Completing a No-Spend Challenge without stockpiling can teach you a lot about where your money normally goes. You might even find you don’t need (or really want!) half the expenses in your life.
With summer in full swing, there are many opportunities to splurge on entertainment, fairs and festivals, concerts, vacations and summer clothes and food. Even if you’ve already spent a little more than you’d planned, you can recover from a spending spree! Reel it in by completing a 30-day no-spend challenge. Sound impossible? Don’t worry, Security State Bank is here to show you how it’s done to help you save money this summer!
For 30 days, don’t purchase anything that isn’t essential to life. Food and medicine are basically it. If that sounds too scary, start with a 7-day no-spend challenge and work your way up to a month.
When it comes to food, only buy what you absolutely need to complete any recipes you can make with products you already have. If possible, don’t buy any new food at all. Your meals will be random and maybe not your favorite, but that’s the point. Use canned goods and non-perishables that have been sitting around in your cabinets for a while. Get creative with your lunches and use leftovers from dinner instead of just making sandwiches – that means you’ll run out of bread and cheese pretty quickly.
Make do with whatever travel samples and toiletries you already have around the house.
Even if you normally drive to work, look for public transportation you can use for the month. Use a bike or walk for trips around your neighborhood. Since you won’t be buying much, you won’t need transportation to the supermarket very often if at all.
See if you can cancel your Internet and cable for a month. It sounds scary, but if you have a smartphone, you can access the Internet from there or you can do any web work at a public library. You’d be surprised how much more time and money you have when you eliminate these things from your home. You might never turn them back on!
Find entertainment by reorganizing and de-cluttering. If you’re not watching old DVDs, donate them. If you’ve unearthed a goldmine of stuff you forgot about but still like, enjoy it. It’s free.
Focus on finishing projects you’ve started around the house, like scrapbooking, writing down recipes, creating art or reading. You can do all of these things with stuff you already have, and it will keep your mind off spending money.
The key to having a successful 30-day no-spend challenge is not stockpiling. You can’t prepare for the challenge – that just encourages you to spend a lot of money and defeats the purpose of using up what you already have.
A no-spend challenge can help you save money for a while, but eventually, you’ll have to spend. However, spending a month thinking about every purchase and limiting yourself can teach you a lot about what you really need. Security State Bank wants you to have fun with your no-spend challenge, learn about how to spend less in your household and save money this summer by changing up your spending habits!