How To Do A 'No Spend' Month The Right Way

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[RJRussoVids]

A no social media month is an excellent alternative. 💁‍♂️

[kellypywtorak]

We started following Dave’s plan in 2017. Fast forward to 2022 and we’re debt free except for our mortgage, and we have a good emergency fund, a college fund, cash flow vacations, home repairs, etc. Thank God for that, because we ended up needing two fairly major surgeries in the family. We have a high deductible health plan and paid our medical bills out of the HSA and emergency fund. We met the family out of pocket maximum by Halloween so the second surgery and all related medical visits ended up being 100% covered by insurance. If we had continued living with poor spending habits and debt as a way of life, this past year would have been financially catastrophic for us.

[rntt]

I've been debt free for exactly 12 months now. I quit drinking 17 months ago. I don't eat out anymore, I can't stand the food. I make far better food at home. I spend maybe $100 max on myself for food in a week, usually down in the $50 range, honestly. It is not hard to not spend money. I do it all the time now. People are lazy, undisciplined, and spoiled. Every day of the week I will drive up and down the main drag of my city and every restaurant parking lot is absolutely packed, and people standing outside. Nobody cooks anymore. It's truly sad. Forget dating, too. The number of women I meet that wear "oh, I don't cook" as a point of pride is absolutely disgusting! That's a larger conversation, but suffice it to be said, it is not hard to live cheaply and still eat well.

[kayhutson]

The thing about eating out of your pantry, fridge and freezer is you can come up with some really good meals that you may not normally make.

[insanedragongirl]

I was so proud of myself today, I was doing a quick grocery run to grab some stuff to make chicken noodle soup because I’m sick, and I had grabbed some sushi to eat cause that’s something that I can make myself eat when I have no appetite, but then I remembered my goals for saving this month and I put it back and I didn’t buy it and I was very proud of myself.

[ZainJafrey]

My wife and I are doing this as well and there’s a feeling of satisfaction when you see you haven’t spent any money throughout the day/ week.

[Purpleaggie]

I think participating in challenges helps to keep me engaged in my finances. After many months-years of doing budgets, it can get a little boring so challenges keep it interesting for me. 💜

[eleesawilmes]

I started a no spend challenge on January 16 - January 31. I am listening to this uTube on January 18. I love it. Glad to know others are going through a similar experience.
I didn’t realize how much my frivolous spending was adding up. I had spent $150 the first two weeks of January going to Starbucks, The Hype, and a few fast food restaurants.
I decided it was time to break that habit

[timothydillon]

If you don't live mindfully, you behave mindlessly.

[lizpetruzzi]

I decided to do this (prior to listening) to reign in the “ I wants” and shift my priorities. I’ve been fixing up my house for a year and it’s constant…I want to paint, I want new fixtures, curtains, tile the fireplace etc.. etc… it’s been killing my budget and hijacking my brain. I need a reset! Excited to see how God shows up in what I’m calling a fast from my own consumerism and obsession. Was super encouraged by this!

[Ava_Bun_Fun]

I chuckled a little bit when George you mentioned the movies. My late husband and I would always have "movie dates". People actually thought we would go to the movie theater every week. When we would check movies out at the library and cook dinner at home.

[CodyLeon]

I do this every August. I call it “Asset August” where all income is used to buy assets with the exception of bills. I max out my Roth with it

[deadondave]

Great content and I've actually been doing this for quite some time ! I started when I was broke and had nothing. It was a necessity, not a choice. I found things I didn't need and things to do that didn't take money, but did fill up my time. Now, it's even easier, even though I'm better off financially ! I still stick to the same habits that got me here. I feel so good that I regifted my giftcards that I received over the holidays to other people that could use them ! I was a stubborn listener to this show . Until it worked. Thanks everyone !

[RMalai]

My wife and I had a "spending freeze" month and we loved it. We have to do that sooner again and I love the calendar idea. that will be a great motivator.

[failingatfashion]

I do this every couple of months, but especially January. December is a 3 pay check month for me and with Christmas, everything is just wild ! Gotta pull it back this month.

[agriope]

This is such a wonderful thing to do once in a while. Like counting calories. one month of focus that really sharpens and aligns your habits in the long-run. It's especially great for realizing the big mistakes we are doing without being aware of it. Will try it this year!

[anniec]

I love this but have several bdays this month. I think Feb will be our no spend month. Online grocery pick up helps me stick to my grocery budget. I can see my running total as I shop and add/delete things as I go. It reduces my impulse purchases too.

[littleripper]

I've been doing a no spend January as my spending has crept up this year. I think a better way to think about it is to focus more on the saving of money as opposed to the abstaining. Part of this is also to reset my health and try to clean out my apartment and own less clutter. Not eating out or buying premade food this month is forcing me to cook healthy. Not buying anything off amazon is going to help with the clutter and reset my idea of what things I actually need to be buying.

[Melanatedminimalist]

Already doing it! I only purchase essential things! I’m doing my own hair pedi/mani(already doing it before the No spend) I am doing DoorDash and Spark Shopper to earn additional monies and bring snacks and goods I can prepare in the car 😊it’s so exciting paying down this debt too!

[JohnJohn-wrjo]

Most people are undisciplined in their spending habits today and rarely comparison shop or shop wisely. All of the major food chains have weekly ads that their manufacturers cycle their products through. With the exception of produce, over time you can bulk buy these items when they go on sale. There are so many buy one get one deals it's silly to pay full price on items that you use on a regular basis. Coffee is one example. We have two brands that we prefer. Both go on sale at different times roughly every two months. We only buy them when they are deeply discounted and keep enough on hand for several months or more. Same with about every food item except produce. It's really nice when you also have coupons to further reduce the price. It can be done it just takes a little more planning.