Oh, money, why do you have such a tight grip on our lives?
Speaking of money, want to win $100? Enter the giveaway at the end of the post.
When I was buying item after item, I didn’t care how much money I was frivolously dolling out. I had a large credit limit across my credit cards and I thought that I would never spend close to my limit.
Oops…..I came really close to my overall credit limit!
After writing down all of my credit card debt on my handy whiteboard and creating a budget, I realized that I had a spending problem. Though I knew that I had to take control of my spending, I wasn’t sure how I was going to go about it. Then, after speaking with my wife, I realized that I needed a spending hiatus.
Enter the “No Spending Challenge“!
There are many ways that you can handle a no spend challenge, but the method I used worked for me. I took out my whiteboard again and wrote down all of my due dates for household bills, car payments, and credit card bills. After writing down my information, then wiping it clean, then rewriting, I figured out a solution for me.
Since I brought my lunch to work, I knew that there were many days during each and every week where I didn’t need to spend anything. During these days, I promised myself not to spend anything, either with cash or credit. I wouldn’t purchase food items, shop online, buy gas, pay bills, or dish out any money toward anything. Each and every month, I had about 12 days that were dedicated to my no spending challenge.
While my method won’t work for everyone, and each of you have to figure out a schedule that works, I implore you to join the No Spend Challenge.
As additional motivation, here is a great giveaway for $100 cash or a $100 Amazon Giftcard. Use the widget below to enter!
Are you a personal finance blogger? Want to co-host these types of giveaways? Check out the cash giveaway project from savingadvice.com.
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Nice giveaway!
Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted..Winning Means Being Unafraid to Lose
Thank you Holly!
Happy to be co-hosting with you on another giveaway!
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..$100 Giveaway – No Spending Edition
Always a pleasure DC!
No spend challenges are great assuming you invoke the “no spend” on things you don’t really need to buy. For instance, if you do a “no spend” challenge on groceries for the week and focus on using what you have in your pantry, well, you’re likely just going to have to spend the money down the road. So you really delay spending…
Saying all of that, it’s great to get control over your spending!
Andy @ WorkSaveLive recently posted..How to Save Money On Your New House
I agree Jason. I did a no spend yesterday where I was tempted to purchase a few things while out, but did not. I don’t think I would do a no spend on groceries.
I’ve never tried a formal no spending challenge, but I guess I sort of do the no spend challenge every week anyway. I don’t spend money Monday-Friday and only buy groceries etc. on the weekends. Mostly because I don’t have time to spend (which isn’t a bad thing) during the week.
KK @ Student Debt Survivor recently posted..Being “On Call” On Holidays: An Epiphany
That is how I got started. I pretty much have a couple of no spend days each and every week. Some get ruined by paying bills though.
My own no spend no challenge was basically because I had spent so much already.
Now that we work from home it can be fairly easy to have no spend days…especially if I stay off of Amazon.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..Giveaway: Can You Challenge Yourself Not to Spend Money?
Amazon can sometimes be a trap. You are just looking around and then you keep hitting that add to cart button!
Did that work for you? Do you think you saved money by spending on Tuesday rather than Monday? And what about things that debited out of your checking account?
Kathleen, Frugal Portland recently posted..Save now, spend later (plus $100 giveaway)
It did work for me Kathleen. I know which days my account is debited for any auto drafts, so I know which days I can count in my No spending challenge. There are many times that I am out looking at items to purchase, but if I am on one of my no spending days, then I don’t get it. This gives me the time to think about the purchase and see if it actually warranted (usually not), so it provides me a way to sit back and think about the purchase.
What do you think you would gain from trying a no spend challenge?
It would make me more aware of the excess spending.
If you have tried one, what did you learn? I’ve never done one before!
It is always important to be aware of excess spending. I recommend trying one, but start small and see if it changes your mind about money.
Happy to be co-hosting as well!
The Happy Homeowner recently posted..Do No Spend Days Really Work? (and a CASH GIVEAWAY!)
No spending would have been a good way for me to save money when I worked downtown and was close to nice shopping malls and good restaurants. Now that I work at home the temptation to spend money isn’t there . We spend the money that is allocated in our budget and only spend more if an emergency arises.
Tackling Our Debt recently posted..Jumpstart Your Personal Finances
That is a great way to do it. I find that when I am home, I do not have the temptation.
This is actually a great exercise to try- I’m going to give it a shot and see how it goes!
Good luck to you Erica!
No spend day could work great with a daily transfer of what you saved during the day. $10 for lunch and $5 for coffee, you can put $15 towards your debt. I agree with Jason though that on needs you are only delaying necessary spending.
Pauline recently posted..13 money resolutions for 2013: #10 stop buying!
Nice giveaway! Thank you.
Bashir Ahmed recently posted..Giveaway: Win a Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse
i think if i tried it, i’d learn that i don’t really “NEED” a lot of things
That is really the point of the challenge. You will notice what you need and want.
Ah, the no spending days – I remember them
All too well for that matter! The problem with no spending days is that you can actually go through with not buying anything but the bills keep on coming out. Great giveaway by the way!
I only make my no spending days when I know that I don’t have bills being paid.
I think a no-spend challenge would teach me more restraint.
Because all of my indulgences are small ones, it’s easy for me to justify a small snack, buying lunch, or anything else.
I think a no-spend challenge is an easy way for me to break the habit of small indulgences.
Alex recently posted..Healthy Smoothies Recipes with Spinach Part 2
Those small indulgences add up and you can see that you might be wasting a lot of money on them. Good luck Alex!
It is always interesting to write down and visualize just how much money you are spending each week on crap. It never feels like a lot until you add it all up together.
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..MPB – Pool Room Posts #13 Baby Edition
So true. I hope you and your new baby are doing well. Enjoy this time, it goes by quickly.
Great to co-host with you on this giveaway!
We like to have periods of no-spending. It helps us use up food around the house and forces us to seek cheaper options for entertainment. It can get too easy to just pop over to the local bar or sushi place, especially where we live.
CF recently posted..$100 Giveaway: Try a no-spending weekend
Always a pleasure CF. Periods of no-spending can be nice and just helps you get perspective on indulging.
That is one good way to become debt free. Think of the things that could help prevent spending. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it. Distinguish want from a need.
I agree. The small things really help out.