The No Spend Challenge: 7 Tips for Financial Wellness in 2020

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For the month of December I embarked on a “no spend” challenge. Why would I do such a thing? Well, for one we are buying a house and if I’m being totally honest, my Amazon Prime addiction has gotten a little out of control. Plus, December is the season of giving, so it felt like the perfect time to spend less on me and think more about the ones I love.

This challenge not only helped me save money, it taught me a lot about my shopping habits and triggers, as well as strategies to curb my spending and get the best deals. As we head a new decade, I encourage you to consider your own “no spend” challenge to set yourself up for financial wellness in 2020.

Rules of the Challenge:

• No unnecessary purchases for myself.
• No clothes, accessories, makeup, gadgets, books, coffee, office supplies, home decor, or basically anything from Amazon.
• Exceptions include household necessities (i.e. paper towels and shampoo), groceries, and gifts.
• Replacement items must be necessary. For example, instead of buying more face wash, I used up an old bottle that I never finished. And even though a zipper broke on a pair of jeans, I waited for an after-holiday sale to replace them in January.
• Though it wasn’t part of my challenge, I also cut back on going out to eat and ordering take out. I really challenged myself to use what was in the fridge and pantry, and I also ate a lot healthier as a result!

Setting Yourself up for Success

I would be lying if I said this challenge wasn’t difficult. But at times, I made it harder on myself – browsing the dollar spot at Target, knowing that I couldn’t buy anything, and scrolling through online holiday sales with no gift in mind. But there were also several ways I tried to limit my temptations. I un-subscribed from hundreds of store emails using Unroll Me. For every email subscription you have the ability to keep it in your inbox, unsubscribe, OR add it to a “roll-up” of daily emails. That way, if you know you need something from LOFT and you want to search for a sale or coupon, you can. But if you don’t need anything you’re not being bombarded with ads. It is a game changer.

Changing Shopping Habits for Good

Sales will tempt you into buying things you don’t need – I should know, I’m in PR! But they still get me. Doing this challenge made me consider what I actually NEED, what I’d like to have, and what I can live without. Here are the top takeaways from my “no spend” month:

• Identify your triggers. Through the challenge, I learned where my worst triggers are — Starbucks, Target, Amazon — so I can be on defense when I come into contact with them.
• Recognize needs vs. wants. I learned the difference between “needs” and “wants” and now I truly analyze every purchase. Do I really need this item? Would I want this if it wasn’t on sale? A sale should be a win-win — something you wanted at a lower price than you would have paid.
• Keep a list. I make a list in my phone of things I see that I think I want and things I actually need. So, if I come across a good sale, I know if it’s not on my list I probably don’t need it. Most of the time when I revisit the “wants” I don’t even want them anymore.
• Watch price trends. If I’ve got my eye on a big purchase, I will check out the price trends and keep an eye on it using apps like Honey and SlickDeals (i.e. the jeans I mentioned earlier) so I can buy from the right place at the right time.
• Capitalize on freebies! I recently got really into audiobooks. Through the challenge, I learned two great hacks to get them for free! If you download the audible app, you get 2 free book credits. You can also rent audio books for free through your local library using the app, Libby.
• Wait to make a purchase. Though the holiday wrapping paper and glittery gift bags are so tempting every year, I decided not to buy any new wrapping supplies at the beginning of the season. This was a gray area of the challenge, because technically it was gift-related, but I also realized I didn’t know what I really needed until I started wrapping. Once I had almost everything wrapped, I needed just 2 wine bags and 4 gift card holders, which I picked up at ran the Dollar Tree for under $5!
• Don’t settle. How many times have you settled for something only to be disappointed later? Heading into 2020, I had my eye on a new planner, but I had very specific requirements. I was about to settle for a very expensive, but not perfect, custom planner, when a friend recommended The Happy Planner. With Happy Planner you can choose your initial layout and cover and purchase expansion packs and stickers to customize it. I was so excited, I ran out on January 1 and spent an hour in Michael’s picking out all of the perfect add-ons. If you’ve got your eye on something specific, don’t settle until you find it!

I’d encourage you to try your own “no spend” challenge to learn more about your purchasing triggers and change your shopping habits for good. For more inspiration, check out the book “The Year of Less,” by Cait Flanders – I rented it for free from my library on Libby!