It’s almost the end of May 2023. I started out this month wanting to do a “no spend” month. A no spend month is nothing new to me. When I was a student, no spend months were the way of life. Basically, I would take a month to really make sure I was on top of my finances by spending nothing extra. Money went to bills and the most minimal amount of groceries only!
No buying a quick coffee here or an oopsy purchase there. I had it to a science. I would make ahead/plan all my meals and stash in the freezer. My grocery shopping would consist of very little. Nothing more than some produce, hummus or something like peanut butter that I needed to replenish. For the most part, I kept my meals simple to avoid buying expensive ingredients.
But things have changed. I’m not in school anymore, I have a toddler and my days are very different. I thought that I could do a no spend month, but 19 days in and I have failed miserably. Here are the reasons I believe caused this failure.
Not having an adequate income
Do you know what it’s like to just live on as little as possible and just scrape by?
That’s what happens when your income is too low. Unfortunately, that’s where I’ve been since my days as a student. I downloaded the every dollar app by Ramsey Solutions to see if making a budget would be helpful for me. It really just amped up my stress levels, however it revealed something so important that I had overlooked…
Budgeting seems to be the cure all solution right? But guess what?
No form of trying to spend less or “budget” is going to work for you if you don’t have a liveable income!
You don’t just need to make money. You need to make ENOUGH money to live on. That means also having at least an inch of wiggle room.
Maybe it’s common sense. But, life comes at you fast and it takes some of us a little longer to troubleshoot what’s been going wrong with our finances, because honestly there’s so much emotion involved.
Not having a budget
A budget gives you structure. Without you having that structure in your head and on “paper”, your spending WILL be uncontrolled. I’m learning this in real time, the hard way. Part of my no spend plan was no coffee splurges. I ended up splurging twice!
The first time because I got a BOGO coupon – so not a bargain when you don’t need it. They got me! And the second time was emotional – I had to wake up earlier than usual. Boohoo…
A budget is a good thing, but for me, it’s a very hard concept to implement. This month, I have realized that In order to budget you need the following things:
- Income (a predictable number that you can survive on monthly)
- Know your fixed expenses (when they are due i.e. rent, trash)
- Know your variable expenses (water, electric)
- Give yourself some permission to spend on the things that make you happy. It will take time to learn your needs from your wants. It will also take discipline to stick to limiting the amount you spend on life’s pleasures. They need to be budgeted!
Learning to budget is NOT EASY. At every step in learning to budget I am realizing that I should not be too hard on myself.
Spending less money isn’t really a goal. There is always something that comes up every single month that is guaranteed to put a wrench into things.
Even something as simple as a fancy coffee or a craving for those delicious waffle fries with honey roasted barbecue sauce MUST be budgeted for or you will get derailed. (Note to self, thankfully I have not been lured to the Chick-fil-a drive thru yet…)
Not knowing the difference between a need and a want
This is quite the battle especially with a little one who’s needs are constantly changing. A classic example could be clothes shopping for my little one for a larger size to get a deal? Or should I just wait and see if another deal comes up later?
I have had to caution myself about this because the truth is – there will always be a deal…maybe not at the exact store that you want…AND your child may not really grow much for a long time. So what’s the point? What if you forget the larger item that you stashed anyway? My little one has actually been in same size clothes for 6 months. This is a good indicator to wait for the next deal.
I also will catch myself wanting to buy something that’s on sale for my perfect life (which I most likely will not use). Instead, I need to buy for my current life/situation and dream on paper.
Having a good grasp on a need (an essential item) vs a want (a desired item) is imperative when you’re struggling financially.
Not having specific, clearly defined goals
Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of dreams and aspirations. However, the urgency of which I can attain them either makes them something that is workable, or something that just feels like hope with no direction.
With no direction the goal is unachievable, because then, what can you do? So you just end up doing nothing towards it. Only having the thought about it that makes you smile…
The more that I think through how one can be better with money, I realize that the only way is to live more intentionally. Set specific goals and plan towards them.
It takes a careful outlining of your goals, understanding your habits and making sure that at least your current life can be supported by your current income with some extra wiggle room.
Have you tried and failed or been successful at a “no spend” month? What else would you add to this list? I would love to know your thoughts about this subject.