January No Spend

No Spend January is exactly what it says on the tin.

A no-spend January is a type of money-saving challenge where you don’t spend any money on unnecessary things for the entire month. This includes things like nights out, new clothes, and takeout. Instead, you focus on spending only on essentials like rent, groceries, and utilities.

I find it a brilliant way to kick start your new year and take control of your personal finances from the ground up.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have heard of the no-spend year experience. While I take my hat off to any one who has completed this, I also know and feel it is not for me. Why not when I am the budgeting queen? Because I personally lived it by actual need rather than as a challenge. It wasn’t one year but 3.5 grueling hard years where I had looming credit card debts and a capped social welfare of 277euro a week, a mortgage, 3 children under 7 in full time childcare, all while putting myself through college to become a nurse.

Even writing this down gives me stress of the struggle. I remember the feeling of lack and I remember the feeling as a parent of never being able to provide what my children needed. So to put it simply, I will never do the NO SPEND YEAR, until the only people I have to look after are me and me alone.

A no spend month is different. Apart from the biggest difference being the time period, it can be used as a starting point to your personal financial goals. It is a kick start to getting you to better financial health. In the medical field we often give what is called a stat dose. A slightly higher dose of medication to boost the patients health quickly and this is exactly what a January No Spend is.

The duration and rules of a no spend challenge may vary but the general idea is always the same. The idea is to live without buying anything other than essentials during that timeframe.

WHY DO A NO SPEND?

Think of it as a financial detox. It’s January and your bombed with every kind of detox for every aspect of your health, so why not jump on the bandwagon of detoxing your financial health. This is not a permanent solution that can fix all your money troubles, but it an excellent way to shake up bad money habits like emotional spending or impulse buying.

If you have made it a personal goal to stop spending money on stuff you don’t need, money challenges like this make saving money easier and more fun. This is even more true when your doing it amongst peers which is what you are doing with ‘my buy me a coffee’ and my social media community’s.

This challenge will flex your ‘do not spend money’ muscles which in turn can encourage growth and progress when it comes to budgeting and frugal living even when your not participating in a challenge.

1. THEY HELP YOU SAVE MONEY
2. YOU CAN SAVE A LOT OF MONEY AT ONCE. There is no better way to save a lot of money at once than by not spending it.
3. MONEY CHALLENGES FIGHT BAD SPENDING HABITS. Almost everyone has their weaknesses and bad spending habits are up there with one of the harder ones to break. While this challenge may not cure you for good, it will start to break the bad habit. Who knows, you might even discover that you enjoy not spending money and dive headfirst into minimalist living.
4. TO HELP YOU PAY OFF DEBT. A no spend month can help you get out of debt faster. Living with debt can be stressful, especially after Christmas so this will help get you back on track.

THE RULES:

First rule of the no spend month, is there are no rules!! What I mean by this is, I don’t set the rules but you do. Each and everyone of us have things  in our life’s that we see as essential but the next person may not. So the tip here is you make your own rules.

The one thing I will say is make your rules BEFORE you start. Set your start date, your rules, write them out and it is READY, STEADY, GO!

This is the prefect way to start the New Year the right way.

Are you pumped yet? I hope you are.

THE STEPS:

1. Before you start your challenge, get clear on your why? Is it to pay off debt, start an emergency fund, kick start your sinking funds or have a weekend in Paris. Whatever it is, write it down on my downloadable no spend template. A clear goal will keep you on track.
2. Choose a start date. The templates start on the 1st of January so I suggest this date.
3. Set your end date.
4. Set your no spend rules. What you cut and allow is up to you. I am cutting Netflix multi room but I am not going to tell you to cut out sky tv. You decide yourself.
5. Halt your spending and start tracking. What is coming in and what is going out. This is where it is important to be strict with yourself and commit to this no spend challenge. So put the willpower into overdrive and stay strong. Remember YOU CAN DO IT! Put as many barriers to spending into place as you need because the harder you make it to spend money, means the less likely you will be to do it.
6. Track your no buy progress DAILY.
7. Analyze your experience. If you break the rules its ok. No one is prefect but do brush it off as blip and get back on the game.

EXTRA TIPS:

• Research free activities in your area.
• Meal plan for the month. Why? Preparation is key. By planning for the full month you will be less likely to buy takeaways or overspend on your food shop.
• Gather recipes that are cheap to make so your ready for the month ahead.
• Put your money away to reduce temptation. Only leave enough in your current account to cover your direct debits.
• Try doing a monthly budget even if you usually budget by paycheck. This will give you a feel of potential savings and keep you on track by having foresight to your saving potential.
• Use my templates. Pop them on the fridge, kitchen press or where you will see them on a regular basis. Remember to tick off each day that you complete and write down how much you spent that was non essential spending.
• Use my self care plan. This does not have to be used in order but do aim to complete one task on the plan a day.
• Do not go into this with a sense of doom. This meant to be fun. It will have many rewards by the end of the month and will show you exactly what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.

FINALLY:

For me, the no spend January is a kickstart to my new financial year. I know I have one social engagement and one birthday in January so these will go into my January budget. Apart from this I am going hardcore. I will show my spending tracker in ‘The Budget with Me Club’ on the ‘buy me a coffee app’ to help keep you all motivated. My why is to start the new year on my best foot forward. It is easier for me to tell you what is allowed than what is not. For me it will only be essentials such as bills, heating and food. There will be zero social, clothes, eating out, takeaways, alcohol. Put it simply I am going cold turkey here.

I am planning 3 no spend months in 2023. January, July and October so even if you don’t join me this time, there is always the next go.

Please remember you do not need to go as hardcore as me. You decide what your going to outlaw in your budget. You don’t even need to do the full month. A fortnight, a week or even the odd day can work. It is completely up to you but I will be here cheering you on regardless!

Happy New Year everyone.

Don’t forget to go to the budget shop to download your free templates to keep you on track.