I have been feeling like I need a hard reset. Life has just been super busy the past few months, good busy, the best busy. But during the pandemic I got really used to keeping my apartment to a certain level of organization, my finances to a certain level of healthy, my chores a certain level of done. Basically just because I didn’t have to get ready in the morning, commute, etc. I had a ton of time to keep up with chores, exercise routines, and because I wasn’t traveling or having social plans I wasn’t really spending money (except for needlepoint, I spent a lot of money getting into needlepoint). So now that we are back to travel, having social lives, and going into the office I am struggling to balance the level of routine that I had during the pandemic with my current lifestyle. So since I am home for the next six or seven weeks, I am going to do a hard reset.

To have a successful no-spend month, you have to prepare, I have to prepare in order to make it a successful month where I can save a lot of money for Christmas and my other goals.

1. Plan when/where you have to spend money. I know I have a work trip at the end of the month where breakfast and lunch will be provided but not dinner. I know I have to buy groceries. I know I am determined to get done some house tasks that will require buying Command Velcro hanging strips, drawer pulls, and light bulbs. I’m probably going to need to buy cat litter. I know I am going to have to buy gas. I know if I don’t buy a take-out coffee for an entire month I will emotionally combust.
2. Plan when/where you know you are not going to spend money. I can go a month without buying clothes, without buying makeup, without making an unplanned house purchase. I can avoid buying books (maybe that will finally get me to get a library card).
3. Re-evaluate your subscriptions. Because I track my expenses I know exactly what subscriptions I have, but if you don’t regularly track your expenses you should make sure you go through your credit card statement and assess any subscriptions you have. A lot of them increased this year so I would say it’s extra crucial this year.
4. Cook what is in your freezer and pantry. Food prep to avoid eating out is one of the most important parts of a no-buy month. Planning our meals, planning for meals you will actually enjoy, and actually cooking the things we plan are the only steps that we can take to be able to ensure that we don’t end up eating out or completely blow up our grocery budget trying not to eat out.

Spending Plan//

So I have mapped out when in the month my bills are, when I am going to be doing my groceries, when I’m going to buy the bag of cat litter, and the home supplies, get gas, get coffee, and when I have to get dinner out.

So this is the big goal for November, have a no-spend month. I will probably still be looking at online shopping because I need to plan for Christmas presents, but I’m not actually going to make any purchases until December.

Wish me luck!

Laura