Finally!! After what felt like 138 days, January is finally OVER ya'll! Seriously, this month has been ridiculously long. I'm happy to report that my NO Spend is over. I am very happy about that but also thankful for the experience. In hindsight, it has been a huge blessing and I learned a lot about myself and my spending habits. Here are the top 5 lessons I learned from this NO SPEND month.
2. I need a hobby. I need activities to keep me busy in times of boredom. Here are some ideas for activities that don't cost money. I did each one of these during this month and found it great alternatives to hitting the mall or browsing some of my favorite online shops
- Workout. This can be at a gym or simply taking a walk or popping in a tape at home.
- Bible Study. This is one hour a day you can spend fellowshipping and networking with other Christian minded individuals. It feeds your soul which is better than any shopping trip.
- Cooking. Pick an amazing recipe you have never tried before and give it a shot. Cooking can be very therapeutic and rewarding to create something amazing.
- Invest time in to your business. For me this can be through writing and planning. It cost nothing to edit a picture I have taken, or plan out next week's Instagram posts.
- Enjoy the things you already pay money for. i.e Cable/ Netflix etc.
5. I NEED very little. The notion that I NEED something has been my favorite excuse for purchasing an item. When I started this challenge I felt anxiety because I didn't feel I could survive unless I had everything I 'Needed' first. Which is essentially cheating so I didn't do it and quickly realized I didn't 'NEED' much of anything outside of a few household essentials i.e toothpaste/ toilet paper. I also have a LOT of stuff. Stuff I had forgotten about and had tucked away deep in my closet/cabinet/pantry. The amount of duplicates I found in my pantry when I pulled everything out to organize. I had 4 bags of chia seeds an ENTIRE bottle of Olive Oil I had never opened not to mention the amount of almost full hair products I found. Pretty sure I thought I NEEDED all those things when I ran out to the store to waste my money on them.
So there you have it dolls. My top 5 takeaways from this challenge. In short, am I glad I did it? YES! Am I changed forever? YES!! It felt great to be in control of my money again. That end of the month feeling of 'Where did all my money go?' was not a good one. And worst, it was rarely worth it. I mean I bought crap I didn't give a second thought to and was honestly out of control. I still enjoy spending money but it will be a lot more INTENTIONAL going forward. I plan on being Intentional not only with my wardrobe as laid out in my challenge HERE, but in all purchases I make going forward. So I'm curious to know, would you consider a NO BUY month? If so, what do you think would be your biggest challenge?? Let me know in the comments below.
I agree I did the same thing this month. Coming home to an empty mailbox and no packages at my door was horrible loll. I want to do better this whole year with spending money.
ReplyDeleteI am supposed to be doing a no-spend February and I don't think I'm going to make it
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