NO Spend Month Challenge

Happy March 1st, Friends! 

I am so excited for March because it means Spring is around the corner and so is our 20 hour road trip!!

I'm also excited to invite you all to do the 

NO Spend Challenge with me starting TODAY!

Why Do A No Spend Month?!

The WHY will be different for each of you.

Maybe you are trying to pay down debt, get into the habit of spending less, or want to become aware of which areas you can be cutting back on - it will be different for each one of you.

Our Family of five ( and my mom ) are travelling to Tulsa, OK & Chicago, IL this May on a 20 hour road trip (I'll share more about that in another post).

We have already paid for our accommodations, but I thought it would be a fun idea to do a NO Spend Month for the month of March to help us save a bit of extra spending money!

So that is our WHY.

Haven't Heard Of A NO Spend Month?

No Problem! I'll explain it to you! 

Basically, for a WHOLE month you commit to NO unnecessary spending what so ever! 

Now this is going to look different for every individual and family doing this challenge, YOU make your own rules.

How Do I Start?

I sat down and came up with TWO lists and I suggest you do the same to get started.

You need a CAN BUY list that includes all the things you are allowing yourself to spend money on during the challenge and a CAN'T BUY list of all the things you will not be spending money on during the challenge.

Here are my lists:

CAN BUY

MORTGAGE

UTILITIES

GAS

FOOD 

SCHOOL EXPENSES 

EMERGENCIES 

BIRTHDAY GIFTS

CAN'T BUY

TAKE OUT

CLOTHING/ACCESSORIES

COSMETICS

TOYS

HOUSEWARES/DECOR

ACTIVITIES/EVENTS

Some people choose to go VERY extreme with this and only allow themselves to stock up on groceries before a NO Spend Month and only allow themselves to buy fresh produce, milk etc during the challenge. 

I am not doing this, but I did lower our grocery budget quite significantly and I'm going to stick to that new budget!

I also lowered my monthly GAS bill down from $200 to $80!

I believe I can do this by planning out my shopping better, and walking the kids to school instead of driving.

ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER

I have created a PRIVATE Facebook Group for anyone joining this Challenge with me as a place where we can share our journey, challenges and successes with each other. 

You can Join HERE.

Will You Be Joining Me This Month?
Use the hashtag #kelseydianenospend

And for those of you who have been asking, YES, I am still doing the 40 Bags In 40 Days Challenge.

I did take a few days off of it, but I will be back at it today tackling my front hall closet! 

I will share an update on the blog sometime next week with you all as well. 

I think the NO Spend Challenge goes perfectly with the 40 Bags In 40 Days Challenge as well, because it will keep me busy, and allow me to sell some items to put towards my savings!