No Spend Challenge, January 2022

I started doing the ‘No Spend Challenge’ about 7 years ago as a way of getting to know my spending habits. What I found was that I would impulse buy a lot. Now I do this challenge every January; I do it as a way to practice self-awareness of the purchases I am making, not to fix all my problems and suddenly have loads of money – unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Not spending any money is not sustainable, but by doing a no spend month I find it makes me more mindful about what I buy for the rest of the year.

There are two levels to my no-spend challenge:

Level 1:

Not buying anything (clothes, decor, books, etc.) that we don’t 100% need – this encompasses in store and online shopping.

Level 2:

Level 1 plus no spending on luxury food items, so no takeaways, no eating out, no hot cocoa from Cafe Nero, and no treats from the supermarket (goodbye NOMO chocolate).

In January I do level 2, so we cover our mortgage, bills, car, insurance, food and nothing else.

I like to photograph and document what I am tempted to buy throughout the month so I can look back on it later and decide if I actually want to buy the item. Spoiler alert: that’s only happened once in seven years! Mostly the documentation shows me how impulsively I want to buy and how what I want to buy is swayed by what I’ve seen online or in films. This is such an important reminder to really think about why I think I need a product because most of the time I don’t need it, but rather I want it, and usually not for the right reasons.

The No Spend Challenge also encourages us to get outside regardless of the weather as going for a walk or for a play in the park is free. Yes, petrol is something to consider but we actively choose to explore our local area in January as a way to minimise this cost. We are lucky to be within walking distance of the seafront which helps, but even a short drive to our local woods works for us and allows the children to explore and play in a familiar and yet ever-changing environment.

Due to the inflation of basically everything here in the UK and because my shopping habits have gone a touch awry again over the festive season I am doing the challenge once more this January. Summer is also joining me in the challenge and we will be documenting our journey on Instagram so be sure to follow us for updates!

Have you ever done a no spend challenge? I’d love to know how it went for you! And if you fancy joining us on this challenge let us know in the comments.

Livvy and Summer