Successfully complete a no-spend month thanks to these 9 helpful tips!
If you’re currently trying to save money, stop accumulating clutter in your home, or live more sustainably, one of the best things you can do is reduce your consumption and limit how much you buy.
Easier said than done, right?
In a society where we are so used to buying things every day, it can be difficult to stop overconsumption and live frugally.
An amazing solution to that is to do a no-spending month challenge!
Now, you might be thinking: How do I stop spending for a month?
I know it can seem overwhelming, or even, impossible for some of us.
But fear not!
In this article, you’ll learn how to do a no-spend month without thinking you’re missing out or feeling deprived.
What is a no-spend month?
A no-spend month is a month during which you commit to only buying the basic necessities, or in other words the essentials, for your life and that of your family.
You also commit to not spending any money on superfluous things or “wants”.
It means that you’re allowed to buy food, toiletries, gas to be able to go to work, and bills.
But you’re saying no to all the extras, such as the weekend trip you wanted to bring your family on or those gorgeous shoes you wanted to splurge on.
While doing a no-spending month challenge might seem restrictive and overwhelming, know that you’re only doing that for a short period of time.
And you’ll reap all the benefits that come with limiting your consumption!
What are the benefits of doing a no-spend month?
There are countless benefits of doing a no-spend month!
a. You’ll save money
The main one is that you’ll save tons of money by not buying unnecessary things.
Depending on your consumption habits, it might be anything from a hundred dollars to thousands!
Many of us don’t realize it, but every single day, we are spending money on things that we don’t absolutely need to live or even thrive.
During your no-spending month challenge, you’ll learn to identify those and eliminate them one after the other.
b. You’ll accumulate less clutter in your home
When we buy less, we reduce how many things we bring into our homes each week.
It means that we accumulate a lot less stuff, making our homes easier to keep clutter-free, tidy, and clean.
Whether you’re interested in minimalism and decluttering your home (or not), you’ll realize that your space becomes more peaceful without all the chaos of the constant influx of things!
c. You’ll be more grateful
When we’re not constantly chasing the next best thing to buy or stop keeping up with the Joneses, we start seeing how abundant our lives already are.
We realize we already have everything we need to live and be happy, and that acquiring more stuff won’t make our lives more fulfilling.
You’ll become grateful for the simple joys in life.
d. You’ll be more sustainable
Reducing your consumption also reduces your environmental footprint.
You are not contributing to the demand to create new things as much, which helps the environment in so many ways.
You will also generate a lot less waste down the road since fewer things in your home will have to be discarded at some point.
e. You’ll be more creative
Since you won’t be able to head to the store or order something online as soon as you need it, you will have to learn to be more creative and resourceful with what you already own.
You will make better use of the things in your home instead of buying unnecessary/duplicate items.
You will also probably learn to repair some things to avoid needing to purchase them.
What are the no-spend month rules?
The great thing about doing a no-spend month is that YOU get to set your own rules and decide what is essential or not in your life.
To create your own no-spend month rules, first analyze your bank statements and see what you’re spending money on each month.
How many times are you eating out?
How much money are you spending on clothes?
Ask yourself some crucial questions: is each of these categories absolutely essential to pay for right now?
Be realistic and honest with yourself.
By doing this spending audit, you are learning about your true needs and wants.
You are sorting each category and deciding whether it is necessary or not.
Things you’re allowed to buy during your no-spend month
The things you think are necessary to pay for are the things you’ll be allowed to buy during your no-spending month challenge.
It could be anything from food and hygiene products to clothing replacements and gas to utilities and unexpected medical bills.
Things you’re NOT allowed to spend money on during your no-spend month
The things you think are not essential are the things that should be on your no-spend list.
If you are serious about this no-spend month, you should have at least several categories of items here.
These should be things that you think you’re used to spending too much money on and that you want to cut back on for 30 days.
Some examples of things you might not want to buy during your no-spend month are takeouts, clothes you don’t really need, unnecessary beauty appointments, coffee on the go, home improvement projects, cute home decor, and so on…
Exceptions for your no-spend month
Let’s be honest, life happens and sometimes we need to pay for an unexpected thing.
So we need to define what the exceptions to these no-spend month rules are.
You might want to include things like unexpected car or home repairs, gifts, medical emergencies, or an unplanned trip you need to take.
Make sure you have enough money saved up for those exceptions so you can pay for them without going into debt.
9 helpful tips on how to do a no-spend month and stick to it
If you’re wondering: How do I start a no-spend month?
Don’t worry!
These 9 brilliant tips will help you complete your no-spending month challenge!
1. Define your why for your no-spend month
No matter what we’re trying to achieve, knowing why we’re doing it and setting some realistic goals is the first step to success.
So take the time to think about why you want to do a no-spend month.
Is it to start paying off debt?
To create an emergency fund for those rainy days?
Do you want to start saving for your kids’ college?
Or is it to stop bringing useless things into your home and maintain a minimalist space?
Define your why and regularly think about it throughout the month to stay motivated.
2. Find an accountability partner
Ask a loved one, whether that’s a friend, your sister, or a coworker to become your accountability partner.
Having someone you can talk to whenever you need support and share your struggles and wins with is very helpful.
It makes you feel less alone and helps you stay on track and motivated to stick to the challenge.
If you can’t think of a great accountability partner, find them on social media.
For instance, there are many Facebook groups with like-minded people who are trying to support one another!
3. Find no-spend activities you enjoy
Many of us are guilty of going shopping or browsing our favorite brands’ websites when we’re bored.
As a result, we often end up wanting what they offer and buying unnecessary things.
During your no-spending month challenge, you won’t be able to shop just for fun.
Instead, find some no-spend activities you enjoy doing.
What are some hobbies you love or would love to try that do not require you to spend money?
Give them a try!
Doing a no-spend month doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to do fun, exciting things!
There are many free things we can do in our free time.
If you’re looking for some ideas, check out the following posts:
4. Keep a wishlist during your no-spend month
During your no-spend month, keep a wishlist of all the things you want to buy once it is over.
Write everything down to reduce the feeling of missing out.
You will know that if you really want that thing, you’ll still be able to get it next month.
But usually what happens is that, for many things, we completely forget about them.
After revisiting the wishlist, we may realize that since we’ve forgotten about some of these items, we don’t truly want them.
5. Stay away from temptations
Temptations make doing a no-spend month so much more difficult and challenging!
Whatever they are – be it the sales rack at Target or passing by the mall – make sure to keep temptations far from you.
Stay away from the stores you love shopping at, unsubscribe from brands’ newsletters, and unfollow influencers who push you to buy things.
Staying away from temptations will help you want less and not feel tempted to spend money.
6. Shop your home first during your no-spend month
During your no-spending month challenge (and even after), commit to shopping your home first.
Don’t go to the store or on Amazon as soon as you “need” something.
You probably already have many things in your home, waiting to be used and loved.
Use things up before even thinking about buying them again.
Also, train yourself to find different uses for things.
For instance, try to style clothes in a variety of ways with other pieces and accessories instead of thinking about what pieces to purchase.
Love what you have and make the most out of it!
7. Practice gratitude every day
Get into the habit of practicing gratitude every day.
Appreciate what you have and realize how abundant your life is despite all your struggles and problems.
Doing so will help you focus on what truly matters in life and will put everything into perspective.
You’ll realize that you don’t need to spend money and buy things to be happy.
Most of us already have everything we need and more.
8. Celebrate your wins during and after your no-spend month
No matter the challenge or project we are trying to complete, it is crucial to celebrate every little win to stay motivated.
So don’t forget to celebrate every day or week during which you’ve not spent money on superfluous stuff.
Be proud of yourself and feel the joy of this achievement.
Just try not to spend money to celebrate!
To track your progress, you might want to download and print a no-spend month calendar, like this one.
You’ll love to color in each day that’s passed as the month goes by!
9. Be kind to yourself no matter what
If you’re used to spending money and shopping regularly, doing a no-spend month can be challenging.
Know that you might fail and break your rules some days, which is completely okay.
If that happens, give yourself some grace, and don’t be too hard on yourself.
If you’ve bought something unnecessary on a given day, be kind to yourself.
Analyze why you ended up spending money and learn from it.
That’s it!
You can start again the next day.
Failing once, or even several times, doesn’t mean you need to give up entirely.
Final thoughts on how to do a no-spend month
I hope these tips on how to do a no-spend month helped you and that you could reap all the benefits that come with reducing your consumption.
Remember, it is not about being perfect.
It’s all about making progress towards our goals, no matter what these are.
If you enjoyed this article, you will also love reading about these 13 tips to stop impulse buying and shop intentionally!
How did your no-spending month challenge go?
Feel free to share your experience in the comments!
Don’t forget to share this blog post with your friends to inspire them to do a no-spend month as well.
