I thought about this after posting that I had two No Spend Days last week. What were the key things that got me there.
1. Driving motivation to be lazy. The days I don’t spend money are days that I don’t want to deal with the general public, i.e. avoid retail spaces. My desire to be at home doing my own thing means I prize being lazy and ostensibly doing nothing. (Knitting and reading apparently are nothing to some people.)
2. Plan, Plan, Plan. 1. Plan your meals. 2. Plan your week. 3. Plan for not spending. If you plan out your meals for the week, taking a good long look at which days you are going to dine out, you can figure out what to make when. That way you can also plan which days you are going to avoid spending and buying extra things. It’s easy to push your spending to days when you know you are going to spend. For instance, you know that on Wednesday you are going to meet a friend for dinner and you know that you will need gas by that same day. So you buy your gas at lunchtime on Wednesday before you meet your friend, or you get it on the way home.
3. Make your week lumpy. Grouping your spending to certain days of the week creates natural efficiencies. For instance, it’s recommended that you run all your short-car trip errands together to save gas. But that also means lumping your spending into those hours. Can you execute your plan so that all your spending is done at the same time, leaving you free time and a financial transaction-free next day?
4. Look at your quotidian habits. Do you ride the bus daily? Do you buy coffee or a newspaper? Bagel? Soda? Chips? Why do you do it? Do you know? Rather than dump $1.35 into the bus coin collector, why not lump your spending into a monthly pass or card? Why not make coffee at home instead? Realizing what little things you do and find a strategy around spending that money or breaking that habit can nurture the incidences of No Spend Days.
I hope these tips help you have a No Spend Day. (Now it’s off to eat a packed lunch! That’s 3 lunches so far this week!)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s coffee that is my downfall on no-spending! My best bet is to make some at home, then have some milk at work so I can make tea. I could pretty easily have one or two no-spend days per week if I could shake the coffee shop (my one real vice, I rarely eat out).
All told, mindfulness is the major theme here. And that saves time AND money!
Planning is the key, tough to not spend anything on a certain day through spontaneous activities since those activities are what we usually spend our cash on!
@bethh I have a coffee issue myself, I actually have a cup that i got from wawa sitting right in front of me right now!
@Revanche Havent heard that word “mindfulness” used in a while. I need to tatoo this on my hand.
Having a no-spend day sounds like a wonderful idea. Enjoying reading your blog.