No-Spend February

How to Win a No-Spend Challenge

Doing this challenge has been on my bucket list. I live a relatively frugal/financially careful life. Eating out is probably my only indulgence. I shop at discount stores. I portion my food. I do comparison shopping.

Rules of a No-Spend Challenge

The truth is you have to set the nitty-gritty rules for yourself. Just how hard do you want to go here? Are you pausing or canceling subscriptions? Are you telling your BFF he/she doesn’t get a present because his/her birthday happens to be in your no-spend month?

However challenging you decide to make it, here are some basic guidelines you should follow:

• DO spend money on things you need. We said this before, but these are the Four Walls, medical expenses, regular essential bills, debt payments, insurance premiums, etc.

• DON’T spend money on things you just want. This is where the no-spend comes in, after all! Get ready to do some serious thinking about needs vs. wants in your life to make this no-spend challenge work.

• DO pause the challenge if you have an emergency. Unexpected expenses might come up—like a car repair or a medical emergency. It’s okay to stop the challenge and start again another month.

Benefits of a No-Spend Challenge
How many benefits are there to a no-spend month? So. So. Many. Let’s look at a few:

You’ll save money.
Let’s go ahead and start off with the big one. The main motivation here, right? Taking the no-spend challenge means you’ll save money. Fast. Because just like Ben Franklin said, “A penny not spent is a penny saved.” Okay, that is not how the quote goes. But it’s still a good word of wisdom.

You’ll see if you’ve experienced lifestyle creep.
Sometimes when we start earning more, our spending just rises up to meet that higher income. And we don’t even really notice! It’s called lifestyle creep, and a no-spend month will show you if you’ve fallen into this pattern. Why? Well, our next benefit answers that!

You’ll get a good, hard look at your spending.
Have you ever gone on autopilot as you make your budget month to month? It happens. Budgeting becomes such a routine that we don’t notice our spending habits. But when you shake things up by cutting spending, you can’t help but notice those habits!

You’ll stop emotional spending.
Emotional spending happens to the best of us. When you’re on a no-spend challenge, you can’t just hit Add to Cart or visit the drive thru to put a patch on your feelings. You might realize just how often you lean into retail therapy—and that realization is your first step to erasing this negative spending habit. For good.

You’ll up your gratitude.
It’s easy to get used to all the extras in our budget. They become part of our normal spending routine, and we forget what a blessing they are. Well, when you cut them out during a no-spend month, you can’t help but notice! But don’t mope that they’re gone for a month—up your gratitude for the fact you’ve got money to spare.

You’ll declutter your house.
While you take on the no-spend challenge, really use this as a moment to declutter the pantry, fridge, freezer, junk drawers, and even the shelves in your shower.


Start budgeting with EveryDollar today!

That’s right, if you have four partly-used shampoo bottles, it’s time to fully use them. Get creative with that giant bag of rice and the frozen veggies you forgot about. Remember, you can totally buy household products and food if you need them, but go ahead and use up what you already have!

You’ll take back control.
All this intentionality from your no-spend month will give you a powerful new sense of control in your life. You’re actively calling the shots on how you spend (or don’t spend) your money. So many people don’t know where their money’s going every month. But you’ll know. Mindless spending is so 2023, after all.

P.S. If you don’t have a budget yet, that’s how you’ll fully take control. Because a budget is a plan for your money—how you tell every single dollar where to go.

All of what had been written above was a cut-and-paste from a website. It's only day four of the month (this time the month has 29 days). I did go shopping for groceries for a friend (she feeds me with food stamps and I don't like visiting her empty-handed). I also bought gas and tomorrow I will have to do an oil change.

Since I brown bag my meals every work day, this really isn't all that difficult to accomplish. I cut down on snacking between lunch and dinner. I also make a lot of rice and beans which are foods that can be stretched for an entire week or more. Dinners are usually spaghetti with tomato sauce. This week I have quite a bit of leftover chicken from last week so the food supply is going even further than usual. I have confidence!

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15 February 2024

Valentine's Day has come and gone. No, I had no one to spend it on (including buying a card). But what did concern me was my travel planning. I have a bDay coming up and I go away that week. I generally drive to San Francisco, but this year I decided to go to New Orleans. I bought a round-trip airline ticket, a round-trip bus ticket, and a hotel reservation.
The person I am/was challenging with told me that this is not considered a break in the challenge because the purchase was actually a need for something in the future rather than an expense in the present. The only way I can justify this is that the price fluctuation would be such that to buy it later on might cause the prices to change drastically. I will simply press forward with a blemish on my record.