Austin and I did a no-spend challenge. It sucked. I realize the only thing we actually spend money on is food. We saved a boat ton of money. 

But we’re not perfect. We def went out to eat… once. And also had a pizza night sponsored by, but not really, Dominos. 

Here’s what you need to know.

1. Set boundaries on what you can buy.

I mean obviously, we paid our bills, right? So besides that, we could only buy stuff for the kids that was needed. And we still didn’t do it 100% right. For the sake of transparency, I’ll tell you everything we bought that wasn’t within the boundaries.

1.  A treadmill. Insane right? BUT, Austin is a runner. He’s still Active Duty and he’s been looking for one for a while. Our neighbors/friends were selling one so we bought it from them. It was WAY below value and it’s literally getting used as I type this. 
2. Dance Clothes. Not for me, but for the 3 y/o. COVID made things hard for extracurricular activities and I’ve wanted to be a dance mom since I stopped dancing when I was 16. I found a class on base for her, and it was a limited sign up, so I ran with it. 
3. Baby Stuff. My best friend in the whole world, like known since 5th grade is having a baby. Her first. She had to cancel the shower because of COVID and she’s high risk so I couldn’t fly home. So I just bought her a bunch of stuff. Worth it. 
4. Food. We got Canes once, McDonald’s once, and Dominos made an appearance

But there were things we bought that were allowed. We bought the baby formula, milk for the 3 y/o, and we bought eggs and butter. 

2. What’s your why?

For us, it was like a spending detox after Christmas. We want to prepare for the future. I’m a contractor so I never know when my contract could be over. Saving more than the “standard” 3-6 months expenses is one of our goals. Also to go see my new niece when she’s born. 

3. What I learned

I thought it would be a lot easier. It was like when we were trying to get out of debt right? Not exactly. We were much stricter. I think we emptied out most of our pantry and freezer. I realized everything we had in there was trash food anyways. It did help when we went to the commissary yesterday. We knew exactly what we needed and what we had. I think it’s the first time ever we both were aware of that.  

At one point I just wanted to go in the store and blow a bunch of money just because I felt restricted for so long. So next time I do a no spend challenge, it will be on just one thing. Like nothing from Amazon, or no eating out. 

I did put a bunch of stuff in my Amazon cart, and then went to buy it today (payday) and realized I don’t actually want most of those things. 

4. Should you do it?

Short answer YES! Especially for a specific period of time. It’s like a reset. I’m more mindful of what I’m spending and my needs and wants. I think we should do this as a family quarterly… We’ll see what Austin says.

Let me know how your #nospendchallenge is going!