3 Things I Learned During a 30-Day No Spend Challenge + a Freebie
If you follow me on Insta, you probably know that I did a 30-day no spend challenge from mid-February to mid-March. I randomly decided to just go for it one day (I think it was Valentine’s Day actually) because I noticed that I was just accumulating SO. MUCH. STUFF.
When I decided to do this challenge I was coming from a place of wanting to be more responsible and a better steward of our money not from a place of lack or “ah omg we need to stop spending money because we don’t have enough!” I think it’s really important to start a 30-day no spend challenge with an abundance mindset. It makes the whole experience more meaningful.
Before I started I set a few ground rules for myself:
I could only spend money on our usual bills (like mortgage and groceries), things required to run my business, and appointments that had already been scheduled (for instance I had a hair appointment that fell during my 30 days that I’d had scheduled since January).
I allowed myself to eat out one time per week and get coffee out 2 times per week. The reason I did this is because I usually go to a coffee shop to work a few days every week and I didn’t want to take up a table in their space without supporting their business (and plus coffee is life okay).
I was not allowed to spend money on anything “extra” like books, home decor, random kitchen tools, clothes, accessories, etc.
I’m not going to lie…the first week was a breeze (I think I was running on excitement from the newness of it) but after that it became quite a challenge for me.
So what did I learn?
one. I am an irresponsible consumer.
I legit do not even think more than 3 seconds before making a purchase. If something that I kind of maybe want a little bit crosses my mind, I immediately hop on Amazon and order it. During this 30-day no spend I wrote down a list of everything that I wanted to buy each day and it was really eye opening. Since I don’t think before I buy, I’m definitely not shopping around for the best deals or anything like that. To me, that’s being both an irresponsible consumer and a poor steward of our money.
What I’m going to do about it: From now on, I’m going to make myself wait 24 hours before purchasing an item that pops into my head. If I still want the item (or even remember it lol) I’ll get it the next day rather than in the moment. And before purchasing something, I will look at least 2 other places to do a price comparison. I’m also going to try thrifting/purchasing from ethically sustainable companies more often.
two. I am moderately addicted to getting packages in the mail.
There were a few times throughout this challenge that I let our mailbox sit for days without checking it because I knew I wasn’t expecting any online orders to come in the mail. Yikes. This challenge taught me that half of the reason that I order so much stuff online is because I get a thrill opening the packages when they come in the mail.
What I’m going to do about it: If there is something that I want to purchase and I can easily go to the store and buy it, I’m going to do that. I honestly think that not getting the item in the mail makes it less exciting and I’ll be less compelled to buy as much stuff as I do if I have to go to the store to get it.
three. I don’t need half the stuff I own.
All of those things on the list that I kept over the last 30 days would be in my house right now if it wasn’t for this challenge because I do not think before I buy. This challenge inspired me to walk around my house and really look at how much stuff we have. I’m planning to do a declutter soon, too.
What I’m going to do about it: Anytime I want to order something new I am going to get rid of something that I already have in order to keep clutter to a minimum. I’m also going to try to be more intentional when I’m shopping and choose items that I know can be used in multiple ways.
Have you ever done a 30-day no spend challenge before? Like I said, it’s definitely an eye opening experience and I’d totally recommend everyone try it at least once.
Oh, and if you want the 30-Day No Spend Tracker for free, you can get it by signing up for my email list here and logging into the FREE GOODS section of my website here. The password will be emailed to you when you sign up for the email list!
The way I used it:
I used it in my digital planner but you can print it out and use it as a hard copy, too. I wrote down the dates on the right hand side and anything I wanted to buy in the notes section. Next time, I’ll record the price of each item that I want so I can see how much money I would’ve spent if I had purchased everything that I wanted!
So if you’re a skimmer and this is all you see, my biggest takeaways:
Taking 30 days off from spending money made me realize that I want to be a better steward of our money and a more responsible consumer.