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- Created: Saturday, 14 December 2019 10:07
- Last Updated: Tuesday, 05 October 2021 12:16
Fancy trying out a no spend month? Take the challenge today, and use our completely free, printable template pack to help you hit your financial goal. A zero spend Month is a great way to save money when you need it most.
The No Spend Challenge - FREE Printable template pack, Tips & everything you need to start your spending ban & achieve zero spend days, weeks or months.
No Spend Challenge
What is a No Spend Challenge?
The 'No Spend challenge' is a popular money saving trick where savvy savers set out to not spendany money on non-essential purchases for a set period of time.
Having a large family, I tend to go overboard at Christmas, so having a 'no spend month' in January helps me get my finances back on track. You can choose which month (or even months) suit you to go zero spend, but I definitely find January a great choice.
How do you do a No Spend challenge?
Some people do a certain day every week such as no spend Tuesdays, others do one week every month, and I personally like to do one whole month out of the year. You can easily tailor the challenge to suit your needs.
Start off your spending freeze by printing off the No Spend Challenge Pack free of charge, then follow all the steps below.
What to Pay?
All essential items, including...
Rent/Mortgage
Bills
Grocery Shopping - Check out these fantastic ways to reduce your food shopping bills
Transport
What to Ditch?
Basically, any non-essential items you might find yourself tempted to purchase, including...
Clothing
Eating out
Coffees
Takeaways
Cosmetics
Household items
Presents
You could also ditch the car/ public transport and try walking or cycling to work/school etc for the duration which will not only save you a fortune but is a great way to exercise for free as well.
Is it possible to not spend any money?
No! You must always ensure your bills and financial obligations are paid. A No Spend Challenge is more about reducing spending and cutting back to the bare minium for a set amount of time. You must be strict on non-essential spending such as nights out and takeaways, but necessities such as bills ad groceries are not included.
No Spend Challenge Tips
How do you get through no spending month? With discipline, perfect timing and the following tips...
Plan Ahead
When family members ask what to purchase for my family, I always suggest items that will help with my impending no spend month, such as toiletries and thermos flasks or coffee cups, that you can use to take your own coffee to work. Things like bubble bath, lynx sets, and body wash are perfect Christmas gifts that can save you a few £££s and help you reach your no spend goal.
Meal Plan
If you put together a good meal plan, you’ll spend less throughout the month. Included in our free printable pack is a template to help you write down exactly what to cook for the month so that you can purchase all the ingredients for the month in one shop. Don't forget to list you’ve written of the food you have in the house already as a base for your meal plan, because the more things you use up, the less you’ll have to buy when you go shopping.
Here are some great tips for how to reduce your grocery shopping bill to enable you to stretch your food budget even further.
Tell People what you’re doing
Make sure to tell your family and friends about your no spend month so that they will think twice before tempting you to eat out and so that they will understand when you say no to doing something with them.
Think Clever
If there happen to be unforeseen circ*mstances and you find you might need to purchase things in your no spend month, try to think of clever ways to get around it. Such as mending clothes instead of buying new ones, and asking on local free/recycling sites for any items you might unexpectedly need.
Leave your Purse/Wallet at Home
Take your purse out of your handbag and put it away somewhere safe for the duration of your no spend challenge. This will remove any temptation you might have to spend when you're out and about.
Keep Your Challenge in Sight
Put your plan somewhere you will see it daily, so it's always to hand and you always have a reminder of what you're working towards. This is why I find the print outs so handy.
Print off the No Spend Challenge Pack free of charge
Looking for more ways to save cash? Check out our 101 Best Ways to Save Money
How to get your FREE No Spend Pack
Well, that's the easy part! Simply click here and you can print the PDF off in the click of a button.You’ll be hitting your zero spend goals in no time!
We have loads of free printable templates available to help you with everything from Money Saving and Income tracking to Meal planning and Debt Management over on our Freebies section.
Love Money Saving Challenges? Check out these...
Bingo Savings Challenge
1p Savings Challenge
Spare Change Challenge
52 Week Saving Challenge
100 Envelope Challenge
Monthly Saving Challenge
If you found this no spend guide and free printables useful or have any questions, please let us know in the comments below...
