No-Spend September

Could I do a no-spend challenge for the whole month?

The idea came to me in August. Earlier this year, I started a monthly budget, with allotted amounts for expenses, but with most of my income going towards savings. I track everything on a spreadsheet. In August, I had some extra bills but I realized that if I combined August and September, I could reach my savings goals for the two month-period, as long as I didn’t buy anything extra during the month of September.

Some months this would be impossible, but I knew I didn’t have any plans that would require eating out or travel expenses. All my digital subscriptions are paid yearly and none were due during September.

Also, the weather looked promising to ride my bicycle to work.

On August 29, I filled up my gas tank. I live with my parents, and I pay them room and board monthly, so I gave them a check for September on August 30. The same day, I also prepared my tithe for the month (there are things more important than money).

I didn’t take a vow or anything like that. If something really important or special came up, it would be okay to bend my own rules. For example, if I had to visit someone in the hospital, I wasn’t going to say, “Oh, no, I can’t use the gas to come visit you.”

Nor did I tell many people. I only told my parents what I was doing about nine days into the month. To my surprise, Mom was a big fan and told some of my siblings about it. So I was committed after that.

I worked five days a week like normal. I volunteered at Blessings of Hope, went to a friend’s house for supper, went hiking, etc. My friend Rhonda shared her Longwood Garden membership with me and a few others and we had a beautiful evening there, watching the fountain show. I told her about my no-spend month, and Rhonda said, “Good for you!” We all packed our own supper and I gave Rhonda a small gift from my cupboard as a “thank-you.”

Shopping less wasn’t a new choice for me. I’ve tried for years to not buy more than I need. But I also love to find good bargains at a thrift store, browse book sales, and purchase carefully chosen shoes and clothing online. But this month I stayed away from all three.

I had a gift card for Good’s Store that I used to buy a new toothbrush and a few gifts for others. But I didn’t spend money on anything, in-store or online.

Recently I read a minimalist blog that described “the freedom from boxes and shopping bags.” At first I thought this was a little silly. Amazon boxes are a burden? But after doing this for a month, I have to say it’s nice not to decide what to do with those cardboard boxes and packing material. Instead, I cleaned my bedroom and found nearly twenty dollars’ worth of coins.

Not buying gas was by far the hardest. Normally I buy gas about twice a month. So I would have to cut my driving in half.

Usually, I think of gas as a fixed expense. But since I live within biking and walking distances of many places I go to regularly (such as the library), trying to reduce gas expenses is a great way to exercise and save money.

My job is six miles away— Route 23 almost the whole way—lots of traffic, but flat. I have a good bike and flexible hours, so biking to work is feasible and I occasionally do so in nice spring and fall weather. This month, however, I biked more often than I ever have before, biking an average of four days every week.

By the middle of the month, the gas tank had crept to the halfway mark. Since I had gotten so far I started to really cut back on driving as much as I could.

I didn’t ask anyone to drive me to work. The point of challenging myself wasn’t to make other people make sacrifices for me. (To me, this is an important distinction between frugality and stinginess.)

Two Sunday mornings I walked to church. The first time, it was a church in my neighborhood that I had never visited, so it wasn’t far at all.

The next Sunday, I walked to my church in New Holland which is 4.8 miles away. The walk on the way to church was cool and pleasant, and I found myself daydreaming of taking a week off of work and going on a long, epic walk. Hmm, five days, twenty miles a day, that’s about a hundred miles, I bet that would take me to the ocean… could I convince someone to try it with me? I envisioned a route through small towns, staying in Air Bnbs, meeting interesting people…

But the 4.8 miles back home under the hot sun baked reality back into my mind. Probably I’ll find another way to use my vacation days.

The next morning, I biked to work even though my legs were stiff from walking so far the previous day. In the morning, it was cloudy but not raining. By the time I left work, however, a steady drizzle was coming down. It had been years since I biked in the rain, and I didn’t even have a hoodie, just my reflector vest as a protection against the elements.

There was nothing to do but peddle homeward on my fender-less bicycle, splashing through the grime that lines Route 23. Memories of how good a hot shower feels after a cold wet ride kept me going. I dodged puddles, slick horse manure, and roadkill. At one spot there were even lettuce leaves spread along the shoulder— a whole head must have tumbled off someone’s bike or truck.

The next day, I drove to work.

Still, because of all the biking and walking, I made my gas tank last all month!

And yes, I made it the entire month without spending any money!

I’m glad September is over and I can return to a normal budget.

Of course, my no-spend challenge was self-imposed because I’m trying to save up to buy my own house, not because of real scarcity.

I realize doing a no-spend challenge would be much harder if I was living on my own or if I had children to take care of. I’m not suggesting a complete no-spend month is realistic for most people. But others might be able to come up with a challenge with a list of essentials that meet the spirit of the challenge with different specifics.

For October, my parents have decided on their own challenge: no grocery shopping all month, except for milk. The garden still has carrots, peppers, and sweet potatoes, so we won’t lack fresh vegetables. Mom and Dad got the idea for a no-grocery shopping after bringing home a fundraiser pizza kit that they could hardly fit in the freezer.

Happy October! If you have a ever tried a no-spend challenge, I’d love to hear about it!