A Review of my No Spend Month

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?