Joyful July's No-Spend Days Challenge!

cathybird
cathybird Posts: 15,419 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
edited 29 June 2024 at 1:25PM in Debt-free wannabe challenges
Welcome to the Joyous July No-Spend Days Challenge! This challenge is all about helping people to save money by setting aside days every month where you deliberately don't spend unnecessary cash. Over the short term, it can help you have a more frugal month. Over the long term, if you stick with it, it can help change your mindset because you get out of the habit of frittering money away and start automatically holding off from spending instead. It also helps you delay purchases, which in turn means you lose interest in a lot of things you might otherwise impulse buy.

Another good thing with this challenge is we're all in it together, and people will help you on bad days and cheer you on on good days, and the support and accountability can really help make it easier to keep going with it. And if all else fails, there's always next month

To join, just post the number of no-spend days (NSDs) you're aiming for in July and you are on your way!

Tips for the challenge:
1. It's totally up to you but if you've never done the challenge before, it's probably simpler to start with a goal of 10 or (at most) 15.

2. It is fine to exclude necessary expenses eg petrol, groceries, pet food, etc, when it comes to deciding what is and isn't an NSD. It is also completely fine to exclude automated or recurring payments such as bills, mortgage or direct debits.

3. It does help to post every time you notch up an NSD, or at least every two or three days ... it's easy to lose track! If you want to keep track of your NSDs in your MSE signature, that can be really motivating too

4. It also helps to bookmark the thread, it's much easier to find.

5. NSDs are trickier than they seem and easily derailed. It can work better if you notch up as many days as you can in the first half of the month, or think of the month in thirds so if you're aiming for 10 NSDs, try to do 4 days in the first 10, 3 in the second and 3 in the third. And if you feel that you're falling behind, there's no shame in changing your target! Sometimes life just gets in the way, and the challenge should be fun, not a grind.

July

Off to a start = image

5 days = image

10 days = image

15 days = image

20 days = image

Target reached = image

Target beaten = image


To see the updated results for June at any point, click here :)
«13456733

Comments

  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 15,419 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 1 July 2024 at 1:45PM
    July targets

    AuntieL 15

    beanielou 19

    Caeraugirl 12

    cathybird 15

    Crazycatlady2 18

    Daywon 15

    Farmers-wife 2

    Geriatricmum

    HotDog2020 15

    ilovetea 20

    KajiKita 18

    keggie

    laconic

    laura lau

    laurenh 20

    leftatthetrafficlights 24

    LittleMissDetermined 15

    Makingabobor2 15

    Mrs Cautious 26

    Rupacomp

    Saver-upper

    SecondStar

    short bird 18

    Tiangfeng2022

    Worlds Worst Superhero 20


  • HotDog2020
    HotDog2020 Posts: 593 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Thank you @cathybird I love, love, love it.
  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 15,419 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 29 June 2024 at 5:57PM
  • Crazycatlady2
    Crazycatlady2 Posts: 1,065 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Thankyou for all you do to keep us on track. I'm going for 18. I know I'll be spending every Friday and we have a weekend away this month but other than that I'm hoping to do ok 
  • ilovetea
    ilovetea Posts: 1,272 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Thanks Cathybird for starting this new thread.
    Didn't post much for June but I'll try harder this month. Hoping to move to a different flat soon and there is bound to be things I'll need So every penny counts from now on.
     Going for 20 NSD. 

       ilovetea  xx
    Make £2024 in 2024 £1161.08
    Declutter 2024 things in 2024 1522/2024.
    NSD's in August 11/20
  • Pinch! Punch!
    First Day of the Month 😁

    Hello again, everyone. July is here!

    Rather than lying on some tropical beach sipping cocktails, I'm at my desk, staring out at a grey, overcast morning and debating whether or not to pull on a jumper as it's turned a bit chilly. What happened to the summer? I blame myself for buying sunblock- sod's law dictates that if I hadn't we'd be basking in summer sun every day from now until September 😡 

    Please can you put me down for 20 NSD this month?
    July is always my most expensive month, but all the major spends tend to be focused on just a few days as I book, order and pay for everything at once- holidays, travel, birthdays etc. 



  • short_bird
    short_bird Posts: 3,969 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Day 1 today... 
    ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ David Lynch.
    "It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.” David Lynch.
  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 15,419 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 1 July 2024 at 11:25PM
    I blame myself for buying sunblock  
    @Worlds_Worst_Superhero I think it's all the people trying to hold barbecues - as soon as that happens the wind and horizontal rain sweep in! 
  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 15,419 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 1 July 2024 at 8:54PM
    July NSD challenge


    Off to a start = image

    5 days = image

    10 days = image

    15 days = image

    20 days = image

    Target reached = image

    Target beaten = image


    July targets


    AuntieL 15


    beanielou 19


    Caeraugirl 12

    cathybird 1/15 image


    Crazycatlady2 18


    Daywon 15


    Farmers-wife 2


    Geriatricmum


    HotDog2020 15


    ilovetea 20


    KajiKita 18


    keggie


    laconic


    laura lau


    laurenh 20

    leftatthetrafficlights 1/24  image


    LittleMissDetermined 15


    Makingabobor2 15


    Mrs Cautious 26


    Rupacomp


    Saver-upper


    SecondStar

    short bird 1/18 image


    Tiangfeng2022


    Worlds Worst Superhero 20





    🌞 🌞  Newcomers welcome! 🌞 🌞

  • Declaring for today - 1/24
    DNF: £708.92/£1000
    JSF: £708.58/£1000

    Winter season grocery budget: £600.85/£900

    Weight loss challenge 2024: 11/24lbs
    1st quarter start:9st 13.1lb
    2nd quarter start:9st 9.2 lb
    3rd quarter start: 9st 6.8 lb
    4th quarter start: 9st 10.2 lb
    End weight: 8st 13lb

    'It's the small compromises you keep making over time that start to add up and get you to a place you don't want to be'

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