Wide Open Wallet
An honest look at family finances
No money days
Author: Ashley3 Jul
We didn’t spend any money yesterday. That never happens around here. It’s got to be a first.
The kids and I didn’t leave the house at all. I try to have a “no gas day” once a week. So far it’s only happened twice, but once was yesterday. Besides it was like 115 degrees out there, which really drains my motivation to go anywhere, so we had a pajama party at home instead. But the fact remains that we didn’t spend any money.
And my husband didn’t spend any money because they gave them a free lunch at work. So unless you count the gas he used to commute (which feels like burning money) he didn’t spend any money either. Pretty crazy.
Do you have no money days? If so, how often do you have them? Do you think it really saves money in the long term, or are you just delaying purchases until another day? I’m genuinely interested. I have heard of no spending days before but I’ve always dismissed it as something we could never do, and then we went and did it on accident.
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7 Responses for "No money days"
I am going to try to keep track to see how many we have. I have had quite a few on vacation since I never ever want to leave the house when I am here.
I just stopped by your blog and thought I would say hello. I like your site design. Looking forward to reading more down the road.
I probably have two no spending days a week; I also try to have one no driving day every week to two weeks. The no spending days are actually really easy; I just get really busy (I work a couple jobs) and there’s no spending involved.
4 days a week are no money days. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are our days to spend money. We fill gas, buy groceries, eat out, and do stuff.
Usually doing the week we’re pretty tired so it doesn’t lead to going out to eat or shopping.
I know this to be a habit of almost 10 years. I have CC statements electronically from 2001 and you can see a definite spending pattern.
Charges only on 3 days and no charges in between. Same as now. Probably why our spending hasn’t drastically changed either.
How can we spend money when we work? You go to work and bring lunch so there’s no spending. Then you come home eat dinner, read, study, and watch tv = no spending. Then go to work.
Guess we don’t really have exciting lives. And if we are invited out we try to do the weekend because we’re tired.
I notice most of our working friends if married or living with someone is the same. Singles go out every night because they are lonely.
I realised just after I got married (in my late 30’s) and moved to the UK from Texas that I was so used to going somewhere every day that I just went into town every day even if I didn’t have something in particular that I needed. When I figured out my reasons for leaving the house, I got OUT of the habit unless I needed something in particular. And since I have to pay for parking in town (normal in the UK), I am motivated to wait a few days and do all my trips at once. So now I usually only go into town on Saturdays. It’s really reduced the amount of money that gets frittered away. It helps as well, during the week, that most shops except a couple of grocery stores all close by 5:30 so it’s hard to get to them after work anyway.
I have been subscribed to this blog for awhile, and while some of the entries are entertaining, this post has made my decision to cancel my subscription. Anyone who is serious about living frugally or trying to improve the state of their debt/finances will not think it is “funny” to accidentally have a no-spend day. Planning and carrying out days when you spend nothing is a wonderful tool to help break the out-of -ontrol spending habit so many of us live in. Ashley, your constant spending on so many things that will eventually end up in the dump is financially irresponsible. You could be a great role model in this blog if you would put a plan in place to develop self-discipline, savings and a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle, and wrote about the struggle. Thank You
I have these more than I have days I spend money. I’ve been living on a college student’s budget. I once lived all year on $6k. I try to stick to my plan so I can meet my goals.
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