It January! As our festive decorations begin to be packed away and a new year begins there is no better way to start a financially frugal year than a no spend month.
As me and my partner plan on purchasing a house within the next two years we have agreed that 2 months a year we will take a break from our debit cards and only spend on the necessities. Think of it as a cleanse for all out bad spending habits, like a juice diet, but in a financial sense.
It is quite possibly the hardest thing a shopaholic can do, however after the knock we suffered to our savings caused by the dreaded C word (COVID) I was reminded of how much of a difference a month can make…
Like any diet I’ve got goals to achieve:
1. Reevaluate what I am spending and how much is impulsive.
2. Save more than our normal monthly goal.
3. Learn restraint.
THE RULES
So for anything like this to work there’s obviously some guidelines mine are simple £10 for the month to spend on anything I want, this is almost like a cheat meal to keep my purchase cravings at bay. The rest follows:
DO NOT SPEND ON:
Nights out
Takeaways
New clothes
Luxury items
Personal items
Taxis (unless for work purposes)
Home decor
DO SPEND ON:
Bills
Groceries (only for cooking – not lunchtime purchases)
Basic toiletries
Cleaning products
I have been planning this no spend month since before Christmas which I think is super important as it has allowed us to note 1 item each which we will not cut. This has also allowed me to plan our down time so we do not get tempted to spend!
This is the first time since 2019 that I have done no spend month and I know I’ve picked up some bad habits since then. Now to lock my debit cards away and binge watch any Netflix series I may have missed during our two previous lockdowns!
Have you ever tried a no spend month? Let me know how it went?
xo
Jemma
Just Jemma 
I never considered doing a no spend January but I love this idea!!
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I also never considered this but I have to say that it looks interesting to try. Nice idea, good! Thanks for sharing this post. – Paolo
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This is perfect – what a fantastic idea! After having spent small fortunes in November and December due to birthdays and the holidays – which we celebrated more lavishly than ever – I need to save a bit. Your post comes just in time 😉
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Indeed such a great idea to start the new year. But this year, my goal is really to save and spend less.
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It is easy for me to do a no-spend challenge I am always home and only leave to go to the grocery store. My fiance on the other hand is an essential worker and likes to go to the gas station. He can’t do it cold turkey so I am giving him an allowance, but once it’s gone… it’s gone till next payday. Hopefully, we can kick his spending habit.
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I got to be honest, sometimes it hard to skip on snacks and unnecessary stuff sometimes haha. But these great tips.
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This is a great idea I’m interested to find out how you get on by the end of the month
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I am taking that road with you. I think I need to watch my expenses and eliminating any unnecessary ones.
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Thank you, Jemma. I like when advice is broken down into easy-to-follow steps like this. Ama copy 🙂
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January is the tough month. People get to spend a lot for Christmas and New year and before they realise it, they’ll have no money for pay rentals and school fees. I decided not to buy any decorations, I bought the kids presents in advance.
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Omg I need to try this! It will def be hard, but you give some great tips. Thanks for the info!
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