How to Save Money Quickly with a No-Spend Month

You win when you take control of your money

Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels

Hello Lovelies,

I’ve never been able to wrap my head around money management.

As a young adult, I accrued library fines, unpaid parking tickets, and credit card debt. Thoughts about my future self and her financial stability never occurred to me. I lived for the moment, but not in the healthy sense of the phrase.

Marriage saved me. My husband, afraid I would ruin his credit score, managed our money. But almost three decades later, after a gray divorce, my nemesis—money management, raised its head again.

Thanks to my husband's tips and tricks, my financial expertise improved. Automatic payments became my best friend. I no longer had credit card debt, and my savings were securely held in a high-interest online savings account—currently, you can earn up to 5%.

However, I did not acquire a complete set of money management skills, which is why I plan to do a no-spend month in January 2025. The same no-spend idea can be applied to any week, month, or year.

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Here’s the problem: My monthly expenses are higher than my income.

That may not be unusual for a retired person, but according to a survey by Payroll.org reported in Forbes Magazine, 70-78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. 30% of those individuals reported that their expenses exceeded their income.

Does that include you?

Recognizing the discrepancy between my income and expenses, which seemed to grow larger, I tried to spend more conservatively. But was I fooling myself and spending more than I thought? I didn’t know because I wasn’t tracking my income and expenses.

To make matters worse, my writing income crashed recently, and my car’s air conditioner broke (requiring a $3,200 repair). I thought, “I need to tighten my purse strings.”

Then, I remembered Cait Flanders, who lived on just 51% of her income and saved $17,000 in a single year. She documented her journey in The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Learned Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store.

That’s an incredible savings of $1,417 per month.

I understand if that amount sounds utterly unrealistic. But let’s say you want to save $10,000 in a year. That’s $833.33 per month or $27.39 per day.

Starting to sound more realistic, right?

If those amounts are too high, pick your number and start from there. In terms of monthly savings, consider these possibilities:

• $750 per month = $24.19 per day

• $500 per month = $16.13 per day

• $250 per month = $8.06 per day

• $100 per month = $3.23 per day

According to one survey conducted by the life insurance platform Ladder and reported in Yahoo! Finance, Americans spend $1,497 per month, close to $18,000 a year on non-essentials, yet they struggle to save.

A no-spend month doesn’t have to feel like total deprivation. Instead, see it as cutting waste and empowering your financial health, stability, and future.

Imagine how thrilled you will be to have saved money for a vacation, a new car, retirement, or whatever your savings goals might be.

A no-spend month is just one of several ways to save money. I’m starting with it to become more conscious of my spending.

However, before starting an actual no-spend month, I had to find a way to track my money.

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You don’t have to track all your money to do a no-spend.

Alternatively, add up how much you saved each day by cutting out expensive coffees, skipping the nail salon, or car-pooling.

To see your progress, circle the days you hit your target in green on a wall calendar or keep track on a whiteboard. That will help you stay motivated.

In my case, tracking is required because I want to be more conscious of my spending habits.

Expenses can be tracked manually by noting them in a notebook or notes app and entering them into a spreadsheet. You can find a free budgeting template online or create your own.

I probably wouldn’t keep up with manual tracking, so I researched budgeting apps with an eye for one that imports your accounts.

After listening to an abundance of YouTube reviews, I discovered the following apps are generally considered the best budgeting apps of 2024:

• EveryDollar

• Goodbudget

• Empower

• YNAB (You Need a Budget)

• PocketGuard

• Honeydue (For couples)

• Copilot

• Monarch Money

Each app manages your money differently, so research to find the right one. Some require manual input; others import data from your bank accounts, credit cards, and investments. Most offer a free trial—some for a week, some for thirty days.

I chose Monarch Money, which ticked all my boxes. There’s a learning curve with any app, but I found Monarch Money easy to use. In addition to tracking income and expenses by group and category, it helps you set up a budget and compares your projections with your actual spending.

You can get an extended 30-day free trial of Monarch Money if you sign up using my affiliate link.

I customized my categories from the pre-set ones, set up my budget, and tracked my income and expenses for December 2024, so I’m ready for the new year.

I will track my income and expenses in Monarch Money weekly to stay up-to-date with my spending.

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Start your no-spend month with a clear goal. This will help you stay motivated when you feel tempted to splurge on big or small purchases during the month.

The possibilities are unlimited, but common goals for a no-spend month include:

• Resetting your spending habits

• Saving for a specific goal like paying off debt, building an emergency fund, or buying a new car

• Becoming a more mindful consumer

• Improving your money management skills

• Kickstarting a retirement fund

• Strengthening your discipline and ending impulse buying

• Feeling more peace of mind about your finances

• Appreciating all that you already have

I have two primary goals.

First, I want to learn where I can reduce my expenses and carry those reductions forward. Second, I want to establish a regular money management routine that will serve me for years.

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During a no-spend month, you pay your bills and cover your necessities, such as rent, groceries, and utilities.

“No-spend” applies to wants rather than needs. Do I need another fountain pen, coloring book, or Hägen-Daz ice cream bar? No!

You make the rules of your no-spend, so you can be as strict or lenient as you wish. For example, you might only want to eliminate picking up your daily Starbucks® coffee.

Most people find it helpful to list what purchases they can make during their no-spend month and which they cannot. These are usually called “no-spend rules.” Be as creative as you wish when making your rules.

Here are examples of no—spend rules to get you started:

• No spending on specific categories like clothing, cosmetics, books, or eating out.

• No impulse spending. Instead, add desired items to a wish list and decide later (one week, one month) if you still want or need them.

• No credit card use since it can lead to impulse spending. Use cash or debit cards instead.

• No shopping at specific stores where you tend to splurge, like Target, TJ Max, or Amazon. This could include a ban on online shopping if that’s where you overspend.

When I feel tempted to make a purchase, I’ll ask myself these questions:

• Is this a need or a want?

• Do I have to have this right now?

• Can I live without it?

• Could I wait for a sale?

• Could I borrow it for temporary use?

I don’t think this one-month no-spend challenge will be too difficult for me. I’ve already been trying to cut back on unnecessary expenses, but my January no-spend will make the effort more conscious and accountable.

It will probably be challenging if you routinely shop when you’re sad, bored, or think you need the next beautiful thing to keep up with your friends on social media. Use your no-spend to learn about those deep impulses and alternative ways to satisfy them.

If you feel challenged during a no-spend month, give yourself grace. If you spend more than you wanted on one day, start again the next day. Don’t use an instance of breaking your rules as a reason to give up altogether.

No one said this would be easy. Keeping your overarching goal in mind can help dissolve the pain.

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Being smart about using your money doesn’t mean you’re cheap. You’ll probably be cutting unnecessary waste that doesn’t bring you true happiness and only adds to environmental pollution. You’ll learn to purchase consciously, not habitually, and choose selected products that bring you joy and value.

Who wins when you do a no-spend?

Not billionaires like Jeff Bezos, who wants you to spend as much money as possible on Amazon. Not credit card companies who make ginormous profits from your credit card debt. Not banks that want you to give you loans and rake in the interest.

You win when you take control of your money, use it to establish financial security, and grow your pot of gold.

What do you think? Would you be up for a no-spend month?

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Until Next Time

I’m excited to embark on this no-spend month and see what I learn about myself and my spending habits.

As the year draws to a close, I want you to know how much I value your presence and how grateful I am to have readers who care about living consciously for themselves and others.

Much love and best wishes to you, always.

xo Sandra