Really, really enjoyed the no-spend February. The month showed me that sometimes even super-frugal types are susceptible to advertising. It reminded me to keep an eye on impulse purchases. And on the bright side, it spotlighted how ingrained my careful spending habits tend to be.
I also loved the sense of community, of seeing readers encourage one another and suggest tactics to help stay on target. This has long been a sharing group; the no-spend month merely confirmed that.
It was great fun to read about everyone else’s frugal hackery, including but not limited to:
Slowing down (staycations, letting bad weather keep us indoors, craft activities, taking the time to watch TV or read free Kindle books)
Substituting (adding chopped apples to the oatmeal because the raisins are all gone; substituting not-quite-right yogurt for the sour milk in a recipe; trading a discount movie for a friend’s DVR queue)
Stretching (adding some water to full-fat milk; turning doggy bags into additional meals)
Setting things to rights (repairing a vacuum cleaner with help from a YouTube video
Sunk-cost strategies (fixing meals based the cupboard and freezer; using on-hand items to make snacks rather than buy them; bringing coffee from home vs. hitting Starbucks)
A lot of good money habits begin with the letter S.
And now that the month is over, we can all spend again! But will we?
Well, sure. We don’t earn money just to deny ourselves even the tiniest pleasures, or some major ones. The point of a no-spend month isn’t punishment. It’s self-awareness.
Opportunity cost is a thing
Intentional spending doesn’t mean you can’t have anything you need, or want. It means making the wisest use of your money, with an eye both toward current wants and future needs.
First, ask yourself these questions:
- Do I really need it?
- Do I already have something that might suffice?
- Is there any way to get it for free (borrowing, Freecycle, Buy Nothing Facebook page)?
- If not, then how can I get the best price?
Should you decide you don’t need but really want the item, ask a corollary question: Is this purchase the best way to spend some (or maybe a lot) of my current discretionary dollars?
Finally, ask yourself the toughest question of all: What is the opportunity cost, and can I live with that?
“Opportunity cost” means the impact those dollars might have had on future financial goals. Everyone’s money plans are different, of course, but when it comes to long-term objectives, people tend not to factor in the ramifications of daily spending.
“No-spend” applies to small stuff, too
What if the items are small and inexpensive? Think about total impact, not one-time cost. For example, a $1.69 soda (say, $1.84 with tax) might not seem like much, especially if you’re tossing it in with a full cart of groceries or a bunch of drugstore purchases.
Buy enough of them, though, and it starts to look like real money. Two such purchases per month would equal more than $44 a year. One reader spent the first week of the no-spend challenge saying “not today” to candy, chips and soft drinks that she normally purchased during weekday errands, “especially if I’ve had a mentally draining day at the office.”
Now think about all the other things you buy mindlessly, without considering the total impact on your budget. One reader said she realized she’d spent more than $100 at the dollar store the previous month for “decorative items.” Apparently those items brought her some pleasure. But what could that $100 have done for her future financial goals?
Again, it’s not about deprivation. It’s about buying the right things for the right reasons – and doing so after you’ve taken care of business. After the bills are dealt with, the emergency fund plumped up, the retirement savings made on the regular. Maybe you have other goals, too: paying off consumer debt, helping a kid through college, paying cash for your next vehicle.
After which you can have all the soft drinks and tchotchkes you want. It’s your money. You can spend it all on Snickers bars and dancing boys if you want. Just do it mindfully.
How my last no-spend week shook down
It was a fairly busy week, freelance-wise, so I wasn’t tempted either to shop or go to the movies. I did go out to my weekly lunch with a pal, but once again she picked up the tab in honor of the no-spend month. The next few are on me.
After we went out to lunch we viewed some snow sculptures (part of the winter carnival) and went back to her place for more of that DVR queue, and managed to empty it completely. Of course, now that I’m heading to Phoenix* the queue will fill itself back up again. More frugal fun for when I get back.
I also made a couple of pies from sunk-cost ingredients, including on-sale pumpkin and apples from our trees. Pies make us happy, ridiculously so.
During the last no-spend week I ordered a birthday present (gift card) from one of my rewards credit cards. I know that some people loathe gift cards but in this case it’s a perfect fit. The recipient happens to love the activity that the card represents, so I know it will be used. Bonus: It’s not a gift that has to be dusted, or that will fall over and break in the next big earthquake.
Seriously: Rewards credit cards are fabulous. If you don’t already have one, check out the link in the previous paragraph. It’s an affiliate link, so if you sign up for a card I will get a finder’s fee that will help keep the blog lights on. However, I recommended these things long before I became an affiliate. They just make sense to me: If I’m going to buy, why not be rewarded.
Finally, I hope that you guys enjoyed the challenge as much as I did. In fact, I’m going to propose new ones every so often. If you have ideas for future challenge topics, please leave them in the comments or e-mail me at SurvivingAndThriving (at) live (dot) com.
And don’t forget to leave a comment here about how your final week went – and, more to the point, whether or not you think lasting changes were made. Again: We don’t have to go without. But it’s up to us to be good stewards of our funds, because as my daughter says, “Future You is going to judge Current You. Harshly.”
Good job, Donna! I wish I’d done as well. Somehow it seems easier to spend since we retired.
I think it’s way too easy to push that button at Amazon . . . what about a no-Amazon month? That’d be a challenge for a lot of us, I think. 😉
That would be a challenge for many. I don’t buy a lot there, but I do buy. But since I use free Amazon gift cards that I get from Swagbucks, does it count as only half-not-frugal?
Heck yes! That’s more than half frugal if you ask me. We all have to buy at least a few things, after all.
We deliberately did not renew our Amazon Prime back in October when it expired. I ended up getting a free 30-day trial to carry us over Christmas, and then cancelling it again in January. It is annoying to not have 2-day shipping anymore (a one week wait? oh the horrors!) but I feel it is making me more mindful of our purchases. I can’t just impulsively buy an $8 household item and probably chuck another item or two in the cart while I’m at it. Now I have to figure out exactly enough items to add to qualify for free shipping, and (unless it truly is a necessity) it’s just too much work. So far we’ve saved a direct $40 ($10/month Prime cost) and I’d estimate $20 indirectly ($5/month fewer impulse buys).
This has been a good reset experience for me after several non-frugal months due to life stuff. Still had too many necessary purchases to pull off a true No-Spend, but even just throttling back the Need-it-Buy-it reflex has led to more thoughtful selections and more re-used, re-purposed, or homemade things. And I can feel more confident that the things I did buy were truly worth buying.
Future Challenges could include trying a new frugal food, or making a strategic investment in a tool or a skill.
I just found your post and enjoyed the great advice, suggestions and humor. Shirlry
I’ve been sitting on the world’s longest “save for later” shopping list at Amazon and it does wonders for helping me control my spending. I can keep an eye on the prices for things I want or might need and keep myself from mindlessly purchasing … Not that I’m often prone to that habit but it always adds up fast if I do fall prey to my own desires.
I didn’t participate (because I forgot) but I’m contemplating what I can give up for Lent (better hurry, it starts tomorrow). I’m not an especially religious person (plus it’s not a practice in the religion in which I was raised), but I like the challenge. I always used to give up Pepsi, but I quit drinking all pop almost four years ago.
The weather here last weekend (Rocky Mountain region) was crummy…snow and very cold. I didn’t go anywhere. Tough on Sunday because it was an annual community-wide used book sale. I wouldn’t have gone just for something to do, but to look for three books I’m missing in a series I love and re-read frequently. But then I remembered that I’ve been thinking about donating the ones I do have because I can always get them at the library.
Peg, which books are you looking for? I might have them laying around my house.
Also, there is a community fundraiser indoor yard sale that includes used books on Saturday. I could look for you.
Three of the more recent books in the Mitford series by Jan Karon!
Which ones; titles please. I have found some of them in the past.
No Mitford books found. nwankowski@hotmail.com if you would like to send me titles for the next community sale, or for when garage sales/yard sales start up within the next 2 months.
I saved enough to pay extra on my car loan.
Niiiice.
I enjoyed No-Spenduary, but I am a nerd 🙂
It kept saving vs spending at forefront of my mind, so I would pause and think before spending money on something.
My final week went very well – a neighbor (who gave me the green bean soup last week!) is moving out of state and this was the weekend of said truck loading and her leaving. (I’ve been helping her pack boxes and sort through things since Christmas) She left ALL contents of her fully stocked pantry, refrigerator and freezer (and a cupboard FULL of cleaning supplies!) — as she and I were friends, I have the keys as she asked if I wanted the job of cleaning her place so it could be listed…(UMMM, YES, side gig for the win!)…and then pass keys to realtor. She told me to “do what I wish with what’s left in the condo!”
I had a few other neighbors come over and we went through everything. I kept some, they took some – and the rest was donated to other friends who would use it/or had a need…MANY grateful recipients! #PAYITFORWARD
Suffice to say, I probably won’t need to go inside a grocery store for a month except to get milk or fruit! (Side Note: I was super excited to find there were 2 pkgs of shredded Mozzarella, 2 jars of pizza sauce and a few cans of olives & artichoke hearts as a friend in my run group is hosting “homemade pizza night” this Wednesday and that helped defray their costs!)
Score! Seriously, that’s a great deal: You got paid and you got food. Mozzarella isn’t cheap! So kind of you to share with others.
When I managed the apartment house I was tasked with cleaning vacant units, at $15 an hour and was allowed to keep whatever I found. Usually the places were truly empty, but at times I obtained furniture, food and household items. Still using some of the soup bowls and a blue bucket, and when I make my Christmas caramels they’re sprinkled with big grains of sea salt from a decorative bottle left by one tenant. It wonders me how people can afford to walk off and leave all that stuff, but you and I got to reap the benefits.
Donna – I heartily agree, as I looked around at all she left I thought of how much it must have cost and just saw dollar signs flying out the window! Who does that? On the plus side, I also got a brand new red bucket, 2 small lamps, a few very cute “post it” type note gift sets, sketch pad with a few pages missing, and a few other small (non food) items that she left behind — I could not bear to just toss them, I’ll regift a few of the items, and keep asking around until someone says “YES, I DO NEED A LAMP!” 🙂
I have found out a couple of things about my spending habits this month. 1. I am an emotional spender and 2. I am contrary. If someone tells me to have a no-spend month I buy more than I ordinarily would! Kind of like when I go to the doctor and he tells me I need to lose weight and exercise. I go home and order a pizza just for spite. I am normally a very logical person so I need to figure out this emotional attachment to money. And food, it seems…….hmmmmm. I think a bubble bath and home manicure would be better ways of treating myself rather than spending money and eating junk. There is a connection there- instead of tracking my spending I think I will start tracking why I am spending and what triggered it!
Saving (or eating) under duress is not as much fun as doing it because you want to do it. Sometimes I find myself wanting those McDonald’s fries or a particular sweet. Usually — but not always! — I can talk myself down. Why do you want this? Are you bored, frustrated, feeling fragile? If you had a glass of water or took a five-minute walk, would the craving go away? Is there something else you can do to make yourself feel better?
I’m human, and sometimes I let my anxiety get the better of my good sense. And occasionally I decide, “You know what? If you want fries, go get ’em. You work for your money and it’s yours to spend.” Giving yourself permission to choose ice cream instead of an apple is okay sometimes, too.
Thanks for reading, and for leaving a comment.
Like Bethany, I had too many necessary expenses to feel like Frugal February was a success. So I’m going to do a Minimal March. Sunday I inventoried the contents of the freezer and pantry (good grief!). While it’s pouring rain tomorrow, I’ll peruse my cookbooks and mother’s recipe box to find sunk-cost recipes to use up some of that excess. My goal is to reduce March food costs 25% by limiting purchases to basic perishables (eggs, dairy) and in-season fruits and winter veggies. Ancillary goal is to get the refrigerator empty enough to be able to move it to clean under/behind!
Minimal March — I like it. And yes, there is a great deal of satisfaction to be had from using up everything in the freezer. Those meals represent your hard-earned money that won’t be wasted because you opted to use it all.
OK. I did not participate in No Spend February because we were on a very un-frugal vacation known as a cruise. it was something that we had saved for, and I used some frugal hacks to get a lot of shipboard credit so that we spent a little while on the ship. Our big tourist-type purchase was a bottle of honey, which we have enjoyed in tea and on biscuits since coming home. The honey would be perfect for your pretzel recipe. I will look for Snyder’s pretzels when they go on sale at Shoprite-sadly, our local bakery outlets have all closed. The honey will get used instead of adding clutter to our home. In order to avoid leaving food to spoil before we left for the trip, I instituted a pantry/freezer challenge and used gift cards received for my birthday for a couple of meals we had out in February. As a result, our food and overall non-core spending was very low last month. Now that we are home, I am continuing to look for ways to reduce our freezer and pantry stash. On that note, perhaps an upcoming pantry or freezer challenge (or a garden challenge for spring/summer) would be fun,
Sounds like you had a great trip! And the souvenir won’t need dusting — just digesting.
I can’t say lasting changes were made. I’ve cut my budget back severely January 1 due to a new roof being installed with no help from insurance. We haven’t been depriving ourselves but our spending on non-essentials was lower in February than in previous months. Final payment for our new roof is due in a few days. I’ll probably reduce spending for the next few months to rebuild our emergency fund.
During the last week of the challenge, I treated myself to a Wendy’s lunch and a Tim Horton’s doughnut right after I made the official income-tax handoff (reports, forms, digital files) to our CPA’s office. The food was delicious and worth every penny.
This challenge was much harder for me than I expected. Last week, though, I had an epiphany: I’ve never set aside fun money to do with as I pleased. That means I burn up a lot of mental energy EVERY time I try to decide if a “want” purchase is affordable at any given time. With a budget of $X/month, I could simplify the decision process: if I want something and I have enough money in my Fun Fund, I buy it. Done. All our other financial goals are being met, so this wouldn’t take away from other spending/savings targets.
SO now I have a Fun Money spreadsheet set up, with its first deposit recorded. I’m eager to see how this plays out with my brains and my emotions.
For a future challenge, how about making more use of things we already own or have already purchased? Beyond eating down the freezer/pantry, what about reading books on our shelves, watching DVDs we’ve bought or borrowed, using subscription services more often (e.g. Netflix, Spotify), using up fancy lotions or other toiletries, exercising with fitness equipment already in the house, dusting off the board games, etc.? Then at the end of the challenge, we decide if we want to keep the items we’ve finally used, or if we want to sell them (for tangible objects) or cancel them (for subscriptions)?
Also: I’ve heard of quilters doing UFO Challenges, where UFO = “unfinished objects.” In other words, they make a concerted effort to finish quilting projects they’ve already started. How about an Unfinished Projects challenge? Even if you’re not crafty, maybe you’ve bought tools or supplies for a home repair project you haven’t completed yet. An Unfinished Projects Challenge would get those To Do’s “to done” AND make good use of money you’ve already spent.
That epiphany was golden, kiddo. Allow yourself a certain amount of money in an envelope marked “for riotous living.” You’d be surprised how much riotous living you can buy even for a relatively small amount of money. (Especially if you use a coupon.)
Taking all the challenges under advisement. Your suggestion of using up things we already have rings a bell: A few days ago, DF got one of those “Just 4 U” coupons from Safeway for a discount on London broil. The price was right, so he bought one and marinated it in a mix of several different bottles of stuff we had, including a really ancient soy/teriyaki (he couldn’t remember when he bought it) and some Asian barbecue sauce passed along to us by someone whose new dietary restrictions precluded it. He put it in a cast-iron Dutch oven along carrots, potatoes, onions and half a cup of turkey broth from the freezer, then roasted it low and slow for a few hours.
The meat turned out wonderfully tender, the vegetables were sweetly caramelized and the pan juices made some of the best gravy I’ve ever tasted. More to the point, a few more mostly-empty bottles were now out of our life. Rather than throw them away as “too old” or “not enough to save,” he turned them into a wonderful meal (and wonderful leftovers). Gustatory decluttering for the win!
Last night we ate tossed salads with grilled chicken for dinner. I dressed my salad by adding some rice vinegar to the last dregs of barbecue sauce in a bottle, giving it a good swish, and then drizzling the tangy concoction over my greens. Yum! It tasted like a spicy version of Catalina dressing.
That sounds good. See also:
http://donnafreedman.com/good-to-the-last-drop-getting-full-use-of-condiments/
Several years ago, I started an online “Dollar a Day Fund”. For me, and only me, to do as I wished with it. Day trip, new pair of shoes (not needed but feeding my addiction), extra cup of coffee, lunch out, donation, surprise gift for someone, etc. I realized I was working to pay bills, and there was nothing left for me. I decided I was worth at least a $1 per day, and initiated direct deposit. Even though I am now retired, I still have it direct deposited. if I don’t use it, it rolls over to the next month. If it gets up to about $300, it is time to take a little vacation.
I love your other ideas too!
And I like yours.
I’ve been on a personal ‘use it up’ challenge since I read Cait Flanders’ entire blog. She went through a declutter and was horrified at all the items she had multiples of. I did the same thing, and have started using up all the things instead of buying more. I’ve grouped all the like items together and am plowing through the lotions that were ‘too nice to use’ (no they aren’t, it’s like a spa day every day), the travel size toiletries even though I’m at home, the samples, the almost empty jars, etc.
My roommate and I are about halfway through a pantry challenge. We’re trying to only buy ingredients that let us create meals with items we already have. We’re meal prepping them, half in the fridge, half in the freezer (carefully labelled!) for future meals.
Yes! Why not use the “too nice to use” stuff on yourself!
As for the meal-prep activity, I can only say: Well done you.
Thanks for reading, and for leaving a comment.
I wanted to shoot for the smaller no spend day and I realized that would require some forethought and planning in regards to dinner so maybe I can challenge myself to a no spend day? I also could brown bag it for a week to work Monday-Friday but that would be really hard and try not to touch my side hustle money for a week. hmmmm I gotta think on this more
How about brown-bagging it twice a week? You’d still save money (and maybe clean up leftovers), but without the stress of “do this every day or you will FAIL at life!”
I found this really valuable. In most ways I’m quite frugal, but groceries do me in. I don’t keep a well stocked pantry or freezer, so I have little to use up. Food is so expensive here. I reduced that expense the first two weeks but it crept up the last two. I’ll keep working on that one. Books are in my budget now, and I plan to keep that as its pretty much my sole entertainment. Plus I like supporting the local independent used bookstore. I love Jenzer’s idea of fun money, and I’ve found mine!
I confess that the last week of the challenge we took a long weekend trip to attend a concert. That being said, the cost of the tickets were covered by cash back rewards from our credit card (which we pay in full every month) The motel was covered by motel points we have earned over the past several years. We ate breakfast at the motel both mornings and then went out one night and snacked one night. So the biggest out of pocket expense was gas for the 4 hour trip and going to a museum on the day after the concert. Not a no-spend weekend for sure but so worth it for what we did spend. And like you say…we save so we have money to do those fun things.
I do think I can continue to do a lot of no spend things because I am frugal by nature. I was thinking of other things as a challenge. Love some of the other ideas like Minimal March and eating from pantry and reading what you have or from library etc. As I was thinking about things to cut back on I was reminded about many years ago when my husband quit his job to go back to school and get a new degree in a different field. We had a 2 year old and a newborn living on a teachers salary. Money was SOOO tight! My sister in law was over one day and asked where I kept the paper towels. I told her paper towels were a want and NOT a need! I did not have a paper towel in my house for years. I can afford paper towels now thankfully. Honestly though, i use them without thinking. I am going to change that habit. It is not much…maybe a $1 a week but it’s those little things that add up. Along with that my husband and I were watching a special on TV about all the plastic in the oceans. We decided then we were going to do better about reducing our plastic usage. Try to cut our usage of plastic bottles and sacks and as much as we could. We have been doing that primarily as an environmental issue but it saves money as well.. Keep the ideas coming!
Ann, I also do not buy paper towels! Stopped buying them years ago for environmental reasons. I have a few old tee shirts that I cut into large squares and those are for wiping anything down in kitchen. Separate ones for floor/fridge, and yet another for dusting. They store nicely under the sink 🙂
To reduce my plastic I started saving various sized glass jars from pickles, sauce, etc. and use them to store leftover soups, nuts, pantry items. They are great for “overnight oats” to take for breakfast in the morning! I also invested in a few “Stasher” bags – (reuseable Ziploc type bags, check Amazon) – so I don’t have to keep buying baggies for snacks in my lunches. When I do have to use ziplocs, I wash them out and reuse them!
Bottled water is also a “no-no” – I have a pitcher in fridge and reusable bottle.
Cheryl Great ideas! Thanks I have cut up my old T shirts and stored them under all my sinks . No more paper towels for me!
I really enjoyed the challenge, creativity, comments and for me it was a refresher course in the many ways I can continue to be frugal and be thoughtful about my life during this season of retirement.
It occurred to me that we live in a time where our earnings and other sources of income are “direct deposited” in our accounts. Not for all, but for most of us. While I think of the convenience of this and get that it is
the way it’s done now, I started to think of the time when I got paid, cashed my check and counted my cash and had cash on hand. It is easy to forget about cash when we don’t see it in our hand. I still paid my bills and made purchases but I made a trip to the bank to deposit and I had a savings account too.
I miss cash. Having currency in my hands made it real and I saw what I had and knew I had a certain amount to use to live, and to save, and then to spend. I know the convenience of direct deposit is great.
I feel, however that I have lost the tangibility of cash. If I had my entire income in my hands in cash and had be mindful of how to parcel it out it would be different. I might spend less and hold on to some. I am already quite frugal and understand that my social security has to direct deposited into my account. But I know it is easier to just swipe my card to pay for something or buy more than I need. So I am getting cash out every month to count and budget and not use my debit card, for me that is the next challenge. I am looking forward to it. I feel as if my money is invisible, I want to see it and count it and spend it well.Thank you Donna for the challenge it gave me ideas!!!
Vivian
That is a really good point that I had not thought of but it is so true!
I didn’t participate in the No-Spend Challenge because I am constantly trying not to spend anyway. I have come to the recent realization that I need to buy as many store-brand items/foods as I can. I was already buying a few store-brand items, but not nearly enough of them. I am ready to get serious about it now.
I stopped buying bottled juice late last year to save money (not supposed to drink it anyway) and I have a nice dividend from that decision. I’ve lost five pounds. Win-Win!
My sister, a dental hygienist, is death on juice — especially for kids. Parents feed it to them constantly, then wonder why they’re not hungry for lunch or dinner (but will be in mid-afternoon or -evening). She calls it “juice abuse.”
A naturopath of my acquaintance says that we shouldn’t own juicers — we should be eating the fruits and vegetables in their total states rather than squeezing out the pulp and peel. While I’ll cop to doing smoothies (lots of them lately), it’s usually raspberries and bananas; while I peel the banana (obviously), I’m eating the berries in all their seedy seedy goodness. And rather than add juice, I pour in a little bit of tea. It works fine.
Plus: The price of bottled juice makes me gasp anyway.
February was kind of a mandatory no-spend month, as MrH didn’t have a lot of January hours to bill. And in fact, other than (maybe?) one family take-out meal, my working lunch, and refreshments for a group meeting, I don’t think we bought anything other than groceries, household and pet supplies, and gas. (The group is passing the hat for snack fund donations going forward.)
My big success of the month, though, was a side project—meal planning. We’d gotten kind of slack in our frugal habits, and there were too many nights when nothing was thawed/planned and we resorted to last-minute grocery runs and *gasp* things that weren’t on sale just to get something on the table. At year’s end, I made a rough-and-ready meal planner in Excel, copying the pen-and-paper format I’d used in earlier days.
And in February…I didn’t use it. But I *did* plan meals, buy and freeze what was on sale, and prep/plan using what was on sale or in the freezer.
We still ate meals we enjoyed, and by month’s end, we still had a smidge of money left and didn’t have to dip into reserves, as I was expecting. We rolled it into March’s grocery budget, as February’s billing was more anemic than January’s—but that’s normal for this time of year, and March is *knocks wood* looking up.
Ah, the power of planning! And of re-evaluating spending habits. It’s been a good month, Donna—thanks for hosting the challenge.
Donna, it looks like you have many new followers (didn’t see any of the old names) which is great. Even though I haven’t posted in a very long time, we are still on board with the frugal life style. My old pressure cooker finally quit working right, so I bought a 6 qt electric one – used, of course – and couldn’t be happier. I gave up buying canned beans but buy dry ones, and freeze them in in 2-cup portions. Love to make my own hummus etc.. We are now retired and live very, very comfortable. Right now we are saving to buy a little sports car to “toole around in”. We’ll fit right in with all the other oldies driving their dream car.
For us every month is a no-spend month but, as I said before, it is fun.
Congratulations on your comfortable new life!
And would you share the hummus recipe?