No-Spend February - Finance thread

My wife and I have did something similar in the past, and amusingly, I think we chose the same month! Either that or January. Not sure if that's a coincidence, or if both we and you concluded that it's a little easier to do in the winter when you're less inclined to go out anyway?

Anyway, it's a great habit to get in, not just because you spend less (even if you "make up for it" after the month is over, good chance you won't counteract all the spending), but because it's pretty likely you come out the other end of it broken of a few habits, once you realize how easy it is to go without X or Y. Of course you also learn some things are very hard to go without, but that's useful, too. One of the nice things about getting older is figuring out which things are important to you, and prioritizing those, and this is one of the better ways to do that.

My family and I are about to enter a No-Spend February, which is a way to analyze and adjust a person or family's financial budgeting approach, and most importantly, reign in frivolous spending.

The idea is to only spend money on the "four walls" that are necessary to live, while cutting out all other spending for an entire month. The four walls are:

Shelter
Basic food requirements
Transportation
Utilities/Bills

So... no clothing, eating out, entertainment/gaming/events, drinking, smoking, lottery tickets, Starbucks lattes, random app purchases, NO GOING TO THE MOVIES. A tough one for the MoFos, which will have most of them not joining in, I am sure!

*If you like road snacks, buy them at the grocery store and bring them with you etc. Make coffee at home and bring it with you etc. Sorry New Englanders: NO DUNKIN DONUTS!

There are exceptions: Car repair, medical emergencies, prescriptions etc. Just use common sense here.

I have a PDF tracker sheet if you want want, just let me know I can email it over.

Some helpful hints:

Tell your friends/family, both to ensure accountability and to let people know your usual hang out session won't include your usual food delivery order.

No cheat days!

If an item comes up that you want, make a list, and assess it in a need vs want paradigm at end of month - this is the entire focus of doing this: assessing needs vs. wants.

Use a spending tracking sheet or a finance app to monitor all transactions.

In summary, the object here to to quash instant gratification through spending, curb or halt retail therapy (my wife...oy vey!!), and inculcate better habits when analyzing wants vs needs. My wife has a nasty habit of randomly stopping in at stores buying things she doesn't need, and finding them, still with the tags on them, months later in a closet.

As an aside, this is good time to analyze bills, try to knock some down if possible, and perhaps adjust how you go grocery shopping by trying to find bulk deals, use coupons and things of that nature. Also a good time to analyze entertainment funding, whether or not streaming has gotten out of hand, gaming etc.

One example is that you can try to call your internet company, threaten them with moving your service because the other company will offer you the same service for $XX.XX, and either actually move your service, or get them to knock 40 bucks off your bill. Stuff like that.

I will be using this thread to track my progress, but though I would put it live on MoFo in case anyone wants to join. I w ill be making edits to this post as I think of things to add, as well.

If this is the message that you got from my post, then you have either misinterpreted it, or, more likely, I did not do a very good job of communicating it. I was seeking to share some principles that I've followed for years that have worked for me, that I thought aligned with the topic of this thread, how to become more financially sustainable, that I hoped would help others too. Living below my means and resisting the impulse to live a lifestyle beyond what I can comfortably afford has been a powerful and very effective tool for me. It's keeping fixed expenses manageable, rather than not buying that coffee at Starbucks, that I think matters more over the long term.

Time to buy that second house I've been eyeing. Maybe a couple jetskis and the gas to run em for a month. Then I'll be ready.

I use to like to treat myself and my wife to Starbucks but my god two fancy drinks there along with a pastry or two can set you back $20-25, just for fancy coffee! It adds up over the course of a year, it really does.

Back when I first started using finance software, after the first month, I logged in and there was a big red bar next to "Coffee Shops." From that day on, I stopped buying those drinks. Haven't had one since.

Smart! I live in Western Washington state home of the original Starbucks so we've had those fancy espresso stands here for almost 30 years. Fancy coffee drinks is a way of life around here and I use to love going to the small independent espresso stands where I could buy a iced mocha for myself and a hot chocolate for my wife for $3.50...But not now the price has went way up...Long ago I bought me an inexpressive espresso machine for under $150 and every single morning I make my own iced mocha drink for next to nothing. I've probably save enough in the last 20 years of 'coffee money' to buy a new car!


BTW I love your idea for this thread. Very cool.

Can I ask you which machine you got? My wife has been asking about one. Alas, I would need to wait until March to buy it!

And...thanks.

Can I ask you which machine you got? My wife has been asking about one. Alas, I would need to wait until March to buy it!

And...thanks.

All home espresso machines are junk. Buy yourself a Moka pot. Far and away the best coffee you can make at home.



There's a reason why almost every household in Italy has one of these.

Can I ask you which machine you got? My wife has been asking about one. Alas, I would need to wait until March to buy it!

And...thanks.

I like both of your post AKA and I see what you're saying. In a nutshell you're saying don't use 100% of your income as spendable but save as much as possible for a rainy day. I've known plenty of people who at one time or another tried to impress others by spending beyond their means. In America we use to call that 'Keeping up with the Jones'