Episode three p forty is episode one ninety How to prepare for a no spend challenge and the secret is sticking to it.
Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, and live a life. Here your hosts Jen and Jill.
Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast.
My name is Jen, my name is Jill.
And it is the end of September and we know that October is a very popular no spend month for many of you, so we wanted to replay this episode, which was very popular two years ago. If you are interested in doing no spend October or just a thirty day no spend challenge. If you've already bought all your spooky season stuff, but you know you gon't spend money on Halloween either, we want to support you in that with this episode.
Yes, it's such a good one. I love I love challenges, I love gamifying things. Yes, but first, this episode is brought to you by being Ready. It's not just for the overachievers and first responders. We know there's plenty of you out there who are ready down to party, up for a hang, frankly ready for anything. We also know you're ready for our newsletter. That's right. We're in your inbox three times a week with a carefully curated list of freebies, savings tips, and money hacks that you don't
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So if you love no spend challenges, we have done a lot of episodes over the years on these. This is just one of them. We also have episode two eighty six Should you Try a no spend Challenge? And then episode one twenty seven How a no spend challenge can help your finances. We really believe that taking a pause for just one month on discretionary spending can very much help you identify your spending triggers and then figure out what you truly value and what you want to
work on not spending on long term. So we don't think that no spend challenges are fad diets. We think they're just an opportunity to pause for a short amount of time and recalibrate. So, without further ado, let's get into this helpful episode on how to prepare for a no spend challenge.
Let's do it.
Last time, last time, all right, Moving on to our articles on no spend challenges. The first is from Forbes dot com and it is titled is a no spend month the right way to save money?
What do you think, Jill?
I think that's clickbait because we all know the answer to this one.
Well up for a little debate.
I think I've I've talked about no spend challenges long enough to hear both. I mean people that are like vehemently against them because if you do them wrong, they are like the detox fad diets of the personal finance world. But if you do them right, a detox can be really helpful for your So it just depends on your mentality around it.
Well again, they yes, they do mention that in this article, but most so the article is written in support of a no spend challenge and highlights how to go about one. What it can highlight for you, what you should be considering. So even from the author's perspective. I think they are advocating for this so clickbait.
So they walk through the essentials of planning for a no spend month, and so these are all super important in getting started. So the first one is define your essentials for the no spend months, so there is no one correct answer for what essentials are for you or to even how to do a.
No spend month.
That's something that I think is really important to know that you should never just take somebody else's rubric for how to do something and try to replicate it.
You should figure out.
What you're struggling with, what you want to do, and and craft a challenge around those that gets you the growth that you want to see.
And I think it's worth thinking through and exploring everything that Forbes lays out here in how to do a no spend because that is a really important tip for how you stick to a no spend month. Is this preparation time and really understanding what it is, how you engage with it so that you don't end up in that camp of why the heck do we do these? They're awful? Well, do them right, they're great. So I like to their definition here of what a no spend
challenge is at least for just a month. We know that you could do a no spend challenge day, week, month, which is what we're focusing on here, even year, So you choose, but we're talking about a month for the purpose of this episode, and so it's taking one month off from your usual spending habits to try to build
up a certain amount of cash savings in the bank. Again, you decide what that amount is, what is it that you want to cut out, what is it that you do want to be able to spend on, and how much are you hoping to save by the time that this month is over. So the second thing that they mentioned here that it can help with is to just refocus your budget. It allows you to take a fresh look at your spending and they ask some really relevant
questions here that I appreciate. In preparing for and doing this now Spend Challenge, of course, it's going to require us to look at and track our spending, to look at what have we been spending on, what do we want to be spending on, and ask ourselves have our habits gotten out of line with what we say our goals are or even our values. I know you've heard us all talk about values based spending, So as you look at your recent spending are they are they in
line or out of line. They even mentioned how some people with the pandemic have done really well with not spending as much because there's no commute, maybe you're eating lunch at home more, kind of getting into different habits. But then for some of us it has given excuse and reason to spend in ways that maybe don't align with our goals and values. So it's just an opportunity to re look at that.
The third thing that you want to do is to set a goal. And this one actually says set a goal to reward yourself, and I don't know, I mean I read it, but i'd like to I'd like to rephrase it. I just like to set a goal and reward yourself for hitting it. So you should know why you're doing a no spend challenge, and it shouldn't just before the sake of saving money.
So that's going to be.
Your deeper why, your deeper yes, and it makes saying no to other things more palatable. So if I have a deeper yes, then I can say no to instant gratification more easily. That's not a fail safe. There will be times when the instant gratification mentality creeps up and wins. But the goal is not to be perfect. The goal is to just set up the boundaries that make mindless and impulse spending a little more difficult so that you can think about them consciously and intention intentionally. And so
the goal is really important to doing that. And it shouldn't just be the goal to pay off debt, because that's a bigger one, but it doesn't translate to the same instant gratification that that's going to try and win out in the moment. So it should be a goal
that's attainable at the end of your challenge. So whether that's I want to put five hundred extra dollars towards my debt, I want to save eno f to you know, put the down payment on a vacation or whatever, that goal should be meetable by the end of the challenge and then that can be the reward. But you can also do like an extra small reward for yourself as well, like I would always like reward myself with a latte too, So I think that's super important in planning.
I think that the step that came before that would be helpful too in defining what the goal is as you ask yourself some of these questions that are listed out in the article of have my spending habits gotten out of line? Are there areas within my essentials that could even be tidied up and my spending money automatically on things that I don't use? The goal might even be to rein in certain types of spending to make your spend more align with your values. It could be
any number of things that your goal is. But again, moving through those steps is super helpful and I love what you're highlighting there jen of we're going to do better sticking to it if we do have a clear goal in mind and that time limited goal in mind, to know that it is something that can be done within a month, not just I want to save ten thousand dollars. Well, if your earnings don't reflect that, then you won't be able to do that in one month
for sure. And then finally they wrap up the article with highlighting the pros and cons, and I think this is worth looking at, especially as we talk about sticking to this no spend challenge, to know what we're getting ourselves into what can I expect of this, what are some of the good things about it, and what are some of the things that I need to be aware might not be super beneficial. So, of course, the pros
with it is that it's a short time commitment. One month is an eternity, so that can make a no spend month really attainable. It can provide a good deal of clarity on our spending habits, on the things that we value, on just habits in general. It's amazing to hear from people who do a no spend challenge for any amount of time what they realize about themselves. So clarity on a lot of levels I think is worth expecting that that's going to happen. It can also highlight
our priorities. It can help with some longer term savings goals. And then on the flip side, some of the cons can be as you've already mentioned and the diet effect right, Diets in general aren't always super beneficial because we feel like we've really deprived ourselves and then when we go off of the diet, we kind of binge again. So it's going to be really important that we have this in mind and set up some barriers to us not
just binging once the no spend month is over. Another thing that they point out is that it's only one month. So while that's a pro in its short time commitment, it could be a con and the fact that you can't accomplish the world in one month. But I still think it's worth it because then you can decide do I want to do longer no spend challenges or what do I want to implement from here, So that's that's
refutable for sure. And then finally the fact that small spendings are not always the lead culprit to our financial difficulties. That's you know, that latte factor. It's not just cutting out buying coffee that's going to help make us our millions. And that is true. I would argue with that that a no spend challenge can highlight some of the bigger
financial problems that we may have. It can clear some of the clutter to identify what some of the deeper problems are, what the roots are, so that we can tackle it. So it's again, yeah, our vote is definitely do This doesn't have to be in January, but at some point throughout the year, we believe there's so much benefit to this, but keep these things in mind. It'll help you to stick with it.
Yeah.
The bottom line here is, don't feel bad if a no spend month doesn't work for you. Not everyone can go without spending money, even for a month, but I think everyone should at least give it a try. And there's even a hybrid model. If you can't go a full thirty days without spending on discretionary expenses, you can try to do a hybrid where you plan to do fifteen or sixteen days out of thirty where you don't spend any money. And so that's honestly a little harder.
It's not my first choice if you are trying to learn about your spending, but it is something that can kind of you wet your whistle and get you introduced to them so that you feel more confident about doing a full no spend month. I think the last thing I want to say in this article is that I love that they pointed out small dollar spending is often not the most significant part of your problem in frugality.
Many times we tend to stay focused on that, and you know us, if you listen to us for any period of time, that we don't practice that kind of frugality. We practice high impact frugality and we focus on big, big items, but we think these smaller items can tell us a lot about ourselves and they can build self discipline that permeates into other parts, into the big impact parts. So it's still you should remember it and focus on
it for a time, but not get stuck here. This is definitely the easiest place to start, and that's why we talk about it a lot. But we don't want to get stuck in the low hanging fruit part. We want to like move on to you know, bigger things like refinancing a mortgage and buying used over new products and stuff. So stuff like that is where we really want to progress.
To climb the tree. Please get the high hanging fruit.
Absolutely So.
Our next article is from the Savvy Sparrow and it's how to do a no spend challenge plus ten tips to stick with it.
And so it's a.
Pretty long article and we are just going to look at these ten tips to stick with it.
What did you think about them, Jill, Well, I think they give us a bonus because there's actually eleven tips. I yeah, right, which is great. This is a great article and I'm glad that we're going to be able to spend the majority of our time on this one because it's worth reading through the whole thing. They talk about the different reasons for doing a no spend challenge based on what your various financial goals might be and how a no spend challenge can support that. So it's
all great. Then you get to about the middle and there's just some really good tips for sticking to it. So we're going to go through all eleven, the bonus, one, two and give our feedback. So I let's get into it. The first one is one of our personal favorites, Give yourself Grace. We love to talk this message of freedom
and permission and kindness towards ourself. So please know as you enter this, especially if you're doing it for the first time, being kind to yourself, gracious with yourself, Knowing and expecting that you may have an off day, that you may break one of your own rules that you've set up for yourself. Expect it, plan for it, and by doing so, you will have better success in sticking
to it and not completely falling off the wagon. So throughout the whole process, just keep this in mind of being kind to yourself.
Yes, absolutely, I'm glad that is tip number one. Tip number two is if you do mess up one day, as you can expect that you will, especially if you've never done one before, don't use it as an excuse to binge spend, and don't say, oh, I messed up, so I'm just going to go off of it and I'll try again next month. I love starting a challenge on the first, but I also hate it, I think because people think they can only start something on the first,
which is absolutely not true. I would love to normalize starting things on the third, or the sixth, or the seventeen, stuff like that. So if I think we love the uh, James clear recommendation in his book Atomic Habits that you try and go every day, don't break the streak. But if you do break the streak, don't break it twice. So if you mess up one day, get back on it the next. Because even if you miss every other day, you've still done what fifteen sixteen no spend days And that's amazing.
Hm.
And this is so easy to do too. Like you spend one thing, it's like, well I already broke it, so oops oops oops, oops oops I'm pulling into the drag to the parking lot of my favorite store. Oh oops, no, no that's okay, No no, no, bought one thing. But just go home. Yeah, go home and stop spending money. Don't open your computer, all right? Yeah. Tip number three,
Focus on the end goal. This is so important. This will have to be front of mind throughout the entire month, rather than focusing on what it is that you're giving up again, whatever that is, whether it's that coffee shop or going out to lunch or getting drinks with friends, whatever it is. Don't focus on what you're giving up, but what you're gaining. So whatever your why was that we talked about in that first article at the top of the episode, what is the goal of this challenge,
Keep reminding yourself of that. So, whether it's saving money for an upcoming vacation or being able to pay cash. They give an example of paying cash for your kids braces. I don't know if that's you, and this is going to be able to jumpstart that savings. Focus on your child straight teeth as the reason why you can't get drinks with your girlfriends, and let that be the motivator.
Yes, you want your child to get a really great job so they can support you one day.
So skip those drinks.
Yeah, so that you can have all the things you ever wanted when yeah, it does inevitably, just financially pay for everything for you.
That's the goal, we joke, yes U.
Tip four is to save your unused gift cards for a rainy no spend day.
We used to do this all the time.
We would use our gift cards during the no Spend Challenge because sometimes we would just keep them around and save them for like a special occasion or something, but the special occasion never comes.
So we always designated the no.
Spend Challenge as the special occasion, and so we would use our gift cards there. So I think this is a great, great tip.
I love this one, and I love that they highlight for a rainy no spend day, like the day that you're finding particularly difficult and you just want to get out of the house and you want to do something that feels like a treat, but you don't want to spend money. Grab that gift card, use that to satisfy whatever the urge is that you're experiencing. All right, I
love this one too. Take advantage of freebies. This is such a good reminder that a no spend challenge is not congruent with a no fun challenge, which it.
Was that challenge, do that challenge.
That's not even a challenge to be had. It's funny. I almost laughed out loud when I read this, because I almost think that, like, all right, just buckle down for a month and just remove it all and see what you can do and accomplish. And it's partly that, but it's also like, oh, be creative, see how many things you can do without spending money. Like there is a flip side to this, so I love that they're
highlighting this. They have a whole link of freebies. They mention how Krispy Cream or various coffee shops or ice cream shops, we'll give away free ice cream, free donuts, free whatever on certain days of the year, so check that out. Also check out events on Facebook that are local to your area, free events. That's a great place to find things to do that you don't have to
spend money on. Still get together with friends. All of these things are still possible to have fun wale you're not spending and you can feel even more accomplished by the end of this month when you can say, look at how much I saved and I had fun.
Absolutely, we are all about fun and it keeps your mind off of spending money. So it's not just a good idea.
It's a necessity. Tip six.
When you have to leave the house, bring water, bottles and snacks. This is just a great tip in general, always have a few snacks. A mom knows this, have a few snacks and some water, and.
That she does say, especially if you have kids.
I won't feel the need to stop and buy coffee or something. Get yourself a really nice travel mug for your coffee. Solve the problem of takeout coffee and just get yourself a nice travel mug.
And before you're not with challenge.
Yeah, it solves a lot of problems. And so also, if you know that you'll be out running errands for a long time, maybe during a meal time, then you may want to pack a small lunchbox. You're cooler with enough food to hold you over until you get home. So that's a great way to avoid the eating out.
Number seven. Plan your meals at least twenty four hours in advance. So this is one of those things that will absolutely stretch some muscles for some of us, some of you are experts at meal planning, and this tip is going to be no problem for you. Others of us, this is going to be an important discipline to practice. And we're not saying that you've got to be a master and you've got to do the Sunday night, clear glass container meal prep for the week instagram worthy situation.
Just at least twenty four hours in advance, have an idea of what lunch dinner is going to look like. This is definitely going to help you stick to it and not have an impulse purchase of some sort of takeout or even going to a restaurant some night. This helps us to be able to defrost the meat that we need to defrost, be looking in our pantries, all of that. So love this tip. Again, doesn't have to be insane. Just look at twenty four hours in advance m H.
And that kind of ties into tip eight, which is use your no spend challenge time to actually eat the foods you already have. So sometimes we call this a pantry challenge, and while I don't practice it, some people will simultaneously do that with their no spend challenge. So it's essentially not spending money on groceries either, and just eating everything out of your fridge, freezer, and pantry so
that you can minimize the clutter in your kitchen. And it's a really great idea if you're somebody who stocks up on sales and sometimes has to throw food away because it's past its expiration date, if you have a packed fridge, this is a really good opportunity to get creative and use what you have, though it is not required. I would always spend money on fresh produce and stuff because I tend to have a more minimalist fridge, so I wouldn't be able to make it a month on the things.
In my kitchen.
But even if you don't think you do, you will be surprised by how much you can get through just listing everything out that you have in your kitchen, making a full inventory, and thinking of meals that you can make with what you already have. I'm sure you can go at least a week without grocery shopping. I'm sure most people can.
Mm hm.
It's so true, and it's amazing how fun it can be to get creative with the stuff that you have. And there's so many resources on the Internet to even plug in, like, all right, I've got rice and a cannabans and this and that and what can I do with it? And upcomes a recipe and then you get to try new things too. Tip number nine. Get into the habit of tracking your income and expenses while you're
doing your no spend challenge. So if this isn't something that you already do, you're gonna wanna consider a system for doing this during the snow Spend challenge, but then also something that you can carry with you beyond this challenge, because you're not gonna know how much you actually saved or how successful this snow Spend challenge was for you if you don't have a way to actually see what was I able to save by the end of this time. And then again, it's a really helpful necessary tool for
moving forward. So track you're spending as well as you're earning. Know how you're going to do that ahead of time before you even start. This is going to be a really helpful thing for sticking to it because it can be such a motivator to know and track. Oh look at now, because I didn't spend on this, I'm able to put even more away towards that goal that I have set for what this my savings to be this month.
So tip number ten, don't start a no spend challenge right before a big holiday or major event. So we are not saying you should do a no spend challenge for December or November, like you could definitely do one in between for a week or something. It's up to you, but we're not suggesting that you put yourself through the mental turmoil that it would be and not spend money
right now. But I love the idea of doing no spend October or maybe into November, so that you can be cognizant of what you're spending money on and that will cause you to spend less overall during the holidays. And so it's not just the you know, Thanksgiving, Christmas holidays, but any time that you have like an anniversary or kid's birthday.
Graduation, stuff like that.
So plan when major events are happening when you're going to want to spend money, and just plan your challenge around that. Maybe you do, you know, maybe you have Valentine's Day in February and you spend money on that because you've been married for less.
Than six seconds.
But maybe you do want to spend money on that, and you decide to do a no spend challenge in February because it is the best month to do a no spend challenge. Twenty eight days, y'all, it is the best. So maybe you skip the fourteenth or the fifteenth or whenever you want to go out to dinner and you just do twenty seven days.
Who's going to know?
How are they going to know?
It doesn't matter. Yeah, so you don't have to, like skip if February is the best month for you to do and it's been challenge, you don't have to skip it just because you want to go out for Valentine's Day. Just make exceptions. You get to make the rules.
Yeah, yes, we make the rules. Yes. Finally, Tip number eleven, which no one was expecting based on the title of this article. But I like it. I like it for the challenge and I like it for life. Make a grocery list before going to the grocery store that's just right here, and then stick to it.
You added that, Jill.
Yeah, well, the tip is to help you to stick to it and then do this and then stick to it. That's the tip.
I did add that Jill's tip is to do it yes exactly.
Eric, and I I think I said this on a recent episode too, that I felt on top of things and a no spend challenge can help you with that of planning ahead. So much of this is connected to future thinking, planning ahead, being proactive. It's how we can have results when we're not impulsively spending, when we are more intentional, and so this just helps us to exercise those muscles in some very real ways. So don't just find yourself at the grocery store racking your brain on
do I need more cheese? What am I going to make this week? Think about that when you're in the comfort of your own home or even your car if your car's comfortable and thing through. But if you're at home, that's convenient because then you can actually check your pantry and and you're like to know if you need cheese or not, and then think through, what do I have already? How can I use that? What else do I need
to get to this into a meal? Write it all into a list, and then challenge yourself during this no spend month to not get anything outside of what's on that list. Really discipline yourself to not break away from what you've decided and then look at the savings of not shopping impulsively, of having a plan. It really could be a motivator for more long term proactive planning.
Absolutely, yeah, I mean I love all of these tips to consider while you're doing and before you start doing your no spend challenge.
I think they're good.
And because really frugal living is just having the mindset of planning ahead. And if you are able to plan ahead and plan in advance, then you.
Are able to live frugally.
Because when we wait till the last minute, or we wait till emergencies and we act reactively instead of proactively, that's when things cost more money. That's why people say, oh, like, if you're living in poverty, you can't live frugally because you're only thinking like hand to mouth and that is a thing. But if you are not living that way and you are able to plan for something, you should take advantage of that because you can save so much
money by using that to your advantage. So this helps train your brain to think that way.
You know what else trains your brain to think in some really amazing ways.
Yeah, to think about the Frugal Friends podcast every week for sure.
The bill.
That's right, it's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William.
Maybe you've paid off your mortgage.
Maybe your card died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore. Bes Bill Buffalo Bills, Bill Clinton, This is the bill of the week.
Hey, Jenn and Jill. My name is Sarah, and I'm so excited to be leaving my first ever Bill of the week. I am a newer listener, but I have a really long commute, so I've been able to download and listen to a lot of episodes and it's really great keeping me motivated, getting me on track to being debt free.
I knew for a.
While exactly what my bill of the week would be, and I'm so excited because it finally happened today.
It is a bill of sale.
Earlier this year, I bought a truck to pull around my travel trailer, and I've had my smaller card just sitting around and I finally decided that I was going to sell it, and with that money, I knew the two bills that I was going to pay off, I was going to pay off my care credit card, which has a ridicult was twenty four percent APR, and I paid off seventeen hundred of that. And I was able to pay off two of our phones, so that will reduce my monthly phone bill by about sixty dollars. The
savings on the credit card is just absolutely insane. Then I was able to call the insurance and I got a refund for the money I've already paid for my insurance. And while I was there, I noticed I had a driver on my insurance that I didn't need, and I took that off and I got an extra forty dollars refunded. So it's just a great day and I'm making waves.
Ah some Sarah.
It's making me want to sing, Sarah.
I love the bill of sale and everything that that bill of sale allowed you to do.
So many things. Not only did you pay off credit cards and phones, but just the sale of this vehicle then caused you to look at something you probably wouldn't have otherwise looked at. But well done for digging deeper. This is so amazing. You really did hit it out of the ballpark and crushed a lot of things all at once.
Congrats Sarah.
If you guys have a bill that hits it out of the ballpark, then please visit Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash.
Bill to leave us yours.
And now it's time for the my Pound.
So today Jill and I are going to share our plans for no spend January because we are doing a no spend challenge in Club BFF in January, and Jill and I participate in these challenges, maybe not as intensely as our members, but we do participate in them as well. So I have been thinking about this for a while.
Hot Seat of Vulnerability.
Yeah, So, I honestly just want to do sixteen no spend days. I've done enough no spend challenges in my life to not really desire to do anymore. And I think you have to know you're out of place where enough is enough and like you're okay, you're happy with your spending, and when you're happy, there earn what you needed to write and then you don't need to like
torture yourself anymore. So I'm not the person that's gonna be doing a no spend year ever, but I do I would like to challenge myself to do sixteen no spend days in January. I would love to kind of reset my spending so that I can reprioritize and do some things that haven't been available or may have gotten out of the habit of over twenty twenty twenty twenty one, just you know, because of the weness. So I'd love to reset and kind of meditate on that while not spending money.
Amazing, Jen, I mean, you are the queen of no spend challenges in your understanding of them, and I do think that this is something unless you really do love them. Once you've done a couple, you can kind of learn from them and implement that. You don't have to do something so extreme. You just kind of implement as you go. Yeah, what you've already learned. Yeah, I agree with that. How
about you, Jill. Well, because I anticipate that I will receive between Santa and my husband everything I could possibly want on my wish list in December, it will be very easy for me do not spend hardly anything in January. Wow, that's my little plug Santa.
Yeah, Santa is getting you some good stuff then.
Wow, I don't want much, but you know, I'm really hoping crossing these fingers that someone's paying attention, and then I find myself on the nice list.
Yeah, maybe a few vitamins accessories.
Yeah no, no, no, no, I'm go with the vitamins. So spending in general, you've heard me describe this. It's not a super difficult area for me. I don't typically spend much, but I do want to be even more cognizant of only spending on renovations in January that it is something that I want to spend on. Like, I'm not going to try and say, let's cut this out because we are trying to make progress on our dumpster fire kitchen.
But I'd love to see us really hone in on just the area of spending excluding pretty much everything else, like keeping ourselves from other types of luxuries, raining in food, which is a big area of spending for us, so that we can put as much money as possible towards getting this house done.
I support that decision.
I also want to see you spend on nothing else but your dumpster fire kitchen.
Thank you. I might find myself traveling a bit in January, so we're gonna have to be proactive and that.
No, put it on hold. Do the kitchen.
That's what I need.
I need you to focus on, Jill, I need you to finish your kitchen.
Think about my needs nikes.
Last time.
Well, with a few days left in September, hopefully you have enough time to execute on the tips in this and also listen to some of those episodes we mentioned at the beginning at the top of the show, and really make the most of no Spend October or no spend any month.
Whenever you're listening to this. When we originally recorded this, we were planning for our no spend Januaries and I did well in that month, and that month kind of continued on for the rest of the portion of the year we're already living. But yeah, I mean this can be implemented really whenever it's going to make the most sense for you.
Yeah, I can't remember if I did those sixteen no spend days.
It was a while ago.
But January is like the other biggest month for no spend challenges. But you do not have to wait for a month where you can do all no spend days. You can do a set number of days in any month and just say I want to have sixteen no spend days this month. Do them either, get them all out for sixteen days or vary them. There's always an option for being more cognizant and more intentional about your spending,
and that's the goal. So we also actually have a few no spend challenge like workbooks and things that we've made over the years. If you go to our shopify I think it's shop dot Frugal Friends podcast dot com, we actually I think have a free seven day No Spend Challenge workbook, but we also have a thirty day No Spend Challenge workbook that you can pay for. And this is a review from that workbook from Brenda. She says, I love this workbook. It's laid out in an easy
to follow format. The questions really made me think about why I want to do the challenge. I've tried to do no spend challenges before, and having the workbook is making a huge difference for me. Between that and having accountability partners also doing the challenge. I know that this time will be much more successful. So awesome, Brenda, So glad you like it.
That's so great. Thanks Brenda for that review of the workbook, and thanks all of you for listening. If you just want freebies, savings tips, values based spending hacks in your inbox every week. If that's kind of the more that you want from us, head to fruglefriendspodcast dot com slash friend letter to get all of those goodies. They're all for free in your inbox. It's fun. There's gifts like the gif's that kind of gifts, but sometimes other types of.
Gifts and sometimes gifts.
Yeah, we like, we like all of it. So if you're ready to get that friend letter and those goodies again, Frugal friendspodcast dot com slash friend letter, see you next time.
Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni. Did you really do a no spend January? Because I remember in January, so this was January twenty twenty two, though this episode came out and in January twenty twenty three. You did not have a no spend.
January in twenty twenty three. Yeah.
Wait, in the Year of Our Lord twenty twenty three.
What are you remembering that? Because I remember you bought a.
Case of wine.
You were like, oh, I'm not going to spend money this month.
Did I do that or did my mother in law do that? No?
You did it, Jill.
Oh, you're right, you're right, you're right, You're right, I, You're right. I okay. This isn't the note at that time twenty twenty two, yes, where I said I'm not spending on anything other than renovations. One hundred percent that's true. And then this past January I thought I was going to do a good thing all over preparing for some of the changes that Eric and I were making in our finances where we were seeing just a decrease overall
of financial resource. And yet knowing this and telling myself we really have to heighten the belt loops or whatever the heck they say, I went on a ram page apparently telling myself that I can't just doesn't work. I did a wine shit man, I ordered from one of those meal kit delivery services. To me, it was prep for the end of the world and stock up now because you're never going to have fun again in your life.
It was like my attempt at being ready to not spend, and in my attempt to be ready to not spend, I spent a lot, which if you just listen to this episode, then you know that that's not exactly the whole goal. That's like binging, but it is what I did. It is what happened. Uh huh, yeah, but you know what, I drank the wine. I hate the food because you know what I hate more than wasting money is wasting food.
So amen, it all got and yeah you did. You did use it all and over the course of several months, it saved you money, but it did not work out for a no spend month. This is what we talk about is long term value. Ye have short term.
Savings, sae.
Look, I know, but when you're doing a no spend challenge, you are looking at the short term, but just for a short amount of time. Which is why we don't talk about like year long no spend challenges.
Those are not something we get behind.
Yeah no, but no to each their own. Because if you do a year long nose bend challenge, surely you can get a book deal. There are one hundred percent of the people I know that have done no spend challenges of a year or more have gotten book deals. So if that is something you're interested in, Wow, that's a little tip, little post show tip here for it. Do a foot a book deal.