The No-Spend Month: Week 1

Spending money is a lot easier than not spending money.

The first week of February has come and gone, and the first week of my no-spend month is officially over. Did I live to tell the tale? I did indeed, and I think my bank account is doing a bit better so far, too.

This past week here in Colorado we got one of the biggest snowstorms we’ve had in quite some time. The thing about Colorado and snowstorms is that you really only get any meaningful accumulation in the mountains — the rest of us Coloradans actually live in a high desert climate, so we’re often warm and windy instead of snowy and icy. This time, though, we ended up with about 9–10 inches on the ground (at least near my side of town) which meant that I was stuck at home for the majority of the week.

Let me tell you one very crucial thing about being stuck at home in the middle of a snowstorm — it can make it both easier and harder to stick to any no-spend month rules!

When you’re indoors and scrolling through social media, it can be tempting to purchase more than you need. Conversely, being stuck inside means I wasn’t going to get food at the restaurant down the street or stuffing my cart full of unnecessary items at Target. It can be a win-win situation if you let it, or a lose-lose situation. And the choice is all up to me!

I think I did pretty good for my first no-spend week, and here’s how it all broke down.

February 1st

The only thing I purchased on Tuesday was Jimmy John’s. Was it an entirely necessary purchase? No. Was it a simple way to get some nourishment in my body in between multi-hour long meetings in the morning and the afternoon? Yes. Worthwhile if you ask me.

February 2nd

I am proud to report that on Wednesday I did not make any purchases. *happy dance*

February 3rd

For some reason on Thursday, I started literally dreaming about a particular hot sauce that would make my avocado toast that much better. It was silly, but it influenced me and I had to go purchase said hot sauce online. Now this purchase could be counted in my “essential” grocery category, but the truth is that I didn’t need this hot sauce, so I guess my spending on this particular day is in no-man’s-land between essentials and splurges…

February 4th

Friday was another day where I didn’t spend a single cent. Yippee!

February 5th

On Saturday I bought a couple of pairs of sweatpants. I used funds from another order of sweatpants from November (I know — the fact that they still hadn’t arrived is a bit mindboggling) that I finally canceled. So this purchase ended up being neutral since it didn’t take any additional money out of my bank account. I’m going to include it here, though, to keep myself honest.

February 6th

I caved and bought McDonald’s for breakfast on Sunday. It didn’t even taste that great, if I’m being truthful, so hopefully writing that down here will help me remember that feeling the next time I’m tempted to order out breakfast!

And there you have it — the no-spend month: week 1. I hope this gave you some inspiration if you’re embarking on a no-spend month of your own. Or made you laugh, at least, with my silly late-night hot-sauce purchasing. See you next week for part two of the no-spend month!

Previously published on Medium