Is a No Spend Week Possible Any More?
I used to try "tenner"weeks, or other low/ no spend weeks. It feels like that's just not doable in my life anymore. I seem to run out of things and notice as about to use. Sure, I could do without something the house ran out of, but not seeing the point of not replacing if I'm just going to the next week. However, staying out of stores does prevent impulse buys.
There's been PT co-payments and gas tank fill ups and top offs trying to use points or coupons that may expire. There's impromptu meals with coworkers even with my minimal in office days. Things are coming up starting this week through January that will make a whole week not possible. I think the best I can do is "essential only" weeks, and maybe track that.
I tried this the week of November 16-22, Saturday to Friday. We didn't have austerity level meals either, so adding our dinners here too. I'm not counting any spending by my son unless he bought for the household.
Here's my result, meal first, what I spent for the day follows.
- S- Marinated chicken breasts, spinach salad, tots $55(A few groceries)
- S- Chickpea curry w/ basmati rice, naan, pilak paneer $89 ( Fleet Farm:tree stabilization items, yard care, plus there was a sale on nuts, trail mix, and soup mixes that sell out, so grabbed for my pantry, plus a few things for my daughter).
- M- Homemade 16 bean and ham soup with egg salad sandwiches $35 PT copay,
- T- Chicken,bacon, artichoke pizza. $94 Kitty had thrown up a few times and we suspected a bug or worm. Had to have fecal test and resulting meds, Gas in my car, take and bake pizza
- W- Pork loin, little potatoes, green beans. $0 (though got two bags popcorn from a CVS that were on sale then free using a $4 off any purchase coupon because I had intended to bring to trivia but group members had conflicts so ended up not playing)
- Th- Son had leftover pork loin, steamed veg . I had drinks and shared appetizers at an after work gathering ( at a food court kind of venue) for a colleague expecting a baby. I had gift delivered to her home from the registry several weeks ago. Because was so close to my daughter's, I decided to bring her dinner ( pizza same venue) and hang out a bit. $51
- F- Marinated chicken with dirty rice, green beans $0
Total spent: $324 This doesn't include prorated costs of monthly spending (ex. church offering,) or calculated utilities, or the boat winter storage fee that I paid this week as it's a planned sinking funds cost. It doesn't count doggie daycare 20 day package either, that will cover many months. I wanted to track just what was spent in cash or put on the credit card for this week activities/costs. Clearly this was not low spend and scary to think what I'd have spent if less intentional.
I'd love to read from you all though on your methods and strategies for no or low spend weeks. Do you find overall they help with your overall budget and cash flow? Do you feel like you've missed out or experienced any discomfort when actively limiting or not spending for a period of time?
Boy, I have had the same question about no-spend weeks being possible. Some frugal vloggers say "No Spend" means no "extra" spending: on frills, on treats, on entertainment. So I think your "essentials only" approach falls under that "no-spend" umbrella. (We are pretty much non-spenders when it comes to "frills and treats," so it is not such a big leap for us, but that is just us.)
ReplyDeleteThe bigger hurdle for this household, and I am still coping with how to approach it, is the monthly grocery bills. Even being careful, we spend more monthly than I estimated we would when we started 2024 and even when I "knew" we were overshooting my optimistic $200/month soft budget, I still thought we would come in "okay." Ha! I will see what the 4th quarter totals up, and the year, but I think 2025 I will need to adjust the monthly food target upwards. (Trust me, that will be my leadoff blog post of 2025!)
Here's to intentionality in spending!
I don't even try. 🤣 I'm not an impulse shopper as I only go into a store because I have to (list in hand). In a grocery store, I will buy a "deal" on something we use anyway so for me, that is not impulse.
ReplyDeleteI'm in a large online quilt group and there was discussion this morning about shortage on quilt batting. I quilt for my community and go through a LOT of it. So unplanned expense today was a bulk order $300 delivered. I do not want to be caught without batting. Who knows why the shortage but I'm not going to gamble on putting quilts on kids beds (Sleep In Heavenly Peace gets kids off the floor and I'm grateful to have never have slept on the floor)
My 2y emergency fund allows for a larger unplanned purchase and I am grateful every day I have it.
I suppose I could force myself into a full week of no-spend yet I don't see the point. It would simply be a postponed purchase.
I used to do no spend January, March, July and the “septober.” (The last two weeks of September, first two of October. It didn’t work to do the beginning of September with school starting or the end of October with fall clearance = Christmas gifts) That said, I haven’t had a no spend in a long time. My no spends were just that…NO SPEND beyond regular bills (electricity, gas, gym memberships and lessons, and replenishing fresh produce, eggs, etc) I cut the grocery allowance in half, so if there was a sale on, say, bscb, the amount I spent stocking up was deducted from an already reduced budget. If I walked in to an amazing deal, (for instance during one no spend I found a perfume DD loved at 75% off, which normally sold at $60,) I deducted the ORIGINAL cost from her Christmas gift budget. So I took $60 off, not the $15 I had spent. I know that sounds mean, but it’s how I ran my no spends.
ReplyDeleteSo what has happened? I think I am just not darting out as much now that they are older. We are spending more $ though, because they are in college. (‘Nuff said) I think, however, I am going to, after Thanksgiving, see how little I can spend on Christmas, just to get back into the swing of things. I already have all the kids’ gifts, I don’t need decorations, and we have plenty of baking ingredients, as well as champagne and smoked salmon. The only thing I will “need” is fresh bagels for Christmas morning!
But somehow, I do feel as if I have lost my way…
Meg B.
I don't even try a no spend week. I have a weekly budget line for groceries and miscellaneous I want or need that's not part of budgeted or emergency expenses. It includes food and things like paper products, cleaners, meals out, whatever. If I manage to not go over that budget line, I feel pretty good about a financially successful week!
ReplyDeleteI do not go to the store weekly, by any means. I have a good supply of things here. I am retired and don't just drive to be driving - get gas once a month. Now paying utilities and such gets done as soon as they come in - but that is it. I have many no spend weeks. Right now, trying to finish Christmas up - then I can get back to just hanging out at home and not spending.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I started doing no spend in January and July. January works for me because it is like doing a fast after the consumption of Christmas. I tend to have extra food, basics like butter and eggs; and don't feel like shopping. The grocery budget is also lowered to $150 for my household of 4 adults. I work from home and January is part of our busy period.
ReplyDeleteJuly is harder. I do plan out the month a little by working through any projects in May and June. Usually I still have a few gift cards from Christmas that I "allow" myself to use if I want a date night. BUT this month is a lot harder. I think I have learned more about myself from this.
The reason I started had more to do with being intentional with my spending. I used to have a bad drive thru habit. I had a order for most fast food places. But was told I should reduce my eating of it because of high cholesterol. Family history of cardiac issues caused me to try for 2 years to stop and the no spend broke it. I went to 1 time a month and now I don't eat from them except every once in a while. The last time was in September. I had at some point been averaging 8-9 times a week.
Keep in mind there really are no rules. You make the rules. I like Meg's septober. Maybe just take a calendar down and commit to ## days of no spend to start? Not whole week, plus if you miss a day just start again. Just the fact that you are thinking about it makes you better aware of your finacial sense.
I thought it was crazy when I heard a group of people preparing for a no spend month or week. They would prebuy all they needed or wanted, spending lots of money to say they spent little for the designated month or week of 'no spend.' It defied any explanation. It sort of seemed like cheating.
ReplyDeleteYour spending what you did for what you bought seems reasonable.
I find "No Spends" so artificial. But whatever works for a person is good. Intentional spending seems so much better. 8-)
ReplyDeleteThe only good thing about staying out of stores during a "No Spend" is avoiding the temptations they hold to overspend. But then again, finding surprise deals for my pantry when I'm in the store for something else, can be a good thing, if it's something I am going to need and use at some point. Why not spend less on it, getting it cheaper than waiting to get it later for more money?
I don't do it consciously but there will be days I don't buy anything either with cash or card. Things continually come out of the checking account, so there aren't any real 'no spend' days.
ReplyDeleteI think it certainly helps to cut down on trips to shops or out as that definitely helps with the cost-cutting. I don't consciously think low-spend, no-spend, but it is going to be starting next year. I really need to cut down on costs and just being more conscious of what we do spend. I used to do more cash only as I think that definitely makes me think a little more of what I am spending. Having a card to use just makes it a lot easier to over-spend.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it doesn't make sense to not buy something you need this week if you're only going to need it next week. My problem is that I overstock, still thinking we're five at home, so I really should use up what I have first. Mind you, having the power outage this week has made me think twice as I could have lost everything in two freezers. Must do better.
ReplyDeleteI don't really do no spend weeks or months like some do. I think intentionally spending is the best way to go. I'm not really a fan of shopping so my goal is to do it as little as possible.
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids were little, it was easy to have low spending times since who wants to go on shopping trips with little ones in tow. But covid changed things for me with all the shortages and stuff. I was stocking up more on things when they were in stock, and even now if there is a good price on something, I spend more than I used to. We are doing some home maintenance now since I am expecting prices to go up with tariffs and stuff in the new year, and I want to have a stocked pantry. So I won't be doing any low spending challenges for the next few months, but hopefully my spending will still be intentional.
ReplyDeleteWe occasionally have no spend days, but honestly, it's pretty rare. We have a bunch of drivers who fill up with gas when they need to (minus me, as my car is electric & we can charge for free at DH's work). I pick up fresh vegetables for Nick at least 2x/week (mini cucumbers). We try not to splurge on meals out (we're pretty good at not doing this), but I might need a grocery ingredient or whatever. My big goal this year is not to buy clothes right now. This time of year is SO tempting for me with the sales, and given I'm not working & have everything I might need, that would be silly. So, if I accomplish that, I'll be pleased. Maybe a goal that would be interesting for you to experiment with would be to see if there are more frivolous spend leaks, and if so, set a goal to avoid those for X period of time. (Hawaii Planner)
ReplyDeleteFirst, thanks so much for your blog! Really enjoy reading about how you save money!
ReplyDeleteWe have been retired for 3 years now and spend about 7 months in Mexico and the rest back in the frozen north. I was super concerned about money when we first retired and then a friend of mine gave me some excellent advice.
She said: "You will learn to live on the money you actually have."
And she was right. I thought I would need to budget, scrimp and save, but we have had no problem living on just our social security and letting our savings just sit. The only real pre-planning we did was to make sure we had a healthy emergency fund, which has pretty much also sat untouched during the last 3 years.
Admittedly, it is a lot cheaper in Mexico compared to the USA. And we eat better because of all of the fresh fruit and veggies. But we rent year round so we can leave our stuff in our apartment and find that what we don't pay in heating costs back in the USA covers the 5-6 months we aren't here. :-)