Sitting down to work my December budget, a feeling of dread came over me.
While I normally look forward to this monthly ritual, a budget meeting with myself as a single mom, my income for November was considerably lower than the months previous. That meant I had less to work with for December.
Financial anxiety, my constant companion last year in the months around my divorce, came back with a vengeance. After a few days of feeling sorry for myself, I realized that thankfully, I know how to deal with this.
I decided to make December a no spend month.
Other than necessities such as monthly bills, I didn’t spend money. We didn’t eat out once all month. I stayed out of coffee shops, bought no clothes for myself, and despite being mistaken for Bigfoot, skipped my monthly *pedicure.
I even sold a few unneeded items on Facebook marketplace to pay for Christmas gifts.
And I didn’t die.
The no spend month went so well, I decided to do it again to launch 2024. I’m joining forces with the Frugalwoods, who do an Uber frugal month challenge every January on their blog and Facebook group.
There’s something freeing about limits. They help unlock creativity, for one. I love a month-long challenge. A month is enough time to create significant change, but not so long that it becomes a drag. You can endure anything for a month!
Table of contents
How To Do an Uber Frugal Month
Doing a no spend month isn’t hard, but you can make the process smoother (and even fun) with a few preparations.
Why Tho?
Why are you doing a no spend challenge?
He who has a strong enough why can bear almost any how.
Simon Sinek
What’s the point of this temporary deprivation? Do you want to create an emergency fund? Pay off a debt? Buy something cute and fancy for your home? Go on vacation? Start investing?
For me, the point of doing an Uber frugal month is to reset automatic behavior around money, with the objective of maximizing happiness.
Put your why in writing, somewhere you’ll see it daily. A Post-It on your credit card. Your planner. Mirror where you get ready in the bathroom. Your refrigerator. Create visual reminders, change the lock screen on your phone, etc.
My “why” is that I want to bump my savings account. I had to dip into it to pay the deductible on my homeowner’s insurance for flooding due to water heater failure and roof repairs.
After articulating the why, ask, “why does that matter“? For me, having a fully loaded emergency fund gives me peace of mind, a feeling of safety. And that’s far more important to me than pretty toenails and such. (At least, until summer!)
Be Honest
Take an honest look at your spending. I use Empower (formerly Personal Capitol) to track all the transactions from my banks and credit cards. So, I know exactly how much I spend in various categories.
I also like to keep a page in my Bullet Journal where I list “stupid stuff I bought“. It’s a pretty short list, thankfully, but writing it highlights where I might be engaging in emotional spending (typically, an attempt to manage painful emotions), or spending that’s out of alignment with my values.
What’s unusual about this month?
You might have some quarterly or annual expenses coming up.
For example, I’ll be paying an accountant to do my taxes in January. My quarterly trash service bill is due. I also need two new tires for my car. My utilities will go up, as my January bill is historically higher due to colder temps (you can access this information on your utility company’s website).
Those are a-ok expenditures, even in an uber frugal month.
In addition, I increased my automated investments in Vanguard for January and moving forward for the rest of 2024. This is because Roth IRA contribution limits are going up by $500. That means you’ll be able to stash away up to $7,000 in a Roth IRA in 2024 (up from $6,500 in 2023).
Decide.
Decide to spend only on necessities during a no-spend month. Necessities are things like your rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurances, and health expenses.
What are you going to eliminate for the month? For me, eating out, coffee shops, pedicures, clothing, gifts, books (my preciousssssss) and household shopping are no-nos.
Triggered!
What are your temptations to spend? And how will you address those? Plan ahead so your financial ship isn’t dashed into the rocks.
I mentioned that books are important to me, and buying them makes me happy. But for a month, I can get all my reading material from the library. To keep myself in good reading material, I put several books on hold. This way I won’t be tempted to spend money on books.
I’m also re-reading a couple of books I already own, that I read during a particularly traumatic time in my life. I know I’ll get more out of them the second time around. (Here’s one, if you’re curious.) That’ll do me just fine.
Get Creative
One thing I don’t want is to create deprivation or resentment in my children. You can do a no spend month and still have a life (hence the title of this post!).
Just because I won’t be eating out in January, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with our food. We can create more enjoyment around eating by trying new and fun dishes.
Recently, I served the kids “Waffle Bar” breakfast. I made homemade waffles from scratch, with all the fixings: pecans, berries, whipped cream, mini chocolate chips, syrup. It was a big hit.
I’ll keep ingredients on hand for homemade pizza when they get a craving for pie. Even they agree that homemade tastes better.
Getting creative with free entertainment will require some advance planning. There are a ton of websites that you can peruse, just Google “free stuff to do in [your town] this weekend“. You can also add the qualifier “with kids” for family friendly fun.
Speaking of the library, mine offers several free passes to local attractions such as the zoo, puppet show, state parks, theaters and more.
Sometimes, I think taking a break from activities is a good idea. Kids are scheduled to the hilt these days, and school is a full-time job. There’s nothing wrong, and many things right, about chilling at home doing puzzles, playing cards, making cocoa and baking, painting with watercolors, running around outside, napping and daydreaming.
Declutter
Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.
WWII War Advertising Council Slogan
A no-spend month is a great time to use up things you have duplicates of. Do a cook from the pantry or freezer challenge. (This is a great use for A.I. Simply tell it what ingredients you have on hand and ask it to create a menu.)
Take everything out of your bathroom cabinets, drawers, pantries and storage closets. Inventory canned and dried goods, household cleaning products, toiletries and makeup, and use them up before you buy more.
*In addition to the savings, there’s another benefit to skipping my pedicure: I’m giving my toenails a chance to breathe! I’d kept them painted for so long, they developed spots.
I’ll update this post through January as Uber Frugal Month continues. (You can see my last January no spend month from 2019 here.) If you decide to join in, let me know in the comments. And maybe I’ll see you in the Frugalwoods’ Facebook group!
No Spend January Week One Update
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- A friend texted me asking if we could meet for lunch. I told her I’d love to, and that I was doing a no spend month. I suggested she come to my place or we plan a picnic, weather permitting. She agreed, and offered to bring her famous salmon avocado dip. Bonus!
I’m pleased with myself for sticking to my plan while also valuing friendship, and for not being embarrassed by my no spend goal. My friend said she’d been inspired by my previous no spend months and wants to do her own this year. Here’s to loud and proud frugality! - Cooked a delicious ham and white bean soup. The beans were freezer leftovers from my beans for a month challenge. The ham was leftover from Xmas dinner.
- Sold unwanted books to 2nd & Charles, so had a credit. I redeemed it for two large jigsaw puzzles. During the lockdown, the kids and I discovered we enjoy doing puzzles together, so I try to keep a new one around during school holidays.
- I didn’t eat out in December, and when I did my budget for January, I discovered I’d saved a considerable amount of money. I was so happy with that, I decided to treat the kids to Whataburger. A location just opened in our area and they’d been asking to go. I spent $25, but still consider this a win. That will be our only restaurant experience this month. I went to Trader Joe’s and bought some of their favorite things, so they won’t miss eating out.
- Sold a load of clothing to a consignment shop.
- I decided to start checking my Empower account daily instead of a couple of times a month. Tracking creates mindfulness, and makes it easier for me to improve in different areas. I keep a simple habit tracker page in my Bullet Journal to keep tabs on my daily exercise and other habits. For me it acts as an accountability partner. (Tracking my time was also a life-changing exercise.)
It’s been fun to log into Empower and see no transactions most days! - I made a list of fun, free things to do with the kids this month, and subscribed to an email newsletter that notifies me of local activities.
- I couldn’t squeeze any more out of my tube of nighttime moisturizer, so I cut it in half and used it another two weeks. I simply stick one end inside the other to “reseal” it.
Week Two
- Took the kids to a museum nearby (free). We ate at home all weekend.
- Pancakes are our ritual on Saturday morning. This time I used three overripe bananas to make yummy banana oat blender pancakes.
- I listed a couple of clothing items on PoshMark. (Use my referral link, and get a $10 credit.) My daughters told me it’s easier to use than eBay, and I agree.
- I redeemed a credit from my QuickSilver cash back rewards card. It’s my favorite card at the moment You can earn a $200 cash back bonus when you open one and meet certain requirements.
- Watched a movie on Tubi. Free. There are a ton of titles there saved to my list.
- I did some Marie-Kondo style decluttering in my bedroom/office. I’d already seen her Tidying Up (2019) episodes, so I watched her latest Sparking Joy (2021) on Netflix. I could watch Marie all day! She’s so calming but also motivating! For me, decluttering is like reverse shopping. It gives me the feel-goods for free.
Speaking of retail therapy, you might enjoy this article on what to do instead of shop.
NOTE on Weeks Three and Four
For some unknown reason, the content I’d written for weeks 3 and 4 disappeared from my blog (shakes fist towards the heavens!). I can’t remember what I did those weeks, so this post is incomplete. So sorry! I’m sure at some point I’ll live-blog another no spend month.
WordPress, mocking me.
A few of my favorite personal finance resources. I personally use and love these tools!
- Invest small amounts of money and get $20 in free stocks with Stash.
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, plus a $200 cash bonus with the CapitalOne QuickSilver rewards credit card
- Get up to $300 for opening a SoFi checking account
- Earn free travel with a Delta SkyMiles credit card
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