I feel like it is January 1st instead of March 1st with all this excitement about setting monthly intentions. For March, I have challenged myself to a no-spend challenge. I had shared about no-spend challenges in my book and in an article on our site, but was inspired again when I read (again) this transformation article from my dear friend, Shanna. I happened to be on Facebook when she shared that she was planning to tackle another challenge recently and I love hearing that this had become a part of her yearly routines.
You know how your spending habits increase as your salary increases? Our expenses have definitely expanded, since we worry less about money, and I know that we could be saving so much more.
As soon as I shared my no-spend challenge with my family, the first thing my daughter said was, “Does that mean you won’t buy us any groceries?”
Yeah, I should probably review what a “no-spend” month looks like.
What Spending is Allowed?
Gas
Groceries (I am also going to be looking with a critical eye at how much we have been spending in this category because I, honestly, haven’t been very good about paying attention)
Normal Bills & Memberships (including normal business expenses)
My hubby’s birthday meal (I am not going to be a Scrooge if he wants to go out)
What Do I Plan to Do Differently This Month?
No dining out (OUCH- that should save A LOT)
Use up what is in our freezer and pantry- we have a lot of ingredients that I haven’t been putting to work
Be MORE thoughtful about my grocery purchases and get back to ALDI
Go over our current spending and see where we can cut corners
Get back to using Mint to track what’s happening in our accounts
Use the memberships I have (gym, Netflix, Hulu, CycleCast, Spotify, Scribd, & MoviePass) and REALLY analyze if these are being used enough to justify the monthly expenses
Work on my taxes- we can’t leave for Spring Break until this is in order
NOT make frivolous purchases for Spring Break & Easter
NO Kindle deal buying- I do love a cheap book purchase
I am really looking forward to sharing my results from this financial fast and and I’m excited to see how much we can save this month. It will be a great way to reset this year for our family. If you want to follow our adventures, you can catch me on Instagram documenting through their Instagram Story feature and a little on my feed too.
I am also journaling my experience to share with you at the end of the month. Stay tuned for my reflections on this one.
Would you like to join me this month? Leave a comment below (because I can’t pay for a link list subscription- hahaha!)
This post contains affiliate links that help our site! Thank you for supporting me! xoxo