No Spend Month
Sell Your ‘Junk’
Donate Your Items for Tax Deductions
Take a Crash Course
JOIN THE CHALLENGE!
Money controlling you? I know the feeling. My family has been living this real life on a budget for a long time and I can tell you that there's never a perfect season, but with a few changes you can start to reign in your money issues.
Join the 5-Day Challenge today and start getting your money life in order this week!
Jill of all Trades says
Found you on the BFOL link up. These are good ideas for what to do WHEN the budget fails. But one thing not listed is to examine WHY the budget failed. Sometimes all our work to set a budget becomes pointless when something totally unexpected happens – like a job loss, death in the family, unexpected pregnancy, etc. And sometimes it happens just because we slip and get lazy when it comes to self-discipline.
But sometimes we just planned a bad budget from the get-go. Did you forget to factor in a quarterly expense (for me, that’d be the water bill) or a big once a year expense (like your property tax bill). Did you forget that memo at work about the employee’s share of health insurance premiums going up? Did you make a major change in your family’s diet and not think ahead about how the food bills would change?
My point is, if you don’t bother to analyze WHY the budget failed, you’ll keep on failing. A little analysis can help you rebound…or at least plan a stronger budget for next year.
Jessi says
Of course you should always look into why your budget failed but that’s another post entirely. You make some great points and thank you so much for sharing! I especially love your point on the health insurance premiums as that happens a lot!
Natalie V says
We’re doing a debt snowball this year to get rid of hubby’s school debt, so it’s basically like we’re doing a no-spend challenge for 12 months! It’s so, so hard, but being accountable for every dime (and knowing that when we’re done, our lives will drastically change!) is worth it in the end. Excellent tips!
Jessi says
Ugh, student loans. I hate mine so, so, so much! A debt snowball in my opinion is the best way to go to get rid of debt! Good luck to you and I know that you can do it! Your lives will be changed for the better and thank you so much for your kind words. 🙂
K Quinn says
We’ve done this a few times. We actually did this last month but not actively. Meaning we ended up spending no extra money just because. We were able to put more in savings and it really pointed out some extra spending we had been doing unnecessarily. Good post.
Jessi says
Thank you so much for reading. It is amazing how not spending money can really show you where your spending habits are at their weakest!
Shirley Wood says
Great post! I just started a series on my blog called Proven Strategies For Budget Cuts In The Home. I will have to link to your great information. I love that you included the Salvation Army Valuation Table and a free choice for online budgeting. I hope to see you around the blogging world!
Jessi says
I’m a huge fan of free so I always try to share great, reliable free resources. 🙂 And I love the Salvation Army Valuation Table, it helps me figure out our donations so much easier. And your series sounds awesome and I can’t wait to read it! Thank you so much for sharing with me!
Rebecca Scaglione says
We are budget people for sure. We also redo our budget and reevaluate it often, too, because it does fail and we need to make sure we keep it accurate or what good does it do? Great post!
-Rebecca @ Love at First Book
Jessi says
Yes, totally true, what good does a budget do if you are not accurately and intentionally following it everyday. Thank you so much for reading!
vw bug says
Had not thought of a no-spend month. I believe I will have to talk to my hubby about it. We use quicken and it helps but sometimes you just need a little push and that may do it! Thanks again!
Jessi says
Do it! It works wonders. I took me a while to get my hubs on board but once I presented it to him as a true challenge he was game. Most men love a good competition so make it a game and have fun with it so it’s no so scary. 🙂
Ashley Phipps says
I love Dave Ramsey! We read Total Money Make Over and are working on it 🙂 I’ve heard a lot about people doing no-spend months and that ideas kind of scares me 🙂 it would be an incredible challenge but it would be a good one!
Jessi says
Total Money Makeover is one of my favorite books and I refer back to it often! The no spend month is definitely scary but it’s so so worth it! I was actually surprised to see how much I was spending (typically I’m the saver and my hubs is the spender)! My culprit was online shopping. :-/
phoward336 says
We sometimes will do a budget challenge which works well for curbing spending and it’s fun too! We’ll each get a set amount of “spending money” and that’s all the extra we can spend for the month – has to cover anything except food, gas and bills. Then whomever has the most money left at the end of the month is the “winner.”
Jessi says
I LOVE your spending challenge! I think that my hubs and I are going to have to try it, after all most men are competitive! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your idea!
Angie Young says
Thank you so much for this post. I’m always looking for ways to save money and keep us on or below budget. I’ll be checking into your site very often. When I saw Dave Ramsey’s name pop up, I knew this was the site for me!
Jessi says
Isn’t Dave awesome?! And thank you so much for reading and your kind words! 🙂
Tonia L says
We are budgeters as well. I’d like to try a new spend month – that sounds like it would be tough but worth the effort. Working on paying off debt and saving a decent sized emergency fund are our current goals.
Jessi says
A no spend month is so worth it! It is definitely challenging but it really gets your spending under control ASAP. And good luck on your goals! I know that you can do it 🙂
Laura P. says
A lot of practical, helpful tips! I have never heard of a FB yard sale before. I’ll have to check into that.
Jessi says
Some of the FB yard sale sites are private but you can typically do a search to find one near you. You can post a status update asking any of your friends if they belong to a yardsale group and if they do if they can add you to it. That’s how I got into the three that I’m a part of. 🙂
Meeghan Mousaw says
Love the total money makeover -it is a game changer. I don’t know how people can live with so much debt and feel broke all the time. My husband and I are debt free -but, it is still not easy. Society is always trying to make you want to purchase things! Life pulls some loopholes too! Right now we are really trying to focus to keeping on a budget to save a certain amount each month -and, wouldn’t you know it -both our cars needed major repairs! Murphey’s Law! Despite having to dig into savings, we did stick to the budget otherwise…and that is a win!
Jessi says
Good ol’ Murphey’s Law! lol. And I often wonder how on earth I survived when I had literally more debt than income for the entire year. I remember feeling like I was drowning. We aren’t a 100% debt free but every time we pay off something that feeling is SOOOO amazing! Congratulations to you for sticking with it and being debt free!!! That is truly amazing and something to be proud of! 🙂
Marcia Shaw Wyatt says
I love the No Spend Month Idea! Now if if can just convince hubby to love it, this should help a lot! 😀 Thank you for these excellent suggestions! 😀
Jessi says
Thank you so much for your kind words. It definitely was a challenge to get my hubs on board but put the bug in his ear and hopefully he’ll be game! 🙂
Sarah Barker says
I think I could really benefit from a “No Spend Month”! Do you make exceptions if you are invited to a birthday party, etc?
Sarah’s Fare recently posted → <a href=”http://sarahsfare.com/eggs-in-a-nest/”>Eggs in a Nest</a>
Jessi says
This is the hard part of a no spend month – you make no exceptions. If you’re invited to a birthday party you either don’t go or make/bring something homemade that didn’t cost any money. Before planning a no spend month we look at our calendar to make sure that we aren’t planning to do one when we know that we’ll be invited to a lot of birthdays or events.
Hil'Lesha O'Nan says
My husband and I need to take the “No Spend Challenge”. I remember when my husband used to buy energy drinks practically everyday (he no longer does this) and I’d complain about it. Now, it’s his turn to complain, because I have to buy kombucha tea at least 2-3 times a week (it’s $4 a bottle).
Jessi says
Isn’t funny how life works like that? Most of the time it’s my hubs that over spends but then of course I’ll fall into the trap too! Do a no spend month – you’ll be super happy you did! 🙂
Jill of all Trades says
I was paycheck to paycheck for a while and did a no spend challenge by force. For those who find it daunting, let me tell ya, the first week was horrible with all the goodies I was so used to enjoying getting cut – no more drive thru coffee, no more work lunches out, no new outfits, no recreational shopping. Ugh.
But if you can make it through the first week or so, it actually becomes enlightening. It is really amazing all of the things you think you need that you can actually live without. And you can really impress yourself by how creative you can get using the resources you currently have. I got so used to making fun trips to the fabric & craft stores that I was truly oblivious to HOW MANY craft/sewing projects I could complete with the stash I already had.
Give it a go – it won’t be that bad!
Lalia Frolick says
I went through the trouble months ago to write out a budget that was pretty generous in all areas. We only live on $4k a month, and yet we’re trying to save $1k a month, which isn’t easy! Our budget definitely hasn’t been working out, and I’ve been discouraged since my husband makes extra purchases without keeping the budget in mind (he’s spending about $60 a month on McDonalds just to get a coffee and then “throw in a muffin because he doesn’t just want to put a coffee on debit), and he’s been blowing through our gas budget, also.
You’re right though, and I need to write out a new budget and see what I can do. We definitely sell a lot of things after we no longer need them, especially baby things, since you only use them for a short period of time. Lots of good tips on this list! Thanks for sharing.
Jessi says
My hubs was the same way back when Blockbuster was still around. No joke, he was spending $80 a month renting movies and some of them we didn’t even have time to watch. Once I showed him the actual amounts (I added it up in front of him from our bank statement) he stopped. Maybe something similar will work for your hubs? Good luck, I know it’s not easy but keep positive and you can do it! 🙂
Liz Lewis says
I’m going to do the no-spend challenge for March. This will be extremely interesting, but I’m excited! Thank you for all these tips. Additionally, your organization is impeccable. I really like how you presented all the information.
Jessi says
Thank you so much Liz! My hubs and I decided last night we’re re-visiting the no spend challenge for March. I’ll be blogging about it and I’d love to hear how it works for you! Good luck and thank you so much for your kind words! 🙂
Johnnalynn says
Wow, this post really made me see just how horrible I’ve been with my budget. Thanks so much for such useful information. Now, I need to put some of these things into action 🙂 That will undoubtedly be the hardest part.
Jessi says
That definitely is the hardest part, but you can do it! Recognizing you need to do it is the first step. 🙂
Stacey Gibbon says
These are helpful tips! We are trying to put all our extra money into savings {we are military family facing tough times with them cutting the force} so I want to be prepared for the “just in case.” This article is really going to help us reach our goal. Thank you for sharing it!
-Stacey
GluedToMyCraftsblog.com
Jessi says
Thank you so much Stacey for your family’s sacrifice for our great country! Also be prepared for the unexpected and you’re doing a great job by putting all your extra money into savings! Keep going! 🙂
Lisa {Amateur Nester} says
My hubby and I haven’t tried a no-spend month yet, but we periodically do a no-spend week or two. It’s really useful for getting back on track. Stopping by from Blogelina Commentathon.
Jen Bradley says
I totally need to do a no-spend month. We make a budget, then something happens and it’s off track. This is one of the hardest things we deal with. Thanks for the tips!
Jaclyn says
Love this! Such great tips – might be worth trying a few to get a few extra bucks in my pocket 🙂 I look forward to checking out the rest of your blog and tips!
Jessi says
Thank you Jaclyn! And yes, it totally is worth it to get a few extra bucks in your budget! 🙂
Annette Browning says
Since I quit my office/day job, we’ve been on a really really tight budget! Dave Ramsey helps… a lot! I found his books at our library. But, what you find out is that you waste a lot of money on just stuff. We are much better off now. Great tips, thank you
Katherine Petrunia says
Great post! My husband and I adopted a very frugal lifestyle while we were saving up to buy our home. Since moving, we’ve continued to manage our spending very conservatively. It can be challenging, but I enjoy finding creative ways not to spend money. I make my cards for holidays, birthdays, etc and try to bake/ cook/ plan as much as I can to save on our grocery bill. This is a great reminder to help people stay encouraged, even if they falter with their financial goals.
Jessi says
It is important to stay encouraged and motivated when it comes to money. Thank you so much for reading and your kind words. 🙂
Nicole K/GothamGal says
This is a great post–my husband and I were gifted Dave’s seminar for our recent wedding. And, I bought that YNAB program from Steam when they were having a sale recently.
I love the idea of giving my money a job so that I can eventually do the things I want and need.
Jessi says
Thank you! I’ve always believed that your money should work for you, not the other way around. Thank you so much for reading! 🙂
Jennifer at Purposeful Nutrition says
Great post especially because it happens to all of us at one time or another. Better to be prepared than fall into the hole of spending too much and get stuck there. Thanks for this post.
Jennifer Hughes says
I have seen these no spend months… I’m always curious to try but I don’t know if I could ever get hubby to actually do it with me. It’s tough when two people have a different relationship with money. Thanks for the post.
Jessi says
My hubs was a challenge to get on board too. Once I presented it to him as a competition he was hooked! Hopefully, your husband will get on board. It’s a truly eye-opening experience! Good luck! 🙂
Kyisha Long says
These are some interesting points. I can definitely benefit from no spend months. I can save a lot of money.
Korie Roberts says
I am in the home stretch of no spend February. Im glad it was a short month… but man was it hard. The only things I bought this month were groceries and cleaning/paper supplies. Refraining from online shopping was the hardest.. but so necessary. Now I am happy to say my budget is on track again.. and im looking forward to March.
Virginia Megin Gallagher says
You have some great tips. I don’t think I could do a No Spend Month. That would be so hard! I bet you learned a lot about your spending though.
Marisa Slusarcyk says
I use cash and that makes all the difference for me. Credit cards and debit cards lead me to spend without noticing the total… so cash it is!
Jessi says
It’s so easy to over spend when using a card! $43 and $40 are the same thing when you’re using a card but if you only have $40 cash on you then you can’t afford the extra $3. Cash definitely makes all the difference – thank you for sharing! 🙂
Still Reviewing says
We took the financial peace course. Great course. We paid off $21,000 in credit card debt in a couple of years.
Nikki Harvey says
I definitely have some “junk” I need to sell. I just don’t want to have to sort through it all lol
Jessi says
Sorting through it is definitely the challenging part! I feel like I’m pulling my husband’s teeth to get him to sort through his stuff! 🙂
A. Reiding says
Sticking to it is hard, but definitely worth it.
Thank you for sharing it.
Lucy says
Found you via the SITS gals. My hubby and I are big fans of Dave Ramsey. As a trucker’s family, I learned that budgeting is a huge problem for many people in our industry. Irregular income plus the challenge of what it cost to be an over-the-road driver can create havoc in our budgets. Putting ourselves on a financial diet was one of the best things we have ever done. Good post!
Jessi says
Thank you Lucy! Irregular income is such a pain to budget for since you have to budget backwards, expenses first than income. Back when my hubs owned his own business that was always so challenging. Thank your hubby for us as I know that this country wouldn’t be where it’s at without truckers! 🙂
Rachel G says
I truly believe that oftentimes, having more stuff can mean spending even more money to maintain the stuff you have–so selling and donating and otherwise getting rid of stuff that isn’t benefiting your family is a great money-saving strategy!
Rabia @TheLiebers says
I don’t spend money during a regular month except on bills and groceries, so “no spend” months aren’t new to me. My challenge now is keeping a tight hold on our tax refund and no spending it just because it’s there!