Best Tips to Make Your No-spend Challenge a Success
Are you ready to do a no-spend challenge that makes sense? Doing one gets you to reduce your spending and increase your savings.
I’ll share steps and tips so you can learn how to do a no-spend challenge that’s right for you. Many people fail their no-spend challenges because they don’t set realistic guidelines. Let’s figure out a better way.
1. Set your savings goal
Whether you’re saving up for something like a trip or need to pay for a huge household expense, divide the cost of whatever it is and divide it by however many months you have before that expense is due.
That number is how much you need to save each month.
It may seem like you’re running out of money before the month is up and it seems like you’re not able to cover your basic expenses.
In this case, your savings goal would be whatever amount you need to make sure that your essential expenses are covered.
Your no-spend month challenge can be your whole savings strategy for the month or it can be used to supplement your savings to get you closer to your monthly savings goal.
For example, if you need to save $200 this month but you only have room in your monthly income to save $100, then your savings goal for the challenge would be that extra $100.
2. Get Fetch
As you’re setting up your rules, you’ll be able to see which expenses you can pull that $100 from. To help you set your rules, you’re going to look back at the previous month’s expenses.
You can check your bank statements, and look at your expense tracker if you use it. You can use an app like Fetch where you scan your receipts in your phone to receive points that accumulate and they can be redeemed for gift cards to a variety of popular stores, online merchants, and restaurants.
I’ve gotten about six $10 Amazon gift cards. It doesn’t even matter how much your receipt is for – you always get a minimum of 25 points.
Because Fetch scans, itemizes, and calculates every receipt, you can look back at the data from the past 12 months and see how much you spent each month, and exactly what you spent it on.
3. Create three lists
However you track and view your expenses, you’re going to take the items that you see showing up every month or every other month and put those things into three lists:
List 1: No-spend list
Put things on the list that you won’t buy like toys, video games, crafting supplies, or new apps if you have kids.
It could also include eliminating organizational supplies like bins, clothes, hair accessories, and no eating out or junk foods.
Pause video streaming or cable services and any non-essential subscriptions for the month, or cancel them altogether.
Put the dollar amount next to each of those items so that you can see how much you’ll save in the month.
If you buy a daily coffee or dinner out every Wednesday evening, for example, put that on the list and multiply the cost times the number of days you’d usually buy those things and write that amount next to the item.
You’ll see if you’re getting close to meeting that savings goal. If not, see if there’s something else to add to the no-spend list.
List 2: Must-spend list
This list contains groceries–but you can also do meal planning to use up things you already have–such as canned goods, rice, and frozen food–so you spend less money that month on food. Focus on buying perishables like eggs, milk, bread, fresh veggies, and fruits.
Gas for your car is on a must-spend list. Try spending less on gas by consolidating errands and trips.
Household utility costs are on this list, like gas and electricity, water, your phone bill, and all of your insurance. If you have an event to attend that you can’t reschedule, that goes on this list, too.
List 3: Make-instead list
Frugality sparks creativity and creativity supports my frugality. Use honey and lemon instead of store-bought cold or cough medicine, for example.
Use vinegar for a DIY cleaner and old clean socks and t-shirts as cleaning rags, for example.
4. Track spending throughout the month
Use a calendar to fill in how much money you spent, which should be from the “must-spend” list. I can then compare this sheet with previous months that were not no-spend months to see how much I am saving and spending.
5. High-yield savings account
Put what you save into a high-yield savings account. You should have more money left over than usual at the end of a no-spend month. Then transfer the savings amount into your savings account.
Or compare the no-spend month expenses to a normal month and transfer the difference to your savings account.
No-spend challenge
If you plan well before starting your no-spend month and no expensive emergencies come up, this should be a successful month.
If you’re concerned about your willpower, ask someone like a frugal friend to keep you accountable or find a partner who also wants to do a no-spend challenge month.
However you get it done, I hope the process helps you to discover the treasures you already have in your possession.
Let me know in the comments if any of these no-spend challenge ideas and tips can help you reach your goals.
Next, check out my 15 Savvy Hacks on How to Stay Warm Without Turning Up The Heating.
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