. We will also be using a lot of frozen fruits/veggies for the whole family. We will not be spending money for any food items other than: Milk, Fruits, and Veggies. We also will budget for gas, because although Omaha is a great city...it isn't known for its public transportation and I must get to work and photo shoots somehow. Each family's No-Spend month may look different, but you'll want to set your own rules before you begin.
How we are preparing for our No-Spend Month
Preparing for a no-spend month does NOT mean stocking up on a bunch of things before hand. It does mean we will need to do just a little planning, primarily for Lorelai.
Lorelai will be just over a year old in January. That means we won't need to buy formula for her. We stocked up on diapers at Costco during their diaper sale last summer, so we are good to go there. We haven't bought diapers or wipes since.
We are doing a smarter grocery shopping trip before hand. I'm going to be a super-unhappy camper if we run out of coffee halfway through the month. We are staying within our normal grocery budget though. I will be doing a little meal planning, trying to buy things that compliment items we have at home to eat.
I'm also using this time to prepare by unsubscribing to all of my retail emails. Retailers know that by sending you discounts via email, you are more likely to visit their website and buy things you weren't otherwise looking for. Kevin and I are also having discussions about our month, in part to remind us that we will be doing it. That way it is more of a fun challenge, and less of a feeling of frustration and obligation.
What do we hope it will do? We hope it will bring us to utilize things we already have. Whether its cooking more (side note...I'm currently googling "does flour go bad?" Because I'm pretty sure my flour and sugar are over 4 years old since I cook so little!) utilizing memberships we've already purchased (like the zoo and to our botanical gardens) and free activities we have available (we still need to get a new library membership for the library by our new house). Also I have a bad online shopping addiction right now that could really use a break. Even better, without spending money on non-essentials we hope to have an extra chunk of cash at our disposal to put towards our mortgage this month. The goal is that at the end of the month you take all that extra cash and put it towards your debt (or savings goal). And perhaps you'll learn a thing or two about your spending habits that can help you throughout the rest of your journey to becoming more financially responsible.
We've actually never done a No-Spend month before. One year before Kevin and I were married I challenged myself not to purchase any clothing for an entire year...and that was actually a pretty cool challenge. We decided on January as our no-spend month because December was just not going to be a reality with the holidays. I didn't want us to set ourselves up for failure.
What does a No-Spend month look like? It's just that, you don't spend any money apart from the very essentials. The essentials includes your mortgage (or rent), utilities, basic bills (medical etc.) and any other debt obligations (credit card, car loan, student loans etc.). There is no spending on household items, clothes, gifts...anything.
There is one thing I'm not okay with going without...fresh fruits and veggies. We plan to budget a small amount towards the purchase of fresh fruits/veggies for Lorelai and the rest of our family. We will also be using a lot of frozen fruits/veggies for the whole family. We will not be spending money for any food items other than: Milk, Fruits, and Veggies. We also will budget for gas, because although Omaha is a great city...it isn't known for its public transportation and I must get to work and photo shoots somehow. Each family's No-Spend month may look different, but you'll want to set your own rules before you begin.
How we are preparing for our No-Spend Month
Preparing for a no-spend month does NOT mean stocking up on a bunch of things before hand. It does mean we will need to do just a little planning, primarily for Lorelai.
Lorelai will be just over a year old in January. That means we won't need to buy formula for her. We stocked up on diapers at Costco during their diaper sale last summer, so we are good to go there. We haven't bought diapers or wipes since.
We are doing a smarter grocery shopping trip before hand. I'm going to be a super-unhappy camper if we run out of coffee halfway through the month. We are staying within our normal grocery budget though. I will be doing a little meal planning, trying to buy things that compliment items we have at home to eat.
I'm also using this time to prepare by unsubscribing to all of my retail emails. Retailers know that by sending you discounts via email, you are more likely to visit their website and buy things you weren't otherwise looking for. Kevin and I are also having discussions about our month, in part to remind us that we will be doing it. That way it is more of a fun challenge, and less of a feeling of frustration and obligation.
What do we hope it will do? We hope it will bring us to utilize things we already have. Whether its cooking more (side note...I'm currently googling "does flour go bad?" Because I'm pretty sure my flour and sugar are over 4 years old since I cook so little!) utilizing memberships we've already purchased (like the zoo and to our botanical gardens) and free activities we have available (we still need to get a new library membership for the library by our new house). Also I have a bad online shopping addiction right now that could really use a break. Even better, without spending money on non-essentials we hope to have an extra chunk of cash at our disposal to put towards our mortgage this month. The goal is that at the end of the month you take all that extra cash and put it towards your debt (or savings goal). And perhaps you'll learn a thing or two about your spending habits that can help you throughout the rest of your journey to becoming more financially responsible.
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