How to Use a No-Spend Month to Improve Your Finances

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Completing a no-spend month can do more for your finances than save a few dollars in your bank account. I used them to get my spending under control and discover what I truly value and enjoy spending money on.

I have a hard time playing by the rules, even if I’m the one making them. I’m either completely methodical or completely impulsive. So when I make a budget I either spend nothing, because I feel guilty or I ignore it and spend money willy nilly.

That’s why I needed an “all or nothing” way to dive in and learn how to stop spending impulsively without the fear-based spending freeze that caused me so much guilt. Enter: no-spend challenges.

What is a No-Spend Challenge?

A no-spend challenge is a commitment to not spend money on certain things for a predetermined length of time.

No-spend challenges can be a great way to kick off a big savings goal or help pay off the last bit of lingering debt. Even more though, when you stop spending for a period of time you’ll learn a lot about yourself and your spending habits.

Completing a no-spend challenge can:

• Break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.
• It can break addictions.
• It can build healthier emotional habits.

The result of a no-spend challenge can be as simple as finding hobbies that don’t involve buying things or interests that are less expensive. Or it can be more complex.

We all feel the urge to go for a drink after work or eat out after a long day. Saying no to coping mechanisms that involve spending money forces you to find cheaper and healthier ways to handle stress.

Spending money isn’t inherently bad, but in a world that screams “BUY NOW,” it’s essential to pause and exercise our “NO” muscles every once in a while.

I’m so passionate about “gamifying” this road to frugality I wrote the book on it!

But before you spend $4.99 to get the book, here’s my take on no-spend challenges and a little of what you can expect from The No-Spend Challenge Guide.

What Does No Spend Mean?

“No-spend” simply means not spending on anything unnecessary.

When people learn about a no-spend challenge they’re quick to think of the big things like “What do you eat?” “Do you put gas in your car?” “Are we still able to hang out?”

You decide what you don’t spend on. You’ll obviously pay your bills and the necessary expenses to live and get to work. There’s no need to cancel subscriptions or gym memberships if you use and enjoy them. 

The true lessons come in everyday spending. Saying no to the “I want it now” mentality and the lie of “it’s such a good deal though.”

How Do You do a No-Spend Challenge?

No-spend challenges are flexible and customizable. The only requirement is that it be challenging in some way. Whether it’s your first or fiftieth no-spend challenge, you can complete one successfully following these five easy steps. 

1. Prepare

Just like you don’t want to start paying off debt without an emergency fund, you don’t want to start a no-spend month without the essentials that’ll ensure your success.

Get Your Necessities

You’ll need some essential items and products around depending on how long and to what extent you’re challenging yourself.

If you’re doing a no-spend month with no grocery shopping, make sure you prep some slow cooker-ready freezer meals; or if you’re doing more than a month, make sure you have any necessary work/special event outfits.

Sit down and look at your schedule for the next few months and figure out what you need. Chances are if you don’t have at least a month’s notice, it probably isn’t a “need.” Also check toiletries, cosmetics, pantry and kitchen items. If anything’s running low, grab it before the month begins so you don’t tempt yourself with extra shopping trips.

Tell Friends and Family 

Don’t be embarrassed to tell everyone you’re doing a no-spend challenge. In fact, you should tell everyone. People with the best intentions for you will still ask you to spend money, but making your challenge known will keep these temptations to a minimum.

This is also where you can ask people to be your encouragement buddies. This is basically a commitment to telling you not to buy that dream accessory and how good you look with that extra money.

I’ve found Instagram to be a great place to declare your challenge and find encouragement. Hashtags like #debtfreecommunity, #nospend, and #nospendmonth will show you what other people are doing and how they’re doing it. Instagram has proven to be an awesome community of people tracking their debt freedom progress and pitfalls. 

Make a Visual Representation of Your Why

Decide what you want to do with all the money you’re going to save and write your “why” on an index card or draw it on poster-board. Vision boards and picture collages work well too. Whatever you need to remind yourself that this is about more than just a few extra dollars in your bank account. Keep it with you, post it on your bathroom mirror, in your car, or all of the above.

2. Set a Timeframe

Decide how long you want your challenge to be. That’s right! You don’t have to do it for just a month! The length should be uncomfortable but doable.

No-Spend Days

These are a great way to wet your feet. They’re not as easy as they sound. You still need to plan ahead because it’s a bummer when you have a fail during No Spend Month but it’s downright deflating to fail a no-spend day.

No-Spend Week

Doing five or seven days of no spending is where it starts to get difficult but it can be exhilarating. You can always “accidentally” not spend on a random day but you are guaranteed to have to make a hard decision when doing this for a week.

I recommend Monday to Friday or Sunday, using the Sunday before for grocery shopping, filling up your tank, and meal prepping your food for the week. Make it as easy as possible for yourself to not touch your wallet.

No-Spend Weekend

Depending on your schedule, not spending on weekdays could be easy, it was super easy for us when we were both working 3 jobs and just eating snacks for dinner.

The weekend is meant for rest and to reward you for making it through another week. And it’s hard not to spend money with all that free time. If someone asks you to go out don’t be ashamed to suggest a free event or activity. 81% of millennials are in debt so we could all use a little money saved.

No-Spend Month

I highly recommend working up to a no-spend month. It’s probably the most difficult of the challenges because you’re always “so close yet so far” away from the things you want.

Another reason a month is my favorite length is the old adage that it takes 21 days to build a habit. That number is completely arbitrary but I like it and the extra 9-10 days fully cement it. Whatever you’re giving up, a month is a good amount of time to train yourself how to cut back.

No-Spend Year

People blog and write books about not spending for an entire year, sometimes more! I didn’t feel the need to do a whole year but for those who have, they truly have a spiritual awakening.

Here are some great books from people who stopped spending on certain things for a whole year:

• The No Spend Year by Michelle McGagh
• The Year Without a Purchase by Scott Dannemiller
• The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
• The Spender’s Guide to Debt Free Living by Anna Newell Jones

3. Decide What You’re Going to Spend on

Next, you’ll need to decide what you will spend money on and what you won’t.

No Spending on Particular Items

Start by cutting out coffee, restaurants, anything at the mall, etc. Look at your purchases from this year, what are you seeing a lot of that makes you feel a little embarrassed?

That’s a great way to start. You’ll easily be able to work up to doing this one for months at a time.

No Spending on Impulse

This one is broader than the last but still, allows for a few luxuries that are planned for in advance.

You’re basically giving yourself a $0 personal budget. Before the month begins, plan the times you need to work from a coffee shop or if you need a certain clothing item. Then you can buy only those items and nothing else.

Spend Only on Groceries and Gas

This is the most common way I do a no-spend month. It’s no impulse spending but with no luxuries planned. This is an effective way to make an impact on your savings.

I take it a step further by trying to clear up my pantry stockpile and spend as little on groceries as possible. It’s surprising all the extra time you’ll have to plan meals when you’re not out spending money.

Zero Spending

This is great for a day or two at a time, even a week if you plan accordingly. I wouldn’t recommend this method for longer than that. If you’re really into challenges then have at it, and let me know when you do it. I’d love to interview you.

4. Understand Your Spending

In a perfect world, you’d spend money on what you need every month and occasionally treat yourself, not the other way around. So why do you do it?

Habits

Understanding the psychology behind habit formation can help you break poor spending habits and create healthy ones.

Decision Fatigue

By the end of your day your prefrontal cortex has exhausted it’s decision-making function making it’s easier for you to forget logic and go out for margaritas. Understanding this means you can prepare yourself to make decisions at the end of the day easier.

Stress

Stress and sleep deprivation can prevent you from making wise financial decisions. Make sure during your no-spend month you schedule in self-care to keep your brain and body healthy.

5. Fill Your Time

When you take away a bad habit you have to replace it with a good one or you’ll fall right back into it. So fill the time you would’ve used spending money to do free activities. These are just a few of my favorite ways to spend my time on a no-spend challenge.

Have Friends Over

During our last no-spend challenge we ran into friends we hadn’t seen in a long time and wanted to hang out. We didn’t want to wait until the next month so we were open with them about our spending freeze and invited them over. Not only were they excited about it — they offered to make dinner and bring it over.

Your real friends want to hang out with you, not just on their terms. They want to build you up and encourage you in your goals even if their own goals are different. The no-spend challenge transforms more than your spending. It also transforms your relationships.

Pantry Party

The pantry party is a gamified potluck. The challenge is to raid your pantry (for some it might not be a challenge) and make a dish to share. You can only use the foods you already have — no buying extras! It’s a great way to get rid of that box of quinoa you bought when you were trying to be healthy that one time.

Exercise

You already know how I feel about the benefits of regular exercise. The accessibility of online workouts makes it easy to do at home by yourself or with friends.

YouTube has hundreds of different types of workouts, there are blogs dedicated to home fitness, and the library lends out workout DVDs. You can also ask to borrow a friend’s workout DVDs or if they’d do them with you.

Movie Night

Sitting on the couch staring at the TV is probably my favorite thing to do at the end of the day. I’m not even embarrassed. Since we don’t have cable we opt for whatever’s on Netflix. They update their library every month, so there’s always something new to try. 

A No-Spend Challenge Can Help You Get Your Spending Under Control 

With every no-spend challenge you complete, you’re one step closure to fully knowing yourself. When you stop spending money out of habit, impulsively, or because everyone else is doing it, you can discover what you like and what’s worth spending money on to you.

And once you do that you’ll be on a journey to lifelong wealth-building no matter what road you choose to get there.

If you want to do a no-spend challenge and want more guidance about how to understand your spending and successfully complete it, check out The No-Spend Challenge Guide. Available on Amazon.

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