May – No Spend Challenge

May – No Spend Challenge

This coming May we will be starting our #EatingHealthySpendingNone no spend challenge! This is an opportunity that we have to all save money for those high utility bills we have coming up this summer. You could also save that money for another purpose of course, like a vacation or a specific need.

The reason why we chose to make it a no spend challenge 5 days per week, instead of every day of the month, is because May is a pretty big month! There’s Mother’s Day and graduations, Memorial Day and some pretty special birthdays that month, including mine!

After talking to my husband about it, this is what we decided and we know we can do it! Our goal is to save $1000 of our money for those summer bills, which would help us out so much! Our goal is to not use any of our extra cash flow for bills because we want to keep the momentum of paying on our debt.

No Spend Month Rules:

• Do not spend any money for 5 days out of the week.

That gives you 2 days per week to spend money on whatever you want, conservatively. You pick the 2 days. It can be different days each week, that does not matter. I plan to do my grocery shopping during those 2 days and fill my car up with gas.

Why Are We Doing This Challenge?

For my family, we are choosing to do this challenge, so that we can save up enough money for those high utility bills during the summer months, without cutting into our debt snowball. We are in the process of paying off our cars, and we don’t want to use any extra money on those payments to go towards utility bills.

How To Prepare For This Challenge:

• Get your pantry ready now. Go through your pantry and get it organized. You want to know what you already have.
• Stock-up on sale items like meat that’s on sale at your grocery store. Bread, cheese, and most produce freezes really well.
• Use extra grocery money each week to buy staples that your family uses weekly. This means stock-up on foods you will need. Buy extra bags of chips, cereal boxes, crackers, etc.
• Meal plan as many meals as you can using only the ingredients you already have at home.
• Have easy meals ready. If you need to stock-up on frozen pizzas, taco shells, or a few convenience foods then do it! You do not want any temptations to eat out.
• Get ready to only spend $40 per week on food during the challenge. This money typically will go towards dairy and produce.
• Plan activities for the month that are FREE.

Remember, this is only 1 month out of your year. It serves a major purpose and will be a huge benefit for your family.

Make sure to write down your goals! If you need to, make a big poster and hang it on the refrigerator.

FREE No Spend Challenge Printable – click link here

How I Will Track My Savings:

• I will be coloring in the days on this FREE printable to track my no spend days.
• On the days I do spend money, I will be writing in that exact number on that day. This gives me a clear picture as to how much I am spending.
• I pull cash out every month for various envelopes. I am going to put all of that money in a special spot, where it cannot be touched. That way, I only have my $40 per week on groceries and gas money. I will not be spending much more than that. Now I am not referring to bills at all, I am only talking about “spending money.”

Let me help you! If you have specific questions or need more help please let me know. You can always get contact me through my website here, or through social media. I am here to be an encouragement to you, and please know you are not alone! This is going to be fun. I will post thrifty ideas for you during the month. Lets do this together while we eat healthy and spend none!