How to Do a No Spend Challenge!

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We’re almost wrapping up the year so let’s finish strong with a no spend challenge! Or you can save this post and start off 2022 with it 😉

We’ll be walking through what exactly a no spend challenge is, what you CAN spend on and some tips to help you get through it.

Grab a FREE no-spend challenge printable in my resource library! Sign up for my email list for immediate access. Alternatively, I have these no spend challenge printables up on The Budget Empire, my spreadsheets and printables shop!

As a quick note, I don’t think you should be trying to do a no spend challenge continuously. Learning healthy spending habits is the most important thing! Additionally, limiting yourself will just leave you unhappy. At the end of the day it’s just about balance and prioritizing when it comes to spending money!

Alright let’s hop into it.

Table of Contents

What is a no-spend challenge?

Obviously it is impossible to do a “real” no-spend challenge. You have to eat, you have to live somewhere, it’s not really feasible to not spend any money.

So then what exactly is a no-spend challenge?

A no-spend challenge really means you are choosing to not spend on certain things for a period of time. I personally think the best course of action as far as no spend challenges go, is not spending on unnecessary things. However, the definition of unnecessary can definitely vary person to person.

What is a non-negotiable? What items do you absolutely have to spend on?

Things like groceries, rent/mortgage, insurance, minimum debt payments, utility bills, transportation costs. Basically anything that you need to live your life.

So what should you be cutting out?

Anything unnecessary! This includes eating out, entertainment expenses, clothing you don’t need that you randomly found online and wanted to buy because it was cute,, etc.

No-spend challenge duration.

The typical no-spend challenge is either a week or a month. My resource library has a free printable for you to track your progress along the way!

A month can be a really great no-spend challenge duration because it takes a few weeks to build a new habit. If your goal for the no spend challenge is to start changing your spending habits, only doing it for a week might not get you the result you want.

A one month no-spend challenge is a great budget reset!

My personal preference: I try and do no-spend weeks and save my fun, unnecessary expenses for the weekend. This worked great for me, my life and my budget, so find what works best for you!

Cons of a no-spend challenge.

No-spend challenges are not sustainable. Challenges like this are not the way you should think about budgeting. I think it is a big mistake to not plan for unnecessary expenses. Unnecessary expenses like eating out, travel, entertainment, everything that basically goes under “fun money” should be included into your budget.

And you SHOULD spend on this stuff.

What we consider as “unnecessary” expense, honestly makes life the most fun. So although I’m not recommending anyone go crazy and budget 75% to fun stuff; I think the best course of action is to be intentional with your money and spend on the things that truly bring you joy.

Not spending on these categories for too long isn’t worth it.

So ask yourself what the most important things to you are! Mine are travel and food!

Benefits of a no-spend challenge.

There are still many benefits to doing a money freeze. Start changing your money mindset with a fun challenge like this.

Find new free activities.

I realize I just said not spending in fun money categories isn’t worth it, but one of the major benefits of no-spend challenges is figuring out how to do fun stuff WITHOUT spending money!

This spending freeze will challenge you to find new ways to spend your time that don’t involve any money.

Start changing your spending habits.

If you’re not allowing yourself to purchase anything, you’ll start realizing what is actually important to you. You’ll realize you don’t really miss some of the things you’ve cut out.

Additionally, you’ll definitely realize what you DO miss. From here you can begin prioritizing the more important things in your life and spending in those categories. This will vary widely for everyone, but a no-spend challenge is very eye opening.

Realize you don’t really need all that much.

It’s very easy to get excited and immediately want to purchase something. A no-spend challenge will help you regulate your impulse purchasing tendencies. It will help you recognize what is just an impulse and what you actually need to live your life.

Get your budget back in order.

So you might have overspent a bit last month…. That’s ok! No big deal, you can easily balance that out by challenging yourself to not-spend! Budgeting is about balance. Find the middle ground for you!

How to have a successful no-spend challenge.

Don’t be too hard on yourself.

It’s hard to not spend money. Everything in our society tries to encourage us to spend more money. So not spending any, is going against the natural grain.

It’s ok to spend money!

So if you do end up doing a no-spend challenge, don’t beat yourself up if you do end up spending.

Additionally, sometimes things we didn’t know would happen, happen! We can’t always not spend money, it’s ok.

Get others involved!

It can be really hard to resist the urge of joining your friends for drinks when you’re the only one trying to not spend money. So get your friends involved!

This way you can hold each other accountable and encourage each other along the way!

Instead of going out for drinks, do a game night or movie night at home! Find ways to see each other and not spend money.

Create a needs / wants list.

When you do feel the need to make a purchase write it down! At the end of your challenge you can reevaluate those items and see if you still want them. Odds are you probably won’t! However, if you do, then go ahead and buy it!

Check the calendar before starting.

Let’s face it, there are just certain times of the year you can’t not spend. Best friends birthdays, holidays, etc. So check the calendar in advance before getting started. Last thing you need is to feel bad that you end up spending money during your challenge.

Final Thoughts

A no-spend challenge can be a great way to reset your budget! Additionally, learn to conquer your spending habits and figure out what things are most important to you.

I think using no-spend challenges to save extra money can be a great thing! But I never want to encourage not spending (in healthy doses) on things that make you happy and make your life easier. Having a budget is about sustainability and being intentional.

Make a budget that encourages your goals in the long-run. Don’t rely on no-spend challenges, every once in a while, for your savings. Align your goals with your budget and learn your spending habits so you can be content without a no-spend challenge.

Who is trying a no-spend challenge soon? Let me know in the comments!