When I started doing No-Spend Challenges, I figured if I was going to save all this money by not-spending, I wanted to save as much as possible on the things I couldn’t cut out. Paying a “luxury tax” at places that were prettier, cleaner, and friendlier than discount stores became less important than it used to be.
Challenges also gave me free time to come up with ways to make money too. I’ve found that making money is the best distraction from spending money. And now that we’re out of debt, I’ve continued with some of these practices and side hustles because I like them.
Use your No-Spend Challenge to embrace change in any and all areas of your spending. Sometimes it’ll be uncomfortable, but I think you’ll like some changes more than you’ll anticipate.
Tips for Spending Less on Groceries
The number one money-saving topic people search for on Google is how to save money on groceries. Of course, it is! Food is one of the few things you need to survive, and eating at home is way cheaper than eating out 먹튀검증.
But it’s also easy to go to the grocery store unprepared and walk out with way more than you can realistically eat. That’s why saving money on groceries is an easy way to drastically cut your spending and pay off your debt faster.
I’ll also mention I’m not a huge fan of couponing because sometimes I feel like I spend more money trying to use them. So here are the tips I use to cut grocery my grocery bill without using coupons.
Shop at the Store With the Best Value
I have to start with this one because it has been our ultimate money saver over the past two years. I used to be a die-hard Publix shopper. For those unfamiliar, Publix is similar in price to Raley’s, Kroger, or Ingles, but with delicious subs. It’s not Whole Foods, but it’s not conducive to trying to pay off a buttload of debt fast.
After looking at our food budget, I started shopping at Aldi. Aldi is a little rough around the edges, but the quality you get for the price is unbeatable. If you don’t have an Aldi near you, some comparably priced stores include:
- ShopRite
- WinCo Foods
- Stater Bros.
- Market Basket
- Fareway
- Lidl
- Walmart (if all else fails)
The first step in saving money on groceries is making sure you’re shopping at the store with the lowest prices. Sure, “shopping is a pleasure” at Publix, but if I’m cutting out things I love in order to save money, why would I give up those savings to have someone else bag my groceries?
Plan Meals Around Sales
I talked about meal-planning earlier as a way to avoid the temptation of going out to restaurants, but it also keeps you from overpaying at the grocery store.
Those fliers you get in the mail are for more than wrapping dishes in when you move. They tell you all the sales going on so you’re able to plan around them. Meal-planning is your defense against impulse grocery shopping, and planning meals around sales is next level.
I’m looking at a sale right now that has blueberries, strawberries, and cantaloupe on sale. It’s looking like a great week to add blueberries to my overnight oats and strawberries to my spinach salad. I can also try that no-churn cantaloupe sorbet recipe I pinned forever ago.
Pinterest is a great place to find recipes to take advantage of items on sale.
Grocery Shop Online
I love online grocery shopping as an occasional tool to keep from going out to eat. Some stores make it easier than others, but every store looks to be improving their version of it. When you’re working on a big project or out of town all weekend and can’t make it to a budget-friendly store, this is a great option.
It’s also great when you’re starting out and are prone to the distraction of pretty packaging and hunger pangs of in-store shopping. It’s great for parents too because grocery stores can cause normally well-behaved kids to turn into ravenous crazy people.
There are varying fees associated with online grocery shopping based on the level of service you get, so check out what’s available in your area to see which method will work for you and your budget.
*A note on meal delivery services: As easy and delicious as they are, they will not save you money in the long run. If you’re already committed, I picked up a smart tip from a friend who swears by them. She looks at the ingredients in her box before she gets it and buys extra of the main ingredients to stretch that recipe. So for a recipe that makes two or three meals, she can stretch to make four or six and eat the leftovers for lunch throughout the week.
Use Up Your Pantry
Could you go a whole month just shopping your pantry? We’re pretty minimalist, and I know we could go at least a few weeks. The pantry challenge is a complementary challenge to the No-Spend Month.
Emptying out your pantry can tell you a lot about your spending habits. Is your pantry full of good intentions quickly forgotten, new things you took a chance on but have been avoiding, or stuff your mother-in-law sent you home with on your last visit? Whatever it is, this is a great time to use up the back row of the pantry.
Buy Frozen
You can save extra on produce by buying out-of-season fruit and veggies in the freezer aisle. You can usually tell what’s in season by what’s on sale.
Buying frozen cuts prep time and minimizes food waste. We’re all guilty of buying stuff that goes bad before we can eat it. With frozen veggies, just place unused portions in a freezer bag and come back to it whenever.
Use Ibotta for Cash Back
Most weeks, Ibotta has a $0.25 cash-back rebate on any item or receipt. It has a wide variety of stores where you can redeem this rebate, so it’s easy to make a little extra spending cash every year.
All of the major grocery stores are on Ibotta, including all the affordable stores I mentioned above. Aldi is on there occasionally, but it’s only for the “any receipt” rebate and I usually end up using that one when I go to Target or Walmart.
When you sign up for Ibotta, they’ll give you $10 for redeeming a brand-name bonus within 14 days. It’s definitely worth checking out if you shop at any of their partner stores because it takes virtually no time — and who doesn’t need some extra cash?
Go Generic
As I look around my house, I don’t see any brand-name products. When I think about my last shopping trips, I can’t remember any brand-name purchases. Surely I’m preaching to the choir here, but you HAVE TO stop wasting your money on name-brand stuff! Most of it is the same as the generics, and when it’s not, it serves its purpose just fine.
Aldi has mostly generic brands, so we’ve had a few memorable snafus with generics. I once bought 20 rolls of the cheapest toilet paper and it took years (ok, six months) of suffering to finish it off. Now I buy the second-cheapest toilet paper, but it’s still generic.
Another time I bought trash bags that kept falling into the trash can. My husband tied a knot at the top to tighten the bag around the can. Problem solved! Suffice it to say, you don’t have to buy the cheapest of everything when you buy generic.
And whether you do everything on this list or just one or two, you’ll be well on your way to making a big dent in your grocery budget.
Tips for Saving on Utilities and Other Expenses
Some people are confused when you say you’re doing a No-Spend Challenge. They’re like, “But what about your bills?” Obviously, we’re all sane people. I’m going to pay my bills because I live in Florida and I like air conditioning.
But that doesn’t mean you get to just live with whatever your monthly expenses are. When it comes time for you to save 3-6 months of expenses in your emergency fund, you want your expenses low so you can have more money for travel or other goals.
So here are some of the tactics you can try while on your No-Spend Challenge to increase your household money saving efforts.
Auto Insurance
When’s the last time you negotiated your car insurance? The average cost for a 30-year-old to insure a car for one year is $2,078. That number varies by a lot of factors, but hopefully, you’re on the lower half of that average.
Negotiating your auto insurance policy once a year ensures your getting the lowest price possible. And I promise it’s not that hard.
First off, I don’t think you should go with the cheapest policy around just because it’s the cheapest. This is one of those cases where buying the premium option is worth paying a little extra if you have to. That said, we go with the cheapest option in our area and it’s a widely recognized company. We’ve been happy with the way they’ve taken care of us.
If you’re happy with your insurer and don’t want to take a chance with a new one, Ramit Sethi has some great scripts you can use to guide your negotiation. Here are some of my favorite tips he uses for negotiating your bill:
- Stay positive. Make the person on the other end of the line want to do everything they can to get you a discount.
- Be prepared. Tell them you’ve been a valuable customer for X years with Y accidents (hopefully zero). Be honest if you can’t afford the current premium. If there’s a cheaper premium out there, tell them about it and reiterate you want to stay with them but you can’t pass up that deal.
- Don’t give up at the first no. Your first answer will almost always be no. Keep politely pressing until you get a discount. Ask for a supervisor or, if you’re really willing to, to speak with the cancellation department.
- You can always try again later. Maybe this rep is having a bad day. Hang up, call again, and you’re likely to get a different rep.
If you’re not happy with the lowest price they can give you, or just prefer to jump ship and see what’s out there, here are some tips for finding the best deal on auto insurance:
- Direct sellers like Esurance, GEICO, Hartford, and Progressive are cheapest because they bypass agents and sell directly to you. They usually have the cheapest prices, so start there.
- If you still can’t get a discount on your current policy, then try digging for discounts. If your annual mileage is less than 12,000 or you carpool to work, you could be eligible for a discount. You can also get discounts for prepaying, bundling other insurance coverage, and increasing your deductible.
- If your driving record isn’t stellar, then your next best bet is local agents for large national brands like Allstate, State Farm, and Nationwide.
- The negotiation tactics mentioned earlier still work here, especially staying positive.
- If your car is worth less than 10 times the premium (ie: you pay $150 per month and your car is worth less than $1,500) then you can drop collision and comprehensive coverage because it won’t be most cost-effective.
- Skip the towing coverage. You can get AAA for as little as $59 per year, which includes towing, and other perks like locksmith service, battery jumps, and emergency fuel delivery.
- Check to see if your company or professional organization offers group insurance benefits.
Electricity, Water & Gas
Sometimes we overlook utility savings because it takes a while for them to add up. But if you’re in this for the long game then there are some simple habits you can form now to make a long-term difference in your bills.
- Use natural light whenever possible or lamps instead of ceiling lights.
- Keep your shower time to fewer than five minutes.
- Turn off the water when brushing teeth, washing dishes, shaving, etc.
- Unplug electronics while not in use.
- Keep the house slightly chilly in winter, and run the fans in the summer.
- Run full loads of laundry and wash in cold water. Consider air-drying if you have space.
- Use a crockpot or toaster oven. They keep the house cooler in the summer and use less energy than the oven.
Cable
I say cut the cord. Nowadays, there’s nothing you can’t get on Netflix and Hulu, and most of it is even better than cable. But if it’s must for you, use the negotiation techniques mentioned earlier on your cable provider. If you can’t get a lower price, then cut your service back.
Roku is a great way to get free national broadcast networks and a bunch of other streaming options on any TV with an HDMI input. Sling TV gets you 30 popular cable channels for just $20 per month with the option to add dozens off channels a la carte.
Healthcare
Health insurance is a financial necessity. Healthcare costs are the number-one cause of bankruptcy and can turn the best-laid plans upside down in a second.
If you have insurance from your employer, it’s still worth checking around and seeing what the reimbursement is for taking outside insurance. And take advantage of a Health Savings Account if you have one. The contributions are pre-tax and interest on the account grows tax-deferred.
If your employer doesn’t cover you, check to see how much you can get in subsidies from the marketplace. You might also want to consult with a health insurance broker to see if there are better deals for you outside of the marketplace.
Finally, if you’re healthy and don’t see the inside of a doctor’s office except in emergencies, then Healthcare Sharing Ministries are a great low-cost option approved under the Affordable Care Act. These are intended for people of Christian faith, but more faith-inclusive programs are out there.
Christian Healthcare Ministries is the cheapest and what we use. Liberty HealthShare is the most lenient on religious views.
Lastly, I was recently introduced to Amino, it’s a database that uses over 9 billion insurance claims to give you an average of what procedures cost per doctor, insurance policy, hospital, etc. You can even sort the results by each doctor’s experience. It’s a free service and I think it’s healthcare transparency people need and have been waiting for.
Transportation
For most people, changing the way you get around town is a major inconvenience. But that doesn’t mean there’s no way you can change small habits to save money.
To save on gas, accelerate gradually to your desired speed and put enough space between you and other cars to keep from braking excessively. Remove anything that makes your car less aerodynamic, like bike and roof racks.
If you can help it, don’t let your car sit idle for more than a minute — ideally no more than 30 seconds. In the summer, buy gas at the coolest time of day, early in the morning or at night. The cooler the gas, the denser it is, meaning you’ll get more for your buck.
Proper maintenance can save you in the long run, too. Correct tire pressure (checked seasonally), regular oil changes, and fresh filters improve fuel efficiency. If you really want to impact your transportation costs, start biking to work once a week, use public transportation, and skip those expensive car washes.
Housing
Your rent or mortgage should take up less than 25% of your take-home pay. If it’s more than that, then you’re going to have a tougher time making big payments to your debt or toward your savings account.
If you rent, the easiest way to reduce your housing costs is to get a roommate. If that’s not an option, consider moving. Yes, living outside the city for a few years is going to be inconvenient but it’s worth it if you’ll save a significant amount over the added costs of gas or public transit.
If you own your home, try renting out a room on Airbnb or raising your insurance deductible. If that’s still too much, you might want to consider selling and downsizing.
Charity
I’m a huge proponent of giving. Too many millennials think they have to work for low-paying nonprofits to make a difference in the world, but I don’t think that’s true. If your budget is tight but giving is a priority for you, here are some alternatives:
- Volunteer time at Habitat for Humanity or local organization
- Donate business clothes to Dress for Success
- Donate formal dresses to Becca’s Closet Give blood, especially if you’re type O or AB
- Crochet a blanket for Project Linus
Don’t let the busyness of life keep you from seeing the bigger picture. We’re all in this together, whether we have a little or a lot. Practicing generosity now will increase the likeliness you’ll give when you have more. And just think what a bunch of millennials without any student loan payments can do to make their community (and the world!) a better place.
Tips for Decluttering and Selling Your Stuff
You might be able to tell by now I’m obsessed with the psychology behind why we do the things we don’t want to, and vice versa. Obviously, I’m a sucker for a good scientific study.
There are numerous studies on the way clutter and cleanliness affect our brains and overall health. Long story short: When you walk out the front door, you take your home with you.
A study of the physical activity of 998 African Americans showed that those who kept a tidy home were healthier and more active regardless of any other factor.
Another study showed women who described their living room as “cluttered” had higher levels of stress-making cortisol (hi again, cortisol!) than women who described their homes as “restful.”
The No-Spend Challenge is a time set apart from your regular life full of social engagements and trips. I think it’s the best time to start decluttering your house or apartment.
You might think you don’t have enough stuff to make an impact, or maybe you watched “The Minimalists” documentary and you’re ready to purge all of your belongings. The emphasis is less on how much you get rid of and more on the act of letting go.
Less stuff will make your house more tranquil and restful. With less clutter comes less desire to “complete” the look. Not only is it about keeping money in your pocket — if you can sell some of your old stuff, decluttering can be a money maker, too. So here are my tips for doing both.
Mentally Prepare
When purging unused items, it’s important to go in knowing what you’re up against. The goal isn’t to go from hoarder to Ikea showroom in one day. Purging is a process. The reason I love decluttering while on a No-Spend Challenge is that it’s unlikely I’ll replace the stuff I get rid of during that process.
Also, you have to give up the “I paid $$$ for this” mentality. What you paid for it mattered to your budget (or lack of one) when you bought it. The fact that you’re not using it is what matters today. If you haven’t used it this year, then you can live without it.
Physically Prepare
You can start your purge up to a year before you actually get rid of anything. Try this hanger trick, made famous by Oprah: Go into your closet and turn all the hangers the wrong way (whatever that means to you).
Whenever you put a garment back into the closet after wearing it put it in with the hanger facing the right way. At the end of six months or a year, whichever hangers are still facing the wrong way — and the clothing hanging on them — can easily be removed from your closet.
Keep – Sell/Give – Store
When going through drawers and closets that have become a black hole of clutter, find three boxes and label them: keep, sell/give, and store. There could also be a fourth box for trash but I like to keep it simple and just bring the trash can over.
The Keep box is for things you use and still need easy access to. The Sell/Give box gets an attempt at selling, then if that fails goes to charity, and the Store box is for things you need or want but can go into deep storage.
I also like the Store box as a tester for getting rid of more on my next purge. If you’re holding that snow globe from middle school and you’re having a hard time parting with it, you don’t have to make a decision yet. Put it in the Store box and come back to it in a month.
Don’t Call It Junk
When we were hosting a garage sale for my mom, we had a lot of clothes leftover. I went through and tried to separate out what we could sell to Clothes Mentor, which buys and sells gently used clothes for women.
Tips For Doing Everything All at Once
Don’t.
You don’t need to do everything at once. This guide is meant to help you through every aspect of a No-Spend Challenge, mentally, emotionally, and physically. But don’t feel like you need to do everything in this book to have a successful No-Spend Challenge. By just completing a challenge, you’re ahead of your peers ignoring their debt.
One of the main themes I hope you’ll remember from this book is to keep your focus narrow. It’s very hard to achieve five life changes at once. Work on one thing until you’re (mostly) confident in it, then add something else.
Paying off debt is a marathon, and if you’re trying to go from couch to seven-minute mile, you will get discouraged and give up.
My best recommendation would be to start with a No-Spend Week, then a No-Spend Month shortly after. Maybe on the first go-around, you focus on cutting out excess food and shopping and starting a side hustle, then the next time you cut out grocery shopping and add decluttering.
Everyone’s challenge will look different. It should be difficult, but doable because we’re really just trying to do the basics brilliantly.
GO DO THE THINGS:
- Visit a low-cost grocery store to see the quality
- Negotiate one of your monthly bills down (Auto insurance is a good one to start with)
- Clean out a drawer in your house
- Pick a side hustle and start earning
Tips For Doing Everything All at Once
You don’t need to do everything at once. This guide is meant to help you through every aspect of a No-Spend Challenge, mentally, emotionally, and physically. But don’t feel like you need to do everything in this book to have a successful No-Spend Challenge. By just completing a challenge, you’re ahead of your peers ignoring their debt.
