Spend Nothing Challenge - A month long budgeting diet

Whether you’re trying to save up for something special, cut down on costs, live a bit more simply, or just trying to make ends meet, a Spend Nothing Challenge for a month can be a great way to do that.

After all the buying, receiving and indulging of December, I was thinking my family was ready for a diet of sorts. A diet of the wallet, and bank account. I’ve been researching this and it sounds like it could be a fun way to do it as a family.

You can still spend on necessities of course, you’ll still have to pay bills, buy gas, groceries etc.   You can choose to set a lower budget for those if possible, walk more if you can and so on. A big part of it for us will be to try to focus on what we have in the pantry and freezers – buy the fresh stuff we need, but for the main part use what we already have.

Another one is no going out to eat, no takeout, no delivery, no coffee on the go. Can brew at home, come up with quick meals to do here – and use up holiday giftcards too for a few treats during the month.

Really taking a look at what we spend is another one, is something a necessity, can it be skipped or find another solution. No new books, clothes, movies, toys, art supplies etc. for a month shouldn’t be too hard to do. And if anything is needed, can always get creative too. Borrow from a friend or family member, make things, fix stuff up, join a trading site and so on.

It’s also a great time to do a big house and garage cleaning – clean out the kids rooms too – list things on Kijiji to offset any extras you were wanting.

Another way to offset it and prolong the savings is to try to get bills lowered – cell phone promotions, you can try to get your tv, internet or home phone bill reduced, take a look at insurance policies and see if any money can be saved there too. Make a list of monthly spending and see what can go, or be lowered.

Finding free activities is another good one – check out the library for books, movies, magazines, video games and even free classes at some. Go to places where you might have a membership, free days at events, more time outside, puzzles, game nights etc.

And make sure to plan for exceptions and be flexible if you can. Certain things will come up, and some things just need to be paid when they do.

I think just taking a month to figure out finances, learn to budget a bit better and see what can easily be eliminated is a great idea! I’m guessing there will be some tough choices, but probably a lot of lessons learned to be carried over into other months.

Does your family do this on a regular basis? What does your list look like?

And to see how it ended – make sure to check out the Spend Nothing Challenge Update.