boost your savings with a regular no spend day

Depending on your spending habits, you can significantly increase your savings by having a regular no spend day. For some people this may seem easy, in fact you may have several no spend days each week. But if you’re in the habit of letting small amounts slip out of your wallet each day, then consciously having a no spend day will not only save you money, it can be an eye opener to your spending habits.

I’ve written previously about tracking your spending and keeping a budget, but using a monthly budget doesn’t give a picture of daily expenditure. If you’re not sure how much money you actually spend each day (and on what) it can be helpful to add up each day’s expenditure and write it down on a calendar. Not only will you get an idea of how much you spend each day and how many no spend days you have, but how much you could save by having a no spend day each week.

The other benefit of having a no spend day is that it can stimulate your creativity. It’s easy to spend money. It seems to be our national pass time, it is what we do for recreation. So finding ways to be entertained without spending money can be a creative challenge. So too can solving everyday problems without spending money. A no spend day can also be an opportunity to explore what’s in the pantry without ducking out to the shop to buy extra ingredients.

To keep on track with your no spend day, remove temptation. Don’t carry money or cards if you will be tempted to spend. Avoid the shops and eBay (Paypal makes it all too easy to spend money on the net)! Schedule coffee dates etc that may come up for another day or suggest a free alternative.

If having a no spend day is something you do on a regular basis anyway, you can take your no spend day one step further. DH is very sceptical about no spend days. He argues that every time you turn on a light or the TV, use the phone or take a shower you are spending money, it just doesn’t leave your pocket yet. So if a no spend day poses no challenge, try reducing your ‘invisible’ spending by not using the phone or car (unless necessary) or having a TV free night etc.

For a further challenge, try a no spend week or a no spend month. Obviously, a no spend week/month isn’t meant to be literal, we all still have to pay the rent or mortgage, buy groceries and pay the bills, but ‘no spend’ can refer to anything that is not a necessity beyond food and bills. Also, to really make this challenge work, you could prepay bills and stock up on groceries (and not run to the shops if something runs out, just be sure nothing goes to waste, otherwise it defeats the purpose).

Do you have no spend days as part of your savings? Do they just happen or are they something that you consciously plan? I know with us, we just have days where we don’t spend (actually we don’t spend money most days of the week). How about you?

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Have you read these posts?

1. how to give your savings plan a quick boost
2. drain your savings by avoiding regular car maintenance
3. creating a savings plan and reaching your savings goals
4. I’ve cut the lattes and i still have no savings! why the ‘latte factor’ fails
5. 8 practical ways to get the most out of your savings