Results and reflections of my “No-Spend Challenge”

Today ends my 15-day, self-imposed "No-Spend Challenge," and I thought I would take a few minutes to share with you how I did and what I learned.

First off, I have to admit I ended up spending some money.  I'm not going to sugar coat this, so let me just tell you what happened.  Here's what I spent:

$2.99 on Fred Meyer to buy 1 loaf of bread, 1 gallon of milk
$15 on babysitting
$36 on baby shower gifts (I forgot this was coming and had specific gift I was planning on getting)
$11.99 one can of baby formula (growth spurt, perhaps?)
$65.98 total

However, I also received some money during this time that offset the above:

$3 from good ol' Mom and Dad (to "buy" diapers and oatmeal from my stockpile)
$16.49 Rite Aid rebate
$19.49

So all things being equal, we spent $46.49 over the course of 15 days.  But before I write off this entire challenge, I must give myself credit for what did go right:

1. We did not spend money on fast food or eating out.
2. We did not spend money at the grocery store (other than that $2.99 trip).
3. I was AMAZED at the amount of gas we saved.  Two weeks after filling up my car, it's STILL mostly full!)
4. We got creative and found lots of fun free things to do and get.
5. We ate a lot of home-cooked meals and home-baked goodies.
6. We ended the month with money in the bank and even hawked a little extra away in our savings!
7. I didn't have to worry about balancing our checkbook.

So while it didn't go 100% perfect, there were many benefits for trying and doing a mostly good job.  So I'm glad for the experience! 

If I were to do this next time, I'd start small.  Instead of two weeks, I might try a weekend or a week.  I'd also take the time to anticipate what's coming down the pike so I can plan better.  For instance, I should've seen the baby shower coming and should've realized that one loaf of bread was not going to suffice.

Will I ever do this again?  You bet!  In fact, I hope to make it a regular part of our family's "financial diet."  I hope I've encouraged you to try doing this challenge or some variation of it yourself.  Be sure to drop a comment or leave me an email to share your own "no spend" story.

Photo credit Sanja Gjenero