New Year, No Spend Month
Happy New Year, my darling friends! I’m closing the year on the couch, watching Vera on BritBox, and organizing my life for January. I’m starting the New Year, with a No Spend Month!
This is the perfect reset for a new year. Last year I spent much of my hard-earned money making up for lost time after paying off my student loans. I was wasteful and that’s okay! That was my intention. I wanted to give myself a year to spend freely.
In the past, my spending was tight. So tight that I was barely spending extra cash at all.
Now, I’ve found a happy medium between overspending and frugality! This year, I’m reorganizing my money and cutting back!
New Year, No Spend Month
This month is going to be tough because I have two trips planned. I’m hoping I don’t go overboard.
I’d also like to note, I’ve already over-drafted my travel fund from last month. The next few paychecks are me, paying myself back.
When I say “over-draft”, to confirm – I have paid off the credit card I purchased the tickets through, but I took money out of another sinking fund of mine, to pay it off. So, I’m quite literally paying myself back.
I’ve restrained from doing that all year but Alaska Airlines was having a sale that was too good to pass up. I’m very excited about both trips. Despite how frugal I need to be on them.
The rules
- $25 at coffee shops for the whole month
- $35 a week for groceries (this might be too tight due to inflation but I’ll let you know)
- $50 for eating out for the whole month
The plan
- Utilize Amex gold card offers
- Use coffee rewards at coffee shops
- Spend gift cards I have received in the past
- Go to the Library instead of coffee shops
- Use the library & libby for media
- Pick up hobbies I can do at home
- Blog about my progress
The reality
I haven’t done a No Spend Month in a really long time. With inflation, I’m a bit worried about how this is going to go. Three years ago, it was easy to live off of $25 a week for groceries. I was taking advantage of every coupon and promotion I could at Safeway and Fred Meyer.
As of right now, in 2023, that might be rough so I’ve upped it to $35 a week. This will be tight and I know it but I’m interested in doing this exercise to rein myself in. So, even if this is a fail, I will know what I can and cannot do for future No Spend Months.
I’m excited to get started on this! I hope you all had a super healthy and safe New Years’ day.
Other posts you might enjoy:
- How to Save Money when Booking Travel
- How to get Free Books while Traveling
- Free Ways to Workout at Home (or While Traveling)
6 Comments
Stacy
That is ambitious! I would love to read about how you make the grocery budget work, if you are willing to share. I feel like a superhero on the weeks I only spend $50 at Trader Joes, so I feel like $25 would be impossible for me.
Alli B
Oh my gosh, absolutely! When I was paying off my loans I was spending $25 a week and I remember it being tough then. I am trying to do $35 a week right now but with meal planning, researching prices, and sticking to it, I should be okay? I will definitely do a round up at the end of the week! Thank you so much for this feedback! It’s soo nice to hear and helpful!
Samantha Burgett
How exciting! And I like the sound of this challenge—I may have to give it a try myself.
Alli B
Haha! I will let you know how it goes. 💕 Nothing like a full reset in the new year! Thank you!!
Shanna
Yay! This is an awesome challenge and I can’t wait to see how it works out.
Alli B
HAHA! 😅 Me too