Whoop, whoop. We love challenges – money challenges, walking challenges, workout challenges! We’ve shared a ton of challenges but this is our first no spend challenge and we are so excited to introduce you to this concept!
If you find yourself struggling to pay your bills or if you only have a tiny bit left over after paying your bills, you might want to take a look at your spending habits. Most people can identify the large purchases that destroy savings accounts but the small purchases that many people do not think about have the ability to do the same thing.
Believe it or not, there are things you can do in your free time that don’t cost money. 😉 People always ask us how we afford to go on trips so often. We choose to place emphasis on experiences rather than things and we don’t let small purchases take over.
For this challenge you choose the length. You can do the no spend challenge for one weekend, one week, one month, or even an entire year (yes, I’ve seen it done!).
There are some exceptions to the no spend challenge. You can buy/spend money on items that you need such as groceries, gas, and bills. This challenge is meant to completely cut out spending on things like clothes, shoes, eating out, buying coffee/tea, etc.
After you complete a fitness challenge you shouldn’t go out and eat everything in sight and not workout again. After this challenge you shouldn’t go out and buy every single thing you wanted to buy. Write down what you did want to spend money on and be as specific as possible. Think about why you really wanted that item. After your spending challenge is over, I bet most of the items you wanted you are no longer interested in.
Looking for a printable version of this challenge? We’ve got you covered! Join our newsletter and you will be taken to a black and white printable version right away! Grab the printable challenge here.
No Spend Money Saving Challenge Ideas (to do instead of spend money!)
- Volunteer: animal shelter, boys & girls club, local trash clean-up
- Read a book: Here is a link to our favorite books
- Go to the park
- Watch a movie
- Visit your local library: You can pick out a book to read or a movie to watch at your local library!
- Play a board game or card game: Get your spouse or friends together to play games. You could even color or put together a puzzle!
- Get creative: What did you like to do as a kid? Did you like to color, draw, paint, or write? You should start doing it again!
- Get active: This is the perfect time for you to start a new hobby of working out! We have a TON of free workouts on the website and even offer complete workout plans. The main point is to just get up and move though!
- Declutter/organize: Need help with this one? Use our list of 10 Things to Get Rid of for a Clutter-Free Home and our 30-Day Minimalism Challenge to get started!
- Sell: Why not use this time to make some extra cash? Sell your unwanted or unused items! There are plenty of websites and apps that make this possible! You could use eBay or even a free resource like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
