This month we are challenging ourselves to cut spending drastically with a “No Spend Month.” This is the first day so simply put we’re making the commitment and setting some ground rules. (Edit: See what we learned 31 days later and how we saved nearly $1600 in a month!)
I think both of us are a little apprehensive about doing this challenge. Even more so trying this for the first time on a month that has essentially 5 weeks.
Our goal is to save $800 by the end of the month. We believe this goal is SMART. It’s specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-sensitive.
Please note each family should account for their own circumstances. If there are known events like birthdays, vacations, vehicle maintenance, doctors appointments fit them in the budget and then move on. If you’re doing this for the first time and you don’t have a huge stockpile of food in the pantry, fridge, and freezer you’ll probably have to make a few trips to the store and include that in your rules as well.
We’ve set our sights not to spend money on anything outside of our basic necessities and eat from our food pantry/freezer as much as possible. We’re limiting grocery shopping to essentials only.
These are the things that we will seek to avoid this month:
No eating out at restaurants.
No Starbucks.
No shopping at stores.
No shopping online.
No excess entertainment (we already subscribe to Netflix monthly, but no Redbox or Amazon Online rentals).
I think both of us are a little apprehensive about doing this challenge. Even more so trying this for the first time on a month that has essentially 5 weeks.
Our goal is to save $800 by the end of the month. We believe this goal is SMART. It’s specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-sensitive.
Please note each family should account for their own circumstances. If there are known events like birthdays, vacations, vehicle maintenance, doctors appointments fit them in the budget and then move on. If you’re doing this for the first time and you don’t have a huge stockpile of food in the pantry, fridge, and freezer you’ll probably have to make a few trips to the store and include that in your rules as well.
We’ve set our sights not to spend money on anything outside of our basic necessities and eat from our food pantry/freezer as much as possible. We’re limiting grocery shopping to essentials only.
These are the things that we will seek to avoid this month:
No eating out at restaurants.
No Starbucks.
No shopping at stores.
No shopping online.
No excess entertainment (we already subscribe to Netflix monthly, but no Redbox or Amazon Online rentals).
No extras. (chocolate, manicures, pedicures, games, etc.)
No home décor.
No toys. (We tend to buy $1 toys at Target)
No crafts or hobbies.
No home décor.
No toys. (We tend to buy $1 toys at Target)
No crafts or hobbies.
We’ve agreed to a mini-budget to allow for our basic needs this month. This includes a small stipend for DW, myself, and miscellaneous expenses outside of our normal bills we may incur this month. For example, we are planning to attend a charitable function at the end of the month and so we allotted an amount for a donation at that event.
We hope this challenge will help us refocus our efforts in reducing our debt. We also hope it will motivate us to be better stewards of the resources God has given us.
We understand that life does not always go according to planned and our experiment may not go exactly as planned. However, we hope the discipline will prove beneficial and a good learning experience regardless of the outcome.
Source I used: http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/31-days/livingwellspendingzero/
We understand that life does not always go according to planned and our experiment may not go exactly as planned. However, we hope the discipline will prove beneficial and a good learning experience regardless of the outcome.
Source I used: http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/31-days/livingwellspendingzero/
#nospendchallenge
Looking for a particular topic? Please check out the new Table of Contents to see posts listed by topic.
-------------------------------------------------------
Follow me on Twitter! @JWKEagle
Check out my pins on Pinterest! http://www.pinterest.com/jonathanwkey/
Check out my pins on Pinterest! http://www.pinterest.com/jonathanwkey/
Looking for a particular topic? Please check out the new Table of Contents to see posts listed by topic.
No comments:
Post a Comment