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Awesome August's No-Spend Days Challenge!

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cathybird
cathybird Posts: 15,637 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
edited 30 July at 11:01PM in Debt-free wannabe challenges
Welcome to Awesome August's 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 this month 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.

August

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 August on phone or tablet, click here :)
«13

Comments

  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 15,637 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 31 July at 6:25PM
    August targets

    AuntieL 18
    beanielou 19
    Caeraugirl 10
    cathybird 15
    Changeyourlife25 10
    CrazyBee787 19
    Crazycatlady2 15
    Dizzycap 20
    Doris17 15
    InDebtEnby 13
    Jay1 2 14
    KajiKita 20
    laurenh1 18
    LittleMissDetermined 15
    Optimistic Saver 18
    Pinkpieuni 10
    Quantaqa 15
    QueenJess 15
    short bird 18
    thepurplepixie 15
    Thriftymissus 24
    VickyA 2 10


    🌞 🌞  Everyone welcome to join! 🌞 🌞

  • CrazyBee787
    CrazyBee787 Posts: 898 Forumite
    500 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Thank you so very much @cathybird for creating the threads and managing them. I really appreciate it. Although I could do with a better month, and I really need it too, so that will be my mission for August - get to target. Thank you XX
  • cathybird
    cathybird Posts: 15,637 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    @CrazyBee787 thank you and hope you have a fabulous month in August xxx :)
  • Changeyourlife25
    Changeyourlife25 Posts: 45 Forumite
    10 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 31 July at 11:56AM
    Put me down again this month with a goal for another 10 please!! 
    Thanks! 🤩 
    GC August 🍑🥞 £5.80/£600 
    GC July 🌽🥑 £789.39/£600

    PAD August (Debt free) 🤑 - £13.92
    PAD July (Debt free) 💷 - £305.60

    NSD August ✋ - 0/10 
    NSD July 🚫 - 12/10

    DS1 18th savings 🥳 2025 - £260
    Christmas savings 🎄2025 -
    Legoland savings 🧱 2026 -  

    Debt 1 - paid off (June 25)
    Debt 2 - paid off (July 25) 
    Debt 3 - paid off (July 25)
    Debt 4 - £299.30
    Debt 6 - £522.22
    Debt 7 - £939.53
    Debt 8 - £1,409.83

  • InDebtEnby
    InDebtEnby Posts: 99 Forumite
    10 Posts Photogenic
    I'm going to aim for 13 this month as that will take me to 💯 this year.
    August No Spend Challenge: 1/12
    2025 No Spend Days: 88/100
    Bank Loan Original End Date: 08/2030
    Current End Date: 08/2030
  • Dizzycap
    Dizzycap Posts: 1,091 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Photogenic Debt-free and Proud!
    Whoo hoo and hear we are ready for Awesome August - Thank you cathybird for another great NSD thread and as always, fabulous emoji - Full House for me  :D:D See you tomorrow all - Today was a stock up spend day, so hopefully won't have meany spend days in August  ;)<3
    ~ NSD 2025 - NSD August 2/20 (x💯)
    # Spectos/Royal Mail Monitoring and Posting Panel - Ongoing - 1 x £25 Voucher Redeemed, 20 FREE Books of RM Stamps & Presentation Packs.
    ~ Totally FREE Christmas 2025 - 🎁✉️🏷🎀💐🪪🗒🧺
    ⭐️Completed Challenges 2025:
    # No.36 Make £2025 in 2025 £1934.34 / £2025 (95.5%) (3) 💯💯+
    # No.12 Save £2 a Day 2025 2025: £730/ £730 💯
    # No.27 Save 1p A Day 2025 £667.95 / £667.95 💯
    # No.19 52 Week Env Challenge £1378 / £1378 💯 
    # No.34 Save £12k in 2025 £14,986.67 / £12,000 💯 - Continuing
  • Dizzycap
    Dizzycap Posts: 1,091 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Photogenic Debt-free and Proud!
    Hey Ho and away we go! Declaring a very early NSD 1/20 Friday. 
    Wishing everyone a Fantastic First August Friday NSD - Lets really smash it this month!  ;)<3
    ~ NSD 2025 - NSD August 2/20 (x💯)
    # Spectos/Royal Mail Monitoring and Posting Panel - Ongoing - 1 x £25 Voucher Redeemed, 20 FREE Books of RM Stamps & Presentation Packs.
    ~ Totally FREE Christmas 2025 - 🎁✉️🏷🎀💐🪪🗒🧺
    ⭐️Completed Challenges 2025:
    # No.36 Make £2025 in 2025 £1934.34 / £2025 (95.5%) (3) 💯💯+
    # No.12 Save £2 a Day 2025 2025: £730/ £730 💯
    # No.27 Save 1p A Day 2025 £667.95 / £667.95 💯
    # No.19 52 Week Env Challenge £1378 / £1378 💯 
    # No.34 Save £12k in 2025 £14,986.67 / £12,000 💯 - Continuing
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 95,530 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Mortgage-free Glee!
    Won’t be kicking off with no 1. Unusually for me. 
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.

    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.
  • Crazycatlady2
    Crazycatlady2 Posts: 1,074 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Totally gave up on July...will try again for august 😄
  • KajiKita
    KajiKita Posts: 7,628 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    Not today unfortunately. 

    KK
    As at 15.07.25:
    - When bought house £315,995 mortgage debt and end date at start = October 2039 - now £233,521
    - OPs to mortgage = £11,338 Interest saved £5225 to date
    Fixed rate 3.85% ends January 2030

    Read 40 books of target 52 in 2025, as @ 29th July
    Produce tracker: £243 of £300 in 2025

    Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
    Watch your words, they become your actions. 
    Watch your actions, they become your reality. 
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