Challenge Yourself With a No-Spend Month To Save Money (2024)

If you’re looking to supercharge your savings, a no-spend challenge may be a good way to start. A no-spend challenge is a period of time when you commit to not spending money on non-essentials. Many people do no-spend challenges for one month, but if that sounds intimidating, you could start small with one week, or even one day.

While a no-spend month may sound daunting, the challenge aspect may actually be fun. Learn how to complete a no-spend month to conquer your financial goals.

Evaluate Your Spending

Before you start your no-spend month, look at where your money is going each month. Review your paychecks, bank statements, and receipts. Next, divide your expenses into necessities and extras—the latter is what you’ll temporarily live without during the challenge. Then make a written budget so you can plan for the no-spend month.

Most necessities will be pretty obvious: your rent or mortgage, minimum monthly debt payments, groceries, medications, and insurance. Likewise, you’ll probably find spending categories you can live without, such as dining at restaurants or ordering takeout, manicures, or late-night online impulse buys. These should be added to your no-spend list.

Some categories may not be so obvious. Filling up your gas tank may be necessary if you drive to and from work. However, if you work from home, you may be able to cut gas from your budget and walk or bike when needed instead. Consider each expense before putting it into one of the two categories.

There may also be some things you could live without if you were forced to, but maybe aren’t worth cutting. For example, spending $8.99 a month on a basic Netflix subscription may be worth it to you because it buys you hours of entertainment and helps you avoid spending money on other things, such as more-expensive tickets to a movie theater.

Why Are You Not Spending? Set a Goal

Cutting extras out of your budget isn’t going to be easy. You need to have a reason for not spending that money if you want to stay motivated. So before you get started, set a financial goal and write it down.

“Save more money” may not be a good enough goal because it’s very general. Instead, use the SMART goal format: Your goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timebound.

Here are a few examples of SMART goals:

  • Add $100 to the emergency fund in one week by cutting out unnecessary spending.
  • Reduce a credit card balance by $500 in one month by doing a Frugal February challenge.
  • Save an additional $1,000 for a down payment fund in 30 days by cutting all extras from the budget.

Note

Research shows that setting specific, difficult goals actually leads to higher performance and more positive outcomes. So if a no-spend month with a goal to save $500 seems like a tough challenge, you may find it even more rewarding in the end.

Don’t Do It By Yourself

A no-spend month doesn’t have to be a no-fun month. Try enlisting others—your partner or spouse, your kids, or your friends—to do a no-spend challenge as well. Not only can you hold one another accountable, but you can come up with ways to not spend money together.

For example, if you and your spouse have date night once a week at a restaurant, you could make a date out of cooking together at home every Friday instead. Rather than meeting up with friends for happy hour at a bar, you could take turns hosting BYOB happy hours at home on Wednesdays.

Be Prepared for Bumps in the Road

Don’t expect everything to go smoothly when you’re doing a no-spend month. Unplanned necessary expenses may come up. Don’t be so committed to your no-spend month that you avoid going to the doctor or refuse to take your car to a mechanic even though the check-engine light is on. Take care of yourself and worry about the challenge later.

Also, accept that you may slip up during your no-spend month—but it’s OK. Let’s say you order takeout instead of cooking after an exhausting day of work. Give yourself a break. You haven’t failed at your challenge. Remind yourself of your goal, whether it’s saving more money or getting out of debt, to motivate yourself and get back into no-spend mode.

Note

If you end up spending money on non-essentials during your no-spend month, look for ways to spend even less money on essentials to make up the difference. For example, maybe you can freeze your gym membership and work out at home instead, or look for more coupons that can help you save money at the grocery store that week.

Track Your Progress

As you move through your no-spend challenge, track your progress. A budgeting app can help you monitor how much you’re actually spending and saving. But to stay motivated and create lasting habits, you may want to go further.

If you’re a visual person, consider downloading or creating debt payoff or savings charts that you can color in every day. This will help you see how much you’ve accomplished. Pinterest and websites such as DebtFreeCharts.com may be a good place to find these charts.

You could also keep a journal, especially when you’re tempted to spend. Think about what you’re feeling at that moment. Are you feeling stressed, tired, or anxious? Write it down so you can reflect and learn from the situation.

If you’ve enlisted someone else to join you in your no-spend month challenge, try setting up a time to check in each week, such as every Saturday morning over coffee at your home. You can share your wins, your failures, and how you’re feeling.

Note

To keep your spending in check, try thinking of purchases in terms of hours worked instead of dollars. For example, if you earn $20 per hour at your job, a $100 purse would equal five hours of work. Is it worth it?

The Bottom Line

A no-spend month can help you save more money or reduce debt—but it may not be right for everyone. You may find that a better approach is to make smaller, more permanent cuts to your budget.

If you’ve tried a no-spend challenge and decided it doesn’t work for you, that’s OK. Focus on your long-term goals, such as saving for retirement, building an emergency fund, or paying off high-interest debt. There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy to accomplish any of these financial goals.

A no-spend month will look a little different for everyone. You get to decide how far you’re willing to take it. If you try a no-spend challenge and it doesn’t go perfectly, focus on the wins, no matter how small. Every extra dollar is a step in the right direction.

Challenge Yourself With a No-Spend Month To Save Money (2024)

FAQs

How to do a 30 day no spend challenge? ›

For the no-spend challenge, you pay for essentials only for a set period of time. Thirty days is pretty common, so you might hear it called a no-spend month too. Basically you're covering your Four Walls (food, utilities, shelter and transportation) and other necessities, but you're saying no to all the extras.

How can I save money and not spend unnecessarily? ›

How to Stop Spending Money
  1. Know what you're spending money on. ...
  2. Make your budget work for you. ...
  3. Shop with a goal in mind. ...
  4. Stop spending money at restaurants. ...
  5. Resist sales. ...
  6. Swear off debt. ...
  7. Delay gratification. ...
  8. Challenge yourself to reach your new goals.
Apr 5, 2024

How to prepare for a no buy month? ›

Make lists before hitting the store to keep spending in check. Also plan for any unavoidable purchases that may not technically fall into the "essentials" category, like gifts or celebrations. "Keep in mind any major milestones you might have to spend around like birthdays or anniversaries," Skirboll says.

Why do I have a no spend challenge? ›

You'll save money

Obviously, one of the clear goals of a no-spend challenge is to save money. It's a simple equation: spend less, save more. If you stick to your plan, you should notice more funds accumulating in your bank account, which can motivate you to continue saving even after the challenge ends.

How do you do a no-spend challenge? ›

The No-Spend Challenge isn't giving up all spending, again it's nonessentials. You need to pay the bills and buy important things that pop up (like groceries or school supplies, or even a new heater if yours goes out). The goal is to challenge yourself to only spend on the essentials.

How to complete a no-spend month? ›

How to be Successful in a No-Spend Month, 10 Tips and Tricks
  1. Choose the right month. ...
  2. Research free activities to do in your local area. ...
  3. Put your money away to reduce the temptation. ...
  4. Get your friends and family involved. ...
  5. Remind yourself why you're committing to a no-spend month. ...
  6. Track or monitor progress.
Nov 21, 2022

How to break bad spending habits? ›

Try to avoid using credit cards and use cash wherever you can. When banking, consider keeping your money in savings accounts that aren't easy to withdraw from. CDs or IRAs that lock in your funds over time will make sure that money doesn't get spent impulsively.

How to stop spending money impulsively? ›

How to control impulse spending
  1. Make a list and stick to it. Seeing your planned purchases can help keep you on track so you're less tempted to purchase things you don't really need or want.
  2. Set limits. ...
  3. Limit social media. ...
  4. Sleep on it. ...
  5. Build a budget that includes saving. ...
  6. Identify your triggers. ...
  7. Shop with someone.
Jul 26, 2023

How can I trick myself into spending less money? ›

Use coupons all the time. Share your budget with friends. Save for retirement (even when budgets are pinched). Put any windfalls into savings.

What is a buy nothing month? ›

Buy Nothing New Month is part of a growing, global movement to reduce consumption and create a circular economy, sitting alongside Buy Nothing Day - celebrated internationally in November - and Australia's Buy Nothing New campaign.

What is the 30 day rule purchase? ›

With the 30 day savings rule, you defer all non-essential purchases and impulse buys for 30 days. Instead of spending your money on something you might not need, you're going to take 30 days to think about it. At the end of this 30 day period, if you still want to make that purchase, feel free to go for it.

What is buy nothing new month? ›

Buy Nothing New Month is a month long challenge to avoid purchasing anything new, with the exception of essentials such as food, hygiene products and medicines.

How to save $1,000 in 30 days challenge? ›

11 Easy Ways to Save $1,000 in 30 Days
  1. Create a Budget. ...
  2. Automate Your Savings. ...
  3. Create a Savings Bingo Sheet. ...
  4. Negotiate Your Bills. ...
  5. Separate Wants From Needs. ...
  6. Plan Your Meals. ...
  7. Buy Generic Brands. ...
  8. Cancel Unnecessary Subscriptions.
Sep 26, 2023

How to do the $5,000 challenge? ›

You can save over $5,000 in just over three months with the 100 envelope challenge. It works like this: Gather 100 envelopes and number them from 1 to 100. Each day, fill up one envelope with the amount of cash corresponding to the number on the envelope. You can fill up the envelopes in order or pick them at random.

What is the 50 30 20 rule? ›

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.

How can I go a day without spending money? ›

Whatever your situation, here are 13 fun things to do that don't cost money with friends and family:
  1. Go on a picnic. ...
  2. Go to no-cost museum and zoo days. ...
  3. Give geocaching a try. ...
  4. Leverage your chamber of commerce. ...
  5. Take a historical city tour. ...
  6. Visit a farmers market. ...
  7. Go camping. ...
  8. Do a photography challenge.
Feb 14, 2024

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