My No Spend Month - Part 1
The desk in my study - with a pen and notebook you can’t go far wrong.
This month is going to be a BIG month. I’ve decided to try out something which I’ve not intentionally done before…. A no spend month. Before you start wondering how on earth this is possible??? There are guidelines/or rules that I’m sticking to (or plan to -it’s only the first of September OK!). But before we get into that here is a little background to my challenge.
Once Upon a Time…
Anyone who knows me knows that I love books, manicures and stationery (if you didn’t then I have successfully fooled you but also who are you?!?!). I enjoy reading self-development books that give me ah-ha moments and breakthroughs. I absorb information fast and reading books will always make me feel like Matilda just without the extreme home life! Manicures allow me to carry around my very own miniature art everywhere I go whilst stationery helps make super boring tasks fun/less mundane (#planner girl here).
That said I reached a point last month where looking around me I was surrounded by pens everywhere, never-ending books towers and my nails are weaker from having polish on all the time. Something has to change right? But what exactly felt needed to change? was the question.
Spending overload…
You know you have too many books when you think to yourself “Ooh I’d like to get a new book” then log into Amazon to buy said book when Amazon neatly tells you - You Purchased this book on 20th July 2018. This made me realise just how many interesting books are sat on my bookshelf either forgotten about or ignored completely when something newer & shinier comes along.
My collection of books. A year of reading here I come!
This pic above is my bookshelf. I decided to take this a step further and write a list of all the books that are unread or more than 50% unread. In the picture there are 22 books I have not read. 22!!!!!!! At my current reading speed of 1 book every 3 weeks that means I have literature for the next 66 weeks. A year of reading is therefore sorted!
The how behind the why……
A no spend month doesn’t mean that I starve or sit at home all day and do nothing to incur no cost. That defeats the purpose and is not sustainable long term. I will still live my life but in a much much simpler way. I will also be looking at creative ways of socialising and having fun without it involving mindless spending. At the end of the day this is what I don’t want. I want my spending to be intentional and have forethought. It is about making sure every penny is used for something worthwhile and not spending on things I don’t need!
The rules….
To keep it simple and achievable my rules/ goals are:
I can spend on food for lunch/ingredients for work days - up to £5 max
Spending on incidentals like toothpaste, moisturiser once run out etc etc is fine (basics only, no fancy things that I can convince myself my skin needs!)
Make do with what I have, I have plenty of sample products in my bathroom cupboard - time to use them up!
Boredom can be solved by things that don’t cost money - exercise, Skype call with friends, doodling, reading one of those 22 books!! and so on. My Do You list also comes in here:)
Daily check-ins with my Powersheets (pictured below) goal planner and posting stories on Instagram for accountability
NO spending on stationery, manicures, books on Amazon, chocolate, crisps or other “tiny” things that make up impulse buys.
Initial thoughts and feelings….
I am not going to lie, in theory this all sounds fabulous but the reality of it is something else! A month of no spending means I will have more saved up right? Yes but there is also the mental aspect of it. Telling myself I can’t spend is like saying I’m restricting what I can do which is NOT the case. My reason for doing the challenge is to take a long hard look at what is already around me and appreciate it. There is SO much that I can do that doesn’t involve money and this is what I forgot along in the journey of pursuing a corporate life (a.k.a keeping up with the Jones).
For the next 3 weeks I will be posting a weekly blog post with updates on how my no spend month is going. I’m quite excited to use this challenge as a starting to point to see what other opportunities it creates like mindset shifts and positivity. Thinking you need money is a mindset and thinking you don’t need money is also a mindset. It’s about employing the right mindset at the right time.
Fancy joining me for this challenge? Say hello in the comments and let me know if you have any questions. (don’t forget to subscribe for updates when each post goes live!)