What is the No Spend Challenge?

You might have heard about something called the No Spend Challenge. So what is it? And it is right for you? I'll break down some different ways to approach this challenge and you can decide if it's something you can do to help save money.

Transcript

Hello, my name is Tiffany, and welcome to the podcast Working on Amazing. This is the podcast where we talk about the work that it takes to rebuild an amazing life.

And I am using that word rebuild, because we're specifically designed for women who feel like they're starting over in the middle of their life.

Now, I feel like starting over can mean several different things, but for me, that looked like divorce after a 20-year marriage. And for my sister, it was the very unexpected death of her spouse. For you, it could be something completely different.

But I believe the commonality is when all your hopes, all your dreams, all your plans for the future have gone up in smoke, your day-to-day life looks totally different. The rug has been pulled out from under your feet.

And it does, it feels like you're starting over. Or if that's you, first of all, from the bottom of my heart, I wanna say I'm sorry. I know how overwhelming and just horrible that feels.

But I'm here to offer you hope. I'm here to offer you encouragement. I'm here to tell you it gets so much better.

Countless women have gone through this, and you've come out on the other side better for it. You can, too. You are not alone.

You're actually in the right place. So welcome. I'm so glad you're here.

Okay, if you'll remember, in the very beginning, I said that I focused on five areas when I rebuilt my life. I focused on my spiritual health. I focused on my mental health, my physical health, my financial health, and growth and goals.

And I said each podcast would fall under one of those categories, right? So today, we're going to focus on financial health, which is so important, right? The stress of finances can just destroy your life and eat your lunch.

When you're living paycheck to paycheck, and then something comes up, and you're just like, I don't know that I can take this. It's extremely, extremely stressful way to live. But I'm here to tell you, you don't have to live that way.

It takes some thought, it takes some discipline, it takes some planning, but you don't have to stay stuck in the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle. You can break free. It just takes a little bit of self-discipline and a little bit of planning.

All right, so today we're going to talk about the no-spend challenge. I think if you're on social media at all, you've heard somebody somewhere mention this. It's come up.

So I want to talk about what the no-spend challenge is, so you can see if it's right for you. Now, there are no exact rules.

So we're going to go over different ways you could approach it, so you can tailor it for you and your lifestyle and your unique circumstances, all right? But first of all, if you have never heard of a no-spend challenge, what does that mean?

It sounds like you're going to go a long time without eating. Like, how can you go for a long period of time without spending? I mean, we have bills to pay, things come up, I need to eat food.

I have children, like, what are you talking about? That seems ridiculous. Like, I couldn't go a month without eating food to sustain myself.

How can I go a month or whatever length of time without spending? So what does that mean? Because it sounds kind of ostentatious to say, I'm doing a no-spend challenge.

Well, let's break it down a little bit. So the no-spend challenge is no extra spend. So it definitely means you can pay your bills.

So don't not pay your bills during a no-spend challenge. Pay your bills, 110 percent. Please continue to pay your bills.

But if you look at what you spend on a regular basis, you might realize that you go to coffee, that you spend money at TJ Maxx or Target more than you realize. Sometimes, we spend here and there, and it doesn't feel like very much, but it adds up.

I saw a quote the other day, and it blew my mind, but I know how true it is. It says, what does it take to waste $10,000 a year? And that's just $27.40 a day in miscellaneous spending.

Just $27.40 a day in miscellaneous spending. How much did you spend last time you went to Target or TJ Maxx? It can add up more than you think.

So the no-spend challenge isn't, don't pay your bills, don't spend any money. It means don't have the miscellaneous spending. So what might that look like?

So an example of the no-spend challenge, you might say, you pick a month during the year. You might say, April is a good month. There are no birthdays.

There's nothing major going on. I can pick April and I'm going to do a no-spend challenge or whatever month you want.

Sometimes summer is a little harder, more difficult, depending on whether or not you have kids that will be home from school during the summer or you're planning on vacations.

But pick a month without birthdays and big events and say, you know what, I'm going to tackle this no-spend challenge. So I just look like, will you go ahead? And yes, you pay your bills.

We have established this, but I'm going to repeat it multiple times because it is very important. You do pay your bills. So all your utilities, your rent or your mortgage, that gets paid.

Okay, your insurance, all those things. What about food? How do you approach food with a no-spend challenge?

Well, you can, please eat. That's important. And you have to provide food, especially if you still have other people living at home, children, things like that.

Yes, you still have to eat. So how do you approach a no-spend challenge when it comes to food and eating? Well, I think the first thing you say is definitely no eating out, no running through the drive-thru, no door dash, nothing like that.

Okay, that's simple. Maybe one week is a no-spend challenge. With the example of saying you're doing a no-spend challenge for a month, one week you might say, I'm not even going to go to the grocery store.

I'm going to look at what I have in my freezer, in my pantry, and I might be eating some very creative meals, but most American households have more food than we really realize in our freezer, in our refrigerator, and in our pantry.

If you actually ate what you had, could you sustain yourself? Is there enough nutrients in food with what you already have? I mean, it might be whatever that you bought when it was on sale and you stuck in the freezer.

But a no-spend challenge is spending as little as you can on miscellaneous. So taking a week maybe, and not going to the grocery store, and just really challenging yourself to eat what you have, that is one way to approach it.

Now, most likely, you do not have enough food in your freezer, in your pantry, to go the whole month like that, right? So maybe you could do a week, maybe two weeks. So what do you do for the rest of the month?

Well, this is what I would tell you. We both know that some meals are more expensive than others. So if I'm gonna make filet mignon, or lobster tail, or sea scallops, or beef wellington, that is gonna cost more money than if I made spaghetti, right?

The cost of the ingredients, when you add them up. So let's look at cheaper meals when you do have to go to the grocery store. Let's look at meals that have pasta and rice so that you can have leftovers for lunch at work the next day, okay?

So this is the type of thing, the way I'm tracking with this no spin challenge. Like I said, it's flexible. You make the parameters, but you gotta set the parameters on the outset.

What is it gonna look like for groceries? What is it gonna look like? What can you and can't you spend?

You need to set the parameters before the month starts, and you know what the rules are, okay? But I promise you, if you go to Google or Pinterest, and you do budget-friendly meals, lots of things are gonna come up.

Stuff with ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken. Generally, when you get a ground meat, it goes a lot further, and it's mixed in with something. You can have soups, things like that.

They stretch, they go further, and they're cheaper, often times, to prepare.

So if you say, okay, I'm doing an no-spend challenge, I've taken one week, and I've eaten everything in my pantry or in my freezer, and now I've gotta go to the grocery store, I want you to really try to get that budget at the grocery store, that

bill, that final, you know, when you check out, to be as low as you can. So I want you to shop the sales. I want you to buy the budget-friendly meal, like spaghetti.

I want you to really keep it low, and then if you make something like spaghetti or chicken and rice, it doesn't sound that great, I get it, but then you've got lunches, like I said, for the next day, it's something that stretches, okay?

So as we're doing a no-spend challenge, we still eat food, okay?

There's still money for food, but we're not buying the expensive cuts of meat, we're not buying the really nice high-end snacks, we're not buying the over-the-top stuff, we're keeping it kind of bare bones, fair?

So we know we're going to pay for our bills, like all the things that we normally pay for, that would be our mortgage or rent, if you have a car payment, utilities, insurance, all those things are being paid for.

You are still buying food, but you're doing it on a restricted budget, okay? So that makes sense. So what we're not doing is we're not going by the store and picking up takeout.

We're not going by and getting our fancy coffee, which is hard because I like fancy coffee. I tend to get one once a week, and I really enjoy it. So if I'm doing a no-spend challenge, I don't get my weekly fancy coffee, okay?

Don't even go to TJ Maxx. I mean, don't even walk in to Target. Don't go to those stores, whatever your store is.

I'm telling you what, sometimes my stores are. Don't go into the place where you just like to look around and browse, and you always end up picking up something. Don't tempt yourself that way.

Find other ways to spend your time. Find other ways to self-soothe. What do I mean by self-soothe?

So you're gonna have a month of this challenge, right? Now, not everybody does this, but some people, when they get upset, they may end up buying something, and it's a way to self-soothe. We do it with food, and we do it with spending.

That is a very common reaction that people have when they get upset. They either spend money or maybe eat, like, comfort food, right?

So during this no-spend challenge, I want you to, on the front side, if this is something you know, hey, I do realize, when I get emotional, when I get upset, I kind of tend to spend more than I should.

Or, you know, I add to cart, I go start scrolling on Amazon, I find things. And it makes sense. Like, you get that little dopamine boost, you get that little, oh, this is coming in the mail.

It kind of makes you feel better, right? You find that thing that makes you smile, and you spend money on it. However, during a no-spend challenge, that is off the table.

And if you want a financially healthy lifestyle moving forward, it is a good idea to think, how can I make myself feel better when I get upset that doesn't involve spending? Okay? And so think about it.

Do I go for a walk outside? Do I sit in the sunshine? For me, I learned taking a bath.

That was like my thing. Like, taking a bath really soothes me. I like the warm water.

I like the bath salts. I like to light a candle. It just is very relaxing.

But what is it for you? Is it sitting down, reading a book, and like kind of escaping that way? Find a way.

Is it working out?

Some people really get into working out, and just that, go into the gym or doing an at-home workout, and attacking that routine, and burning those calories, really ends up giving them that dopamine boost that they were looking for, right?

So what is it for you? Everybody is different. You just kind of got to approach this.

What really makes me feel better? And it can be hard if we've gotten into the habit of spending money, especially when we're emotional. And when you go through a difficult season in life, a big transition, right?

Midlife reboot, that generally comes with a lot of really big emotions. So I feel like in this moment, especially, it's really important to find a way to self-soothe that doesn't involve spending, okay?

Because that can become a habit, and it can be a hard habit to break. There are a lot of people who struggle with this. So if you do struggle with this, once again, I would highly recommend talking to a counselor.

I think everybody would benefit from talking to a counselor. But really look and say, okay, what makes me happy? Where do I feel relaxed?

Where do I find joy? What can I do that makes myself feel better? Do I need to call a friend?

What can I do? So start finding creative ways. Start looking for things in your area, parks, different places you can go hang out that don't cost money, okay?

What does your town offer? Do you have a really cool downtown vibe that you could walk around and just kind of enjoy the outdoor area? We have a really nice dog park with a walking trail that I really enjoy.

Start getting creative and looking beyond maybe what you know. Start doing some Google searches, and find ways that you can have an emotional outlet that doesn't involve spending money. And this no-spend challenge isn't a lifestyle.

I don't want you to live this way forever.

But what is really cool about it is if you can do this for a month and be really hardcore with it and not spend extra, you're teaching yourself that the next time something comes up and it's hard, you can tighten your belt because you've done it

once. And doing it gives you confidence. Because if you do it once, you can do it again. I can repeat this.

And it really builds your self-confidence to know that you have that self-discipline, that ability to tell yourself no, even when you really want it, right? So I just, I encourage you to try it. But once again, this isn't a lifestyle.

This isn't a way you want to live your life day in and day out. It's a challenge for a period of time that is important. And it helps teach us an underlying lesson that, hey, we can do this.

But what's the first main goal of doing a no-spend challenge? What's the immediate goal? The immediate goal is because you need more money.

So if you're going to do the no-spend challenge, you need to get really clear with why you're doing the no-spend challenge. So are you trying to save up money for your emergency fund?

Getting that initial little baby fund together, your initial savings, you know, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000, that's so important, and it can feel hard to do.

So if you do a no-spend challenge, and you don't spend any extra money, you can put that money in savings. Maybe you're in a different situation. Maybe you're trying to pay off some credit card debt.

And so any money that you don't spend in the no-spend challenge, whatever's left over, you're going to use to pay down maybe a credit card bill. Whatever your purpose and reason is, you've got to get really clear with why you're doing this.

The reason is because it's going to get hard. It's going to get frustrating. It's going to feel old.

After a while, telling yourself, no, isn't fun. It just gets a little bit weary in the middle, right? If you're really clear on why you're doing it, that's going to help.

If you put in front of you, I know I need an emergency fund because the last time my car broke down, I had no money to fix it, and I had to go into credit card debt.

I know I need an emergency fund because something is going to come up, and I don't want to be destitute. I don't want to pull more credit card debt. I don't want to do that.

I know I need savings, or I really want to pay down this debt. This is so important to me. I want you to sit down and write your why.

Why you're doing this matters. If we're not clear with our why, it's easy to get lost and not stick to it. Does that make sense?

You just kind of lose your way. It doesn't feel as important anymore. It started off feeling important, but when it gets hard and weary, we might give up.

But if we have a really clear why, and you just take the time to write down why you want to do a no-spend challenge, that is going to help you tremendously during that month. Okay?

So the goal is you're going to pick a month and you're not going to spend extra. Hopefully, you're going to pick a month that doesn't have birthdays and special occasions and extra things that are coming up, and you're going to say, you know what?

I'm not going to go out to eat. I'm not going to get my fancy coffee. I'm not going to spend extra money at TJ Maxx on a candle, but I really don't need.

I'm not going to buy that cute pair of shoes or that cute handbag. I'm not going to spend any extra money this month.

I'm just going to tighten the belt all the way, as tight as it will go, and I'm going to see how much money I have left over at the end of the month if I do that. Like I said, this is not a lifestyle.

It is a challenge, and it teaches you that you are able to do this. And it's pretty cool when you realize how much you can save, how much extra, and it is my money. Like I said, it was just $27.40 a day in miscellaneous spending.

That's how you blow $10,000 a year. And just think, did you spend $27 in miscellaneous spending that you really could have done without at the grocery store last trip? How much did you spend when you popped in to Ulta or Sephora?

How much did you spend at TJ Maxx or Target that you really didn't need the last time you walked through Hobby Lobby? You know, I mean, really, $27.40 a day is ridiculously low.

$10,000 would make a huge difference in your financial future, wouldn't it? And we pittle it away all year long without even realizing it, without even meaning to. We wouldn't piddle away $10,000, but $27, that's not too bad.

That's the way our mind works. And in doing a challenge like this, hopefully we'll recalibrate that perspective and help us understand even the little bit adds up. It really matters over time.

So, I encourage you to do this no-spend challenge. Please reach out to me and tell me what you're doing, how you're setting it up, what month you're going to tackle. I would love, love, love to hear from you.

You can find me online, www.workingonamazing.com. You can also find me on most of the social media platforms, but I will be real with you. I hang out on Facebook the most.

So, if you send me a message there, I'll see it first. But it's just a page, Working on Amazing. You can shoot me a message.

Let me know what intimidates you about the no-spend challenge. Let's talk about it. Let's come up with ideas, how to be creative, how to make this work.

I know you can do it. I know that you can get on top of your finances and you can win with money. If I can do it, you can do it for sure.

I'm really proud of you. Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to talking to you next time.

Bye.