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No-Spend January

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No-Spend January

It’s almost the start of a new year, friends! Can you believe it? I’m really having a hard time believing it’s almost 2020.

 

With a new year, starts a new beginning with lots of new adventures, opportunities, etc. Over the holidays, I started to realize how my spending has went a little out of control. Anyone with me?

 

Thinking back to all of the unnecessary coffee trips, buying snacks and sweet treats that I didn’t need, lots of fast food pickups…I noticed the theme. My money goes to food!

 

I am a lover of coffee and food, and this proves it gets me into trouble. I’m very ready to make some big changes this year with my spending. When I originally realized I needed to do something to make this better, I started searching on Pinterest for ways to track spending.

 

I came across a pin for a “No-Spend Month.” I hadn’t heard of it before and was interested in learning more. After my revelation with too much spending, making this a no-spend January sounded like just what I needed to help me adjust to a new way of spending this year.

 

Only spending money on necessities, which unfortunately does not include Starbucks. 😉

 

Just in case some of you are experiencing the same thing right now, I’m sharing with you my process for getting better at spending. Since I’m just starting out, this process may evolve over time as I see what works best. I’d also love to hear any of your suggestions in the comments or via email, too!! I can use all the help and motivation I can help, friends!

 

1. Create a Tracking Spreadsheet for No-Spend January

No-Spend January

 

Before I ventured into what my necessities were and how much I could spend on each item, I wanted to have a solid foundation for my tracking.

 

I’m a visual person, so having an efficient but pretty spreadsheet was important to me. I found this spreadsheet on Google Sheets (example above of what you’ll see when you open the template) and wrote out all of the possible places where my money could go, so I’d have a place for every dollar I spend.

 

This spreadsheet even has a transactions tab! This is something I wanted to keep track of, as well.

 

Budget Sheet 2

 

The only thing I want to add, and I’ll just make another tab for it, is the actual breakdown of the items I purchased within a transaction. That way, I can see if I spent money on something I don’t typically buy or have to buy often, etc.

 

2. Determine Necessities

 

These items will be the only things that I can spend money on for this month. I am both excited and scared at the same time, but I have to believe that at the beginning of February, I’m going to be thankful for setting these financial boundaries!

 

My Necessities:

  •  Bills
  •  Gas
  •  Draino’s Food & Litter
  •  Groceries
  •  Toiletries
  •  Medicine

 

To keep myself in check, I made a list of non-necessities that have been soaking up my money recently.

 

Not Necessities:

  •  Fast Food
  •  Coffee
    • I will still buy ground coffee from the grocery store, but not any of the pre-made drinks from Starbucks, McDonalds, Tim Horton’s, etc.
  •  Clothes
  •  Shoes
  •  Bottled Soda Drinks
    • Not ready to give up soda yet, but it’s much cheaper to buy in bulk instead of $1.89+ per 20 oz. bottle
  •  Candy/Sweets

 

3. Figure Out Money Traps & Find Alternative Spending

 

Budget

 

You can probably see a theme for me in this scenario: food and drinks! Truly, most of my money is spent on those items, so if I can avoid those pitfalls and find better at-home alternatives, I think I’ll see a big improvement financially.

 

For my alternative spending, I am going to work on DIY versions of things I usually buy at fast food places.

 

My newest obsession has been iced caramel macchiatos from McDonalds. So I’m going to try a recipe with my Starbucks Whole Bean Coffee from home to see if it satisfies the craving, plus helps me save money!

 

For my fast food pickup obsession, I am going to be meal planning to combat this awful habit. I bought an Erin Condren LifePlanner over the holidays and am going to use it to help me achieve this goal.

[mailerlite_form form_id=1]

 

4. Set a Budget for Necessities

 

I don’t remember seeing this in a no-spend month, however, I’m adding it into my no-spend January. I feel like this is the perfect time to be more conscious of how much I’m spending on things – in particular, groceries.

 

While groceries are necessary, some items that I pick up at the store aren’t always necessary. The oreos, the potato chips, and other similar items are not necessary and I could certainly tidy up my spending here.

 

I’ve set a budget for groceries and I’m hoping that I will find myself successful at the end of the month. I’ll be sharing the results at the beginning of February.

 

No-Spend January

 

Please feel free to jump on board with me and try a no-spend January! It would be great to get a group together and help motivate each other to make this a success! 🙂

 

Signature

 

Let’s Chat!

Have you heard of a no-spend month?
If so, have you ever tried it before?
Do you track your spending?

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Yay!! You can do it, Mama Bear! Feel free to reach out to me for any support, or any tips or tricks you find along the way! 🙂

      Reply

      • Mama Bear Finance says

        Thank you! Will do! Fast food is actually very expensive here in Switzerland. For example, A meal at Five Guys costs $30 (burger, small drink, and small fries) and KFC costs $20 (9 piece chicken, drink, and 2 sides). Not to mention they are so unhealthy. So due to my our own laziness, my husband eat out at least once a week. We want to kick out this habit next year!

        FYI Five Guys and KFC just opened in our city 3 months ago and the lines are out the door!

        Reply

        • Make Life Marvelous says

          Oh my! That is quite expensive! I live in Ohio and it’s probably close to half of those prices, but still pricey. I totally agree they are unhealthy. I’d like to have those items as treats every now and then versus how often I’ve been eating them.

          I am with you, friend! We were eating fast food three-four times per week recently and it’s so easy to get caught up in the convenience. I spend all of yesterday meal prepping for us for the week ahead, so hopefully that will help. 🙂 We are going to make this happen in 2020!

          Wow! They are staying busy for sure!

          Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      That’s completely understandable, friend! I am SO excited for you to get in the new house, it’s going to be amazing!! 🙂 It would be awesome to try out anytime, and I’m hoping it will go well enough for me that I want to do it another month, too!

      Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      That’s totally okay! I think it really looks differently for everyone. 🙂 Just choosing things that you can tidy up on your spending can only help. Thanks so much for stopping by Avalon, and I hope you have the best New Year!

      Reply

  7. Natalie says

    I am going to try to do this this month! This is such a great idea and I want to really focus on saving money for the new year. Good luck!

    Reply

  9. Sharon says

    This is a great idea! I really need to start spending less on crap I don’t really need, but honestly I love shopping so it’s hard, haha. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration and happy new year!

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Haha, I can totally relate! It hasn’t been easy thus far (I actually got a head start last week), but I think it’s definitely going to be worth it. 🙂 Thanks so much Sharon, and I hope you have a Happy New Year!

      Reply

  10. Dorota says

    I am also on my no-spend journey this January. I don’t think it’s going to be easy. I have the same problem as you do; I overspend on food and drinks. Even if I have a limit set on it, I constantly exceed it. I hope with your tips this year I can actually do it!

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      We’ve got this, Dorota! Half the battle is just keeping a good mindset and knowing that we can do this!! 🙂 I have no doubt you’re going to do amazing. Feel free to reach out if you need any help along the way!!

      Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      That sounds amazing, Mariann! 🙂 I think even just being mindful of spending can be so helpful. I’ve really lost that recently, but with the no-spend month, it’s helping me keep that in the forefront.

      Reply

  14. Mica says

    This is a great goal! good luck with it! 🙂 I find I’m good at buying things at the grocery store, we don’t eat out much and I don’t drink coffee so I don’t have a lot of unnecessary food spending. I did a 6 month no shop for fashion a couple years ago though and I do a no buy July each month – they are good ways to really look at spending habits and I’m sure you will get a lot of benefit from your no spend January! 🙂

    Hope that you have a lovely weekend ahead of you! 🙂 We will be having a quiet one.

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Thank you so much, Mica! 🙂 That’s wonderful!! I really like the no-buy July! I think I’ll put that in my planner and give it a whirl this year.

      I hope you have the best quiet, relaxing weekend, friend! 🙂 I’m planning for a quiet one as well.

      Reply

  15. Tiziana says

    Wow Ashley that is such a good idea!! My biggest guilty pleasure is probably the food spending as well, but you are so right meal planning can help a lot to avoid buying fast food. I‘m going to try this when I‘m back home 🙂
    At the moment I’m on holidays in Peru and it’s a little bit hard to not spend money here, cause everything is so delicious but I’ll definitely safe this post for later and do a mindful week afterwards.

    Greetings,

    Tiziana

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      That sounds amazing, Tiziana!! I bet it’s beautiful in Peru. You deserve to enjoy all of the delicious foods while you’re there! 🙂 I hope you have the very best time. It sounds like the perfect way to start the new year!

      Reply

  18. Ruth Josey says

    I’ve heard of this before and I just breeze on by the concept 😛 Thanks so much for breaking it down. I think even if we don’t want to go all-out on the “no-spend” concept, we can most certainly set a budget limit on the items that aren’t necessaries. I’m pretty sure this is something I need to be doing and it’s something I’m going to work toward this year. One of the biggest problems for me is gifts for others. That’s my biggest area of spending. I have a huge gift base. I think I need to cut it down. That’s not a pleasant thing to have to do. I wish you success with this and may your 2020 be happy, healthy, and financially secure!

    Ruth
    https://voguefauxreal.com/2019/12/31

    Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Hi, Ruth! Haha, I totally understand! It’s not the easiest thing to do, but I think just being mindful of what you’re spending and where – and if you can tidy up those figures at all, you’re doing great! I can completely understand, that definitely gets a little more sticky when it comes to that. I’m sure those people would completely understand, as it gets super expensive when buying for others, especially if you have a bunch to buy for.

      Thank you so, so much and I hope you have the absolute best 2020, friend! 🙂

      Reply

    • Make Life Marvelous says

      Haha! I totally understand that Kathrine! Oh my goodness, that’s one thing that would be even more difficult (like, way more difficult!) for me than the no-spend this month. You go, girl! I really should try that sometime though. Happy 2020, friend! 🙂

      Reply

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