The No Spend Challenge

[iac1003]

I did a no-spend month once while getting out of debt while doing the Dave Ramsey plan.

We were living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with a weekend house in the Poconos. We ate from the freezer and the pantry. I got very creative with cooking and used up almost everything I had. I think my husband must have bought some milk (I don't partake). I can't recall.

I don't really feel I need to do that again. But it's nice to know I could do it.


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[Sarah in SC]

I've done it in the past, when we were really watching every penny to get the house paid off, and found it a great exercise. About a week was what I aimed for, for groceries and absolute necessities.
Need to do it again soon, to stay in practice! Thanks for the nudge!

 

[Live And Learn]

I do not have the typical "love to shop" gene that seems to occur in most women... I hate shopping. I do the grocery shopping because I have to... but I have it down to a science - hit costco 10 minutes before they nominally open (they usually open 10 minutes early) - work my list, and be out the door in under 30 minutes. I then swing by sprouts (produce store) on the way home and grab any produce I need to infill, and milk. This happens weekly. Going as it opens allows me to get less annoyed by the crowds that build up by lunch...

I don't go to malls often and when I do, I'm miserable. I don't go to boutiques. I don't even like going to Home Depot. I will go to Target a few times a year - to infill kids clothes and shoes.

That said - I buy stuff on amazon. Today a package of toilet valves arrived. I don't see any reason to delay purchases - and free shipping with prime makes it entirely painless. I do compare prices online first - since Amazon isn't always cheapest.

.

I think you are my long lost twin sister !

 

[Walt34]

Does a $6 LED count as an impulse?

No, it's a shrewd buy. Unless you find it for less somewhere else next week, in which case it was a poorly thought out impulse buy.

 

[imoldernu]

Never consciously chose this, but noticed a couple years ago that when we are at the cabin, we spend way less money, as "town" is a bit of a drive. I remember realizing and thinking we should spend even more time there, as we do save money!

+1
In the early years... 1989 to about 2000, we lived in our Park model in the campground for 6mo/yr. Not necessarily for money purposes, but because grocery shopping was 25 mi. away and more of a nuisance than not... Plus, we were living a very happy life with other young ER's and shared the small necessities... eggs, milk etc when we ran short. We also learned to use dry milk... (the way we did during WWII).
Now, with shopping 1/4 mile away, it's just a fun experience... so, this afternoon... back down to Aldi's for some $.49 avacado(es)?

 

[FUEGO]

If we don't count monthly bills, then we go a week without spending any money fairly often. I normally shop for groceries once a week for the family. Sometimes that is our only "out of pocket" expense for the week. However I just as often walk down to one of the grocery stores just to pick up a few things I missed on my weekly shopping trip.

 

[pullmyfinger]

But I question how much money is really being saved; don't we simply build-up demand while we delay purchases?

That is true for us. Since we have been tracking every penny spent for 10+ years the urge for impulse shopping is pretty much exterminated. Now an impulse purchase is on a hot day after walking to the grocery store asking "Hey do you want an ice cream bar?". When I was much younger keeping out of the stores definitely = spending less money. I do think this exercise has value for the general population that is prone to window shopping that often leads to impulse shopping.

I used to have an alternative game that I played in my 20's when I was trying to pay off my house quickly. I was active duty military stationed overseas and making far more money than I ever had before. I would basically make extra payments for the house over the phone through the phone banking system (this was the 90's) and put every last dollar I could scrape together toward the house. It was not unusual for me to have $20 in my checking account and one week until payday. I actually found this "fun". Sure I ate lots and lots of cheerios. And my boot socks had holes in them. It did pay off financially, despite the 7.75% interest rate I only paid about $4k in interest. And I paid it off in 2 years. Did I mention my diet during those 2 years was cheerios?

I asked DH a while ago if he wanted to see how long we could make $20 last. He looked at me like I was completely mad!

 

[Elbata]

My All Time Low gasoline expenditure was 2002 when I spent $23.10 on gas that yr.

Razztazz, that's impressive. I have a scotter that gets 85MPG. With your short hops, you could probably get it down to $10/year.

I went on a fast for 14 days one time. Didn't buy anything either during that time.

 

[scrabbler1]

But I question how much money is really being saved; don't we simply build-up demand while we delay purchases?

To some degree, yes. While I can often go close to a week without spending any money, when I do shopping to do errands it will become a small shopping spree because I have bunched together many stops besides simple groceries. But.......by delaying my food shopping I can often wait for some items to go on sale and load up on them in bulk. Also, by bunching together my errands, I save money on gas by making only one trip.