No spend days: how do you do it?

newsmonkey

I've been trying to stick to a number of no spend days in a week, as it seems to be a good debt-free wannabe approach.

But it's just not working. Unless I don't leave the house (which is rare), I find myself having a day when I spend nothing but then only spending extra the following day on things I would have bought (travel, food/drink).

Has anyone else found that no-spend days actually encourage them to spend more on "yes-spend days"? Any tips on how to rectify this? Or would a better approach work - something like a "spend no more than £1/£5" day?

sparklymessygirl

Hi Newsmonkey,

I never actually set out to have no spend days but what I do is keep a spending diary and notice that way how many no spend days I have had - they seem to happen accidentally!

Food and drink are probably the easiest things to avoid spending on, I think, unless you are eating/drinking with friends, because you can plan to take stuff with you (bottled water, fruit, salad).

Maybe you are aiming too high with 3 no spend days? Why not just pick one day and plan for it really well - but make sure if you do achieve it you see that as a wonderful achievement- reflect on it - maybe from a moral/ethical/self-discipline point of view - whatever has value/resonance for you.

Handing over money/shopping has become such an involuntary habit for us that we don't question what we are buying/whether it is worth it and worth the time we have spent working for the money we are handing over.

Have you read "Your money or your life" by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin? That really helped to change my attitude towards money. There is a website too which might be worth a look but I really do recommend the book,
http://www.newroadmap.org/default.asp

Keep starting over

Sparkly

LearningToSave.

the only day i ever manage a no spend day is if i dont leave the house!!! surely its impossible otherwise!!

Prudent

I often have no spend days, but they are rarely planned. I find it easiest on the work days when no collection is being taken for somebody leaving/ having a baby/ a 40th birthday/ the lottery etc. I travel to work by car, so no daily bus fare. I also lift share which helps as I don't like to ask to stop off at the shop. On no spend eves I tend to either be in and doing house work or just go out for a walk or have someone over to my house or visit frinds at their houses.

During the holidays no spend days are quite rare. For all I am very prudent, with money I do still enjoy spending. This summer I have had quite a few jobs done round the house, so less free money. Some days I have just walked to my fantastic local charity shop. I get things like brand new 'per una' tops from their 25p box. When I come away with four lovely tops for £1 - I feel indulged and good about the spend.

ZTD

I think the keys are knowledge and preparation.

Knowledge - why do you spend? Is it on food? Drink? Make a diary of what you spend and why.

Preparation - if like me you have a car, put a little cache of your emergency stuff in the boot. Yes, it does look like an Antartican expedition base-camp after a little while, :rolleyes: but I'm sure people as focused as you lot can keep it tidier than me.

Some spends can't be helped, but a lot of them can. If your major outgoings are people leaving, then it would be best to go somewhere else with less staff turnover! :rotfl:

llh189

I try to plan to have as many no spend days as I can between Monday and Friday, unless it is things that I have already budgeted for i.e petrol.

I leave all my credit and debut cards at home, aswell as cash. I have breakfast at home and take my lunch with me to work, after work I come straight home, so between 8 and 6 most days I can get away with spending no cash.

Weekends are hard, but I am concentrating on Monday to Friday at the moment and will tackle the weekends sometime soon.

Although did have a bad week last week, mainly due to me breaking my golden rules, had cash and cards most days - hence spent most days. Oops

Will try much harder this week.

HTH

L X

lynsayjane

do you keep a spending diary, the best place to start is looking at what your spending on and if its realy necessary.

eg i started one and found that since i don't drive i was popping into the supermarket near enough every day for a few bits, but this then cost more than doing a big shop. i did the meal planner, including lunches at work, and found that i could shop for a week and carry it home, this cut down the spending days drastically and i can now live off £15 a fortnight for food shopping.

i also avoid taking cash out with me. i know most folk on here say spend cash cause then you can actually picture what your spending rather than using cards. but i find that if you spend cash you get heaps of change which then gets frittered away ont he odd pack of crisps here and the odd thing there. if you spend on a card you can't have that wee bag of crisps or bottle of juice and so it saves you money by watchin the pennies. now just before payday i transfer all those pennies to my savings account and slowely it builds up!

hattie_pea

Am not very good atthese no spend days either but resolve to be more disciplined in leaving my card at home this week and see how I fair. One thing I started doing at the beginning of the month was to put small change (anything 20p and under) in my piggy bank. Now in the last week up until payday (friday - hurrah!) I've got a little stash to spend. Granted the guys in the canteen might tut when I pay for my occasional coffee with 5p's but who cares?!

Montymoo_2

I never have no spend days as i have to pay to travel to work and then at weekends i do the weekly shop etc

corrig24

I don't set out to have a no spend day, but I keep a spending Diary and at the end of each month I enter it in to an spreadsheet and play with the figures, thats when I count my no spend days and try to plan at that stage to increase on this the next month but with no given amount of days, to have a no spend day you need to plan in advance. But enjoy trying...

In_Search_Of_Me

I think its important to be realistic about your own lifestyle...for some n spend days are nigh on impossible...I plan for my no spend days; take lunch to work etc so I dont need to buy anything...keeping a diary helps as you see where you waste money & writing it down (esp if you've had a bad day!!) can help!