Have You Ever Heard About A No-Spend Day?

Have you discovered the power of a ‘no-spend day?’ What is a no spend day you ask? It’s as simple as it says – it’s a day where you go about your life as normal but you do not spend a thing – nothing.

Whoa! That sounds crazy right, especially for this time of the year… you might think so but it isn’t really because this time of year is all about family and coming together and yes, whilst there is spending that comes in a major way this time of year it doesn’t mean that you need to spend like crazy and spend all the time, or spend every day.

Implementing a no-spend day at this time of year is a conscious effort of putting yourself first and respecting your money. And if you feel that implementing a no spend day this side of Christmas is madness then consider this a seed planted in your mind to develop a no spend day in the year ahead.

How does a ‘no spend day’ work?

The first step is to pick a day of the week that is an easy day for you to implement.  It might be a Tuesday for example, rather than a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday when you are more likely to be out socializing.

So, pick a Tuesday and stick to it. On this day choose to make conscious and decisive decisions that enable you to support your goal of a no spend day.

Things like making sure your petrol tank is full so you don’t sneak into the service station for your morning coffee or other sweet treats, and making sure you have packed your lunch so you don’t need to go to the local shops and spend money.

Simple right?

It’s easy to spend $20 per day on coffee and snacks and treats at work because quite often we are stressed and are seeking the next dopamine fix just to get through the work day. Being conscious of how your mind reacts, your body reacts, and setting a clear rule of a no spend day will give you back the power over your mind and purse or wallet to identify and reflect upon yourself for one whole day.

$20 per day is not a big deal anyway, is it? If applied for every single working Tuesday of your year it equates to a measly $960.

Here’s the kicker…

When you realise that a no-spend day is a game and that you can override your mindset or the want to purchase little things each day you regain your power, and before you know it you implement two no-spend days per week.

Now your $960 looks like $1,920 per year.

Being competitive and not wanting to be outdone on implementing two non-spend days per week you decide up your game so that Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s are no-spend days… a lazy $2,880 saved over the period of the year for you (double if your partner does this with you and has the same spending habits!).

Now you might say wow, just short of $3,000 no big deal right? Well, if you have been applying this rule and growing your days over a period of time you would be dead wrong in your assumption as what has actually happened is massive.

Throughout the process you have become ‘self-aware’ of your spending and you have made a conscious decision to not spend. You have created in your mind a what is called ‘cognitive dissonance,’ especially if you are utilising cash as part of a weekly spending with a focus on not spending.

Cognitive dissonance is something that your brain now cannot unsee (like a bell that has been rung, you can’t un-ring it), and as part of a de-programming of your consumer mindset it can be an absolute blessing for all spending going forward.

This new mindset is something that you will take forwards in all financial matters and the rewiring of your ‘spending’ brain will take a new calibration that you will take into your weekend endeavors.

You will find creative cost-effective solutions like never before and you will end up saving far more money than you could ever have dreamt of.

A no spend day is a quick way to flip your life from being about things, to being about experiences and a quick way to remove flippant consumerism from your mindset, which is why we believe the silly season is the perfect time to begin because if you can implement this small change in the busiest time of the year then you have no excuse to not implement it during the quiet times of the year.

A no-spend day that becomes no-spend day’s can grow to become a no-spend week. This does not mean that you get the end of the week and spend everything you have saved throughout the week (that’s cheating), it simply means that when you get to the weekend and do your grocery shop/socialisations for example, that you spend within your means and that the money saved during your week is saved or invested for your brighter financial future.

Will you consider a no-spend day or week as part of your financial management going forward?

We dare you…