I remember going to my husband years ago with a 12 credit cards confession. Honey, I have $25k in credit card debt. Not the thing you want to hear around Christmas time, but it was the truth, and I had hid it from him. You see, in my depression and anxiety, I would spend money to make myself feel better, only putting our family in a pit of financial despair. It was a December, and the next January started my journey to debt freedom! So I started it with a no spend month, and it changed my life. It set the tone for the rest of the year. That month I paid off 2-3 credit cards just by intentionally ONLY spending on what we agreed upon! And now friend, we are starting the New Year with only 1 credit card left! In just 2 years, we have paid off over $20k in debt! WOoohoo! And I share that story because no matter where you are in your finance journey, IT IS POSSIBLE! So how do you do a no spend month?
Grab This Printable Now
Determine your finance goals first! (click here for FREE NO SPEND printable and Finance Goal sheets) Write down your finance goals. If you have a spouse, talk to him or her about what your finance goals are first! If you are single, decide what your finance goals are! Is it to save $1000 for an Emergency Fund? Is it to create margin in your budget? Is it to save for a trip? Decide what your goals are first so that you assess where your money will go at the end of your spend month!
Determine what you will spend money on! So for the month of January our To Spend list:
groceries, gas, bills, toiletry, pet needs, medical needs/needs
kids sports necessities/registration
boy secondhand pants (they grew over the Christmas break so nothing fits)
braces
educational needs
1-2 Family treats (ice cream, dessert, family outing)
Sister’s birthday gift
Hubby haircut (if he decides to cut his Corona hair)
Next determine what is not included in your No Spend month. So for the month of January our No Spend list things that are not necessities:
NO eating out/restaurants
NO Target trips without a list or purpose
NO clothing (outside of kids pants needs)
NO shoes
NO home decor
NO Starbucks runs
NO apps or movies or Apple purchases
No new games or subscriptions
No swiping the debit card outside of gas (and if we don’t have cash on hand)
Use cash for your different spend categories. For us, we spend less when we use cash and take out the cash for the different budget categories. So yesterday, I took out $150 for our groceries for the week! I will do the same for our other categories. By using cash, you are bound to spend significantly less.
Join others for accountability. I am joining my friend Kelly from Simple Home Mom! Join us and tag us using the #simplynospendmonth! We would love for you to join our zero spend month and share your tips too as we kick off the new year with focus and intention in our finances!
Are you ready to have the best year yet in your finances friend!? Grab my free 13 page FInance Goals printables with No Spend Sheets, Savings trackers and so much more! Click here or below!
Until next time friend,
Shelly
