At the end of December I started to see to few posts on instagram about “No Spend January.” Basically the idea is to go a whole month without frivolous spending. Obviously you need to still pay your bills, but the goal, for me at least, was to cut out all of the extras. This meant no online shopping, no nonessentials at the grocery store, and no eating out. I added in one of our own rules for sanity reasons and that was to allow 3 pizza nights for the month of January. I know that this probably wasn’t necessary but feeding your family at home three meals a day everyday for a month is A LOT so I gave myself a little grace on this. We also usually do very cheap take-out pizza, (Little Caesars Hot and Readys at $5.00 a pizza) so this wasn’t going to make or break my experiment. Attending local ball-games was also an allowance, but I encouraged the kids to purchase their own snacks to try to cut down on the cost and teach them a bit about spending in the process. Here’s what I learned from our month of limited spending….
1. It isn’t as hard as it sounds. My husband had zero faith I could pull this off, but once I embraced it, it really wasn’t that hard. I am also competitive so the fact that Kevin didn’t think I could survive a month without Amazon was very motivating. I think sometimes we feel like we need stuff or things to make us happy or to survive, but that just isn’t true. Seriously if your basic needs are met, then you can absolutely do this.
2. Eating out is expensive. The five of us really don’t eat out too often all together. First of all there are 5 of us, and 3 kids at a restaurant really can take the fun out of eating out. So it wasn’t a big deal to not go out and eat, but I did realize how often we were ordering in, or how often myself and one of the boys would grab a quick lunch together. Those quick trips to get subway or chicken nuggets really do add up.
3. There are some things I just don’t want to live without. I could decide to never color my hair and just let it go natural…Maybe even let Kevin trim it like he does for the boys BUT I AM NEVER EFFING going to do that. I also really like clothes, but I am so guilty of buying things in the moment and not really ever considering if A. I really love the piece, and B. if I will ever have some place to wear it. I think it is just so important to prioritize your spending for each month and not go overboard.
4. There is some freedom in not allowing yourself to spend money. For instance when you get hit up on social media or when the Schwann Man comes to your door you have the power to easily say no thanks we are trying to stick within a tight budget this month. I mean obviously you always have that option, but sometimes it can feel unsupportive to just flat out say “no thanks”. Please know that I really really do like supporting small businesses and fellow female entrepreneurs, and I am never going to turn away a girl scout but you do not have to monetarily support everything that comes your way. Just be supportive in other ways if now is not a good time for you to buy something. People always understand this, and there should be no guilt felt on your end for sticking to a budget.
5. Lastly, I need to stop spending so much money on my children. I try to keep it under control, I really do, but they end up with way more clothes than they need, too many toys, and just too much stuff in general. I’m sure after the holidays everyone feels like this, but this year I am cutting way back on clothes for my kids. Instead I am going to think carefully about what each boy needs specifically going into a new season, then go through the hand-me downs, adjust my list, and go from there. I also don’t have a problem spending a bit more on higher quality items if I know they will last longer, and if they can be handed down. It just would be nice to simplify their closets a bit more.
A few random notes…this is just my takeaway after a month of no spending. Obviously do whatever the hell you want to do with your money, but if you are thinking about giving this try, I highly recommend it. It was so good for us!!! That being said, it really is only going to make a long term difference if I take what I learned and apply it every single month. I won’t be as strict on spending as I was this month, but the key moving forward is to prioritize my spending. If I know we are going out to dinner over the weekend, then make it a point to eat at home for every other meal that week. Shop my closest before I shop online. Also cart it now and buy it later. (I’m pretty sure I made this term up) Add what you think you need to your online shopping cart then give yourself a day or two to decide if it is really essential before you buy it. I did this a few times over the course of the month with the intention of going back in February and pulling the trigger. Guess what? I don’t even know what store it was that I put those items in the cart which means, it was so not essential.
The point is to be mindful about where our money is going and evaluate it at the end of the month, not the end of the year. Know the reason why you are trying to save money. Is it for a trip? To pay off debt? To put towards a big ticket item? Give yourself a goal so it doesn’t feel like you are going without, but just going to something more important. Lastly, give yourself some grace and if you really want something, and it is within your budget then make the purchase and don’t feel guilty about it.
*Full disclosure, we did have a few cheats…My parents came to town and took the boys and I out to dinner. I didn’t spend any money on it, but we were able to enjoy a meal out on them. Also last weekend I bought a 6 pack of white-claw because I’m basic like that. Although I didn’t buy anything that I deemed as unnecessary at the grocery store, I also didn’t strictly budget for groceries. I figured since we would be eating at home, I would need to make sure we had enough to eat. This month I am going to give myself an exact amount for groceries now that I know what we roughly spend.