It's the last day of March, which means it's the last day of my No Spend Month.
If I'm being completely honest with you guys, I stopped my No Spend sometime a couple weeks ago.
In hindsight, choosing one of the longest months of the year probably wasn't the best month to start a No Spend in.
March meant a whole week with the kids off school and planning for Easter - both which I had to spend some extra money on.
Although I technically stopped the No Spend mid month, I'm still calling this month a success.
What I Learned
- Expenses always pop up unexpectedly when you have kids. (examples: birthday parties, school activities and projects etc.)
- Once you get in the habit of making coffee at home, you don't even miss coffee out.
- And when you to decide to cave and grab a coffee out for the first time in a long time, it becomes this wonderful and exciting treat instead of a necessity.
- Being prepared is EVERYTHING. Meal Plan for the week and you won't be forced to order take out.
- You don't need to spend money to do fun activities with the kids.
- The library offers so many free activities for the kids and you can take out your favourite movies and books for free!
- Doing a No Spend was great for sticking to the list while going grocery shopping. I'm sure I saved a couple hundred dollars this month just by sticking to the items on my list.
- The No Spend isn't a fail if you slip up and spend some days. It's about forming better spending habits. This challenge really made me think before I took my debit card out.
No Spend Month Wins
- Out of the first 20 days I was keeping track we only spent unnecessary money 6 of the days! Considering I used to spend daily, whether it be on coffee or a new shirt etc I'm calling this a huge win.
- We used up a lot of food in our pantry and freezer that we would've never otherwise touched. A great reminder to shop your home before making your grocery list!
Overall, I really loved this challenge!
I was planning to do another No Spend Month in April, but realistically, it probably won't work out as we have a lot of things to pick up for our road trip in May.
I am going to carry on the habits of only spending on Needs in April though, to help save up some extra spending money for our trip.
Would you ever try a No Spend Challenge?