Your Best Budget: 4 no-spend challenges for financial freedom
Welcome to the Fearless Girl Finance ‘Your Best Budget’ series! This is a 4-part series with new content released each week on practical ways to stay on budget, plus lots of challenges and ideas that will help to make your budget feel like fun. Last week you incorporated 8 frugal swaps that you wouldn’t even notice saving you money. This week, we’ll look at different ‘no-spend challenges’ to get the absolute most out of your budget.
What is a no-spend challenge?
A no-spend challenge is a budgeting strategy where you commit to spending only on the absolute essentials for a set time period. Some people will trial it for a weekend, others commit to an entire no-buy year. Completing the challenge will make you more mindful of any mindless spending habits and help you with developing financial discipline.
The benefits of a no-spend challenge
First, your budget will thank you. Even completing the no-spend challenge over one weekend will free up additional income that you can invest into your financial future (click here to learn how to get started as a beginner investor!).
A no-spend challenge isn’t just financially beneficial. Consuming less reduces your environmental impact, from resource extraction to waste generation. Absolutely everything we use has an environmental and social price tag – who is mining the materials for your phone and how sustainable is that practice? Research has shown that you need to wear a cotton t-shirt 30 times to offset the environmental impact of cotton production – and this is one of the least damaging items we may have in our wardrobes.
You may also find that you get more creative with how you spend your time and money. From doing your nails at home (click here to find the Fearless Girl recommended kit for perfect at-home nails) to growing your own herbs on your windowsill, a no-spend challenge will help you to create, rather than consume.
This challenge isn’t about feeling guilty for everything you’ve ever bought, but it can give you an insight into just how much you are consuming…leading you to a way of spending that is more mindful, sustainable and, overall, financially liberating.
Set your ground rules
To make sure your challenge is successful, you’ll need to establish some boundaries for yourself. Very few people can realistically live a life that is completely off-grid, so, depending on the length of your challenge, you will have some expenses. Having a set of rules in place will ensure that you don’t get completely derailed by the odd need-to-buy. At Fearless Girl Finance, we recommend sitting down and planning out your challenge by answering the following questions:
What are your essential expenses?
Groceries, transport and healthcare are all absolute necessities. Maybe you can adapt how you buy groceries or walk a little further, but if you have to pay for petrol, then include it in your list of necessities.
What are your exceptions?
Things like gifts and experiences may fall under this bracket if your challenge is over a longer time period, so it’s worth considering how this will impact you. Experiences create memories, which is definitely preferable to accumulating more stuff, but the cost can rack up so search for cheaper alternatives or save up over a period of time.
How long will you be doing the challenge for?
Set yourself a specific time-frame, and stick to it. Keep your biggest financial goal at the forefront of your mind to ensure that your motivation doesn’t wane as the challenge goes on. We lay out four time periods in this article, with different ideas for how you can maximise your success in each!
Is it the right time for you?
Embarking on a no-spend challenge during a week when you have a friend’s birthday, a work night out and you need to organise a family holiday is setting yourself up for failure. Make sure that you start your challenge at a time when things are a little quieter so that you can really get into the swing of things without distractions.
No-spend challenges
A no-spend weekend
This is the easiest way to dip your toe in the world of no-spend challenges. Take this as an opportunity to switch off from the world of consumerism – read a book, get out in nature, cook for yourself with store-cupboard ingredients and have a cosy evening in with candles, popcorn and your favourite movie.
A no-spend week
A no-spend week ramps up the stakes a little, but it can be really rewarding to tick off each day that you don’t swipe your credit card! Take the time each morning to make yourself a really delicious coffee so that you aren’t tempted to stop on your way to work. You could buy a ‘wonky veg’ box and try as many new recipes as you can. My favourite way to enjoy a no-spend week is to trial lots of new fitness classes in my local area – most studios will offer a trial class, so you could enjoy reformer Pilates on Monday, Afro Dance on Tuesday and HIIT on Wednesday.
A no-spend month
This no-spend challenge will test you to your limits as you will start to really reflect on your ingrained spending habits and reflect on your wants versus your needs. The hardest part of a no-spend month will be the social aspect, so make sure you get your friends and family on board. Host a games night, look for free outdoor concerts, plan a ‘potluck’ dinner where each person brings one dish, pack up a picnic and get outdoors. After sticking to a no-spend challenge for 30 days, you will be amazed at how resourceful you can get when planning different ways to enjoy time with friends – without the hefty price tag.
A no-spend year
Taking on a no-spend challenge for an entire year marks a change in lifestyle as you will need to embrace minimalism. Throughout the year, keep a visual reminder of your goals and work on finding new hobbies that match up with your new, intentionally frugal lifestyle. Try planting seeds to grow your own herbs or vegetables, learn how to sew so that you can alter or make your own clothes and find a swap group in your community, so that you can refresh your wardrobe and home without spending.
A no-spend challenge is not about depriving yourself, it’s about breaking free from a cycle of mindless spending and learning how you manage your money. The goal is progress, not perfection, towards living with greater financial freedom.
Would you try a no-spend challenge? Let us know in the comments below or tag us on Instagram @fearlessgirlfinance_
If you enjoyed this article, you’ll love the rest of the ‘Your Best Budget’ series!
Part 1: why you aren’t staying on budget
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