2720: 5 Tips to Have a Successful No Spend Month by Amanda Brownlow of Hello Brownlow on Frugality

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[00:01:05] That's shopify.com slash special offer. This is Optimal Finance Daily Episode 2720.

[00:01:13] 5 Tips To Have A Successful No Spend Month by Amanda Brownlow of HelloBrownlow.com.

[00:01:19] And I'm your host and personal finance enthusiast, Diana Merriam. Welcome back to Optimal Finance

[00:01:25] Daily, where I'm here with you each and every day to read from some of the world's best finance blogs.

[00:01:31] So with that, let's get right to today's article as we optimize your life.

[00:01:39] 5 Tips To Have A Successful No Spend Month by Amanda Brownlow of HelloBrownlow.com.

[00:01:46] A month of no spending sounds quite daunting, right? No eating out, no shopping, no going to

[00:01:52] the movies, no wine. It could be hard to picture a full month without those things. But when you

[00:01:58] buckle down, whether it be for financial reasons or you just want to simplify how you spend time

[00:02:03] with your family, it can make for an amazing month. D&I regularly do no spend months. The

[00:02:11] primary reason was to get our emergency fund fully funded. The second reason was because we were

[00:02:17] expecting a new baby. He ended up being a full five weeks early. We wanted to be able to pay my

[00:02:23] medical bills, an emergency C-section and a stay in the NICU for little guy was very expensive.

[00:02:30] And have money to fall back on since we were both taking leave from work.

[00:02:35] Since we had the idea for a no spend month several years ago, we had almost perfected how to do it.

[00:02:41] Yes, we still spend money on groceries, gas for the cars and bills, but nothing on eating out,

[00:02:47] entertainment or shopping. Here are our top tips on how to have a successful no spend month

[00:02:53] and save money. Number one, check your calendar. Wedding season is upon us and events like birthdays

[00:03:01] and anniversaries can sneak up on us. Before you head into your no spend month, double check your

[00:03:07] calendar and see what you have going on. Plan to buy gifts and cards the month prior. I like to go

[00:03:13] ahead and wrap them too, so I don't even have to worry about it. Alternatively, you can go the DIY

[00:03:19] route and plan to create gifts out of things you already have in the house. I'm a personal fan

[00:03:25] of homemade cards and baked goods for birthdays. Most of the people in my life do not need more

[00:03:30] junk stuff. Cookies and cake are always winners. We also check the oil in our cars and our air and

[00:03:37] water filters to see if those need to be replaced and plan accordingly. Home and car maintenance

[00:03:43] is never something that should be put off, so if it's in the month for it, do it. Number two,

[00:03:49] get your friends involved. Since you won't be spending money on going to the bars or going

[00:03:54] out to dinner with friends, invite them over for a potluck or game night. You can make a crowd

[00:04:00] pleasing meal and play a board game or two. We have quite a stock of games that are more than

[00:04:05] two players. Ticket to Ride, Small World and Cars Against Humanity are always top picks that our

[00:04:12] friends and family like to join in on. If board games aren't your thing, you could always opt for

[00:04:17] a movie night. There's something new on Netflix or Amazon Prime all the time. Make cookies and popcorn,

[00:04:24] drag all the pillows into your living room and you have the night made. Number three, check out

[00:04:31] the free stuff in town. I won't lie, I just realized how amazing the library system in our county is.

[00:04:38] Our library system has great free events on a regular basis. They also have a wide variety of

[00:04:44] media to check out for cardholders. Since I've stayed home with the little guy these past few

[00:04:49] months, I've made time to read more and I've really gotten back into it. If I would have paid

[00:04:55] for the books I read, I would have been out a couple hundred bucks. No thanks. Instead, we check out

[00:05:00] books and devour them before they're due. We also have a really nice downtown area that's packed

[00:05:06] with events every other weekend in the summer. There are free concerts in the park and festivals

[00:05:12] that are free to walk into. Weather permitting, it's a great way to get outside and be with family

[00:05:17] and friends. They also have one night a month that provides free admission to all the museums,

[00:05:23] which we take advantage of. A simple Google search will provide you with all the events going on in

[00:05:28] your town. Number four, get outside. Most cities have dedicated green space and walking trails.

[00:05:37] On weekends, we go to the park with little guy and walk or we go to several good hiking spots

[00:05:42] close to town and spend a few hours hiking. My dad calls this getting your vitamin N or nature.

[00:05:50] Getting outside allows you to detox from your phone, TV and computer and lets your mind wonder.

[00:05:57] We see hundreds of ads for products and services every day. I personally need a break from that

[00:06:02] on a regular basis. It also calms my impulse purchasing reflex, so to speak. If I can't see it,

[00:06:09] I won't want to buy it. And number five, pick up an old hobby again. Shopping and going out takes

[00:06:16] up a lot of time. That's time that could be doing stuff that you used to love. For me, it's reading

[00:06:23] and sewing. For my husband, it's reading and playing the guitar. These hobbies are free, even sewing as

[00:06:30] I like to refashion clothing or use my fabric scraps for projects and can stimulate our minds

[00:06:37] in ways it hasn't been in a long time. This also allows you to make a little bit of money, too.

[00:06:43] I'm about to reopen my Etsy shop and sell all the crafty things I've been making lately.

[00:06:48] If your hobby can double as a side hustle, do it. Hopefully these helpful tips have inspired

[00:06:54] you to make next month a no spend one. I'm always excited to save money in any way we can.

[00:07:05] You just listened to the post titled, Five Tips to Have a Successful No Spend Month

[00:07:10] by Amanda Brownlow of HelloBrownlow.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:16] Looking to part ways with complicated, expensive and uncertain shipping? Then give your business

[00:07:21] the edge it needs with USPS Ground Advantage Shipping from the United States Postal Service.

[00:07:28] Keep everything simple with clear upfront pricing and no unexpected surcharges.

[00:07:34] Keep things affordable with some of the lowest prices out there. And keep it all reliable

[00:07:40] with on-time ground shipments. It's time to turn shipping to your advantage.

[00:07:45] Learn how at USPS.com slash advantage. USPS Ground Advantage. Simple, affordable, reliable.

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[00:09:03] free trial. A great benefit to no spend months is that they force you to be resourceful about

[00:09:10] getting your needs met. For example, I know people who have gone years without buying new clothing.

[00:09:15] And I myself went a considerable amount of time without shopping for new clothes.

[00:09:20] But that's because I started attending and hosting clothing exchanges. I've hosted clothing exchanges

[00:09:27] on both a small and large scale, and they're tons of fun. Invite your friends to clean out their

[00:09:32] closets, cart the clothing over to your house, and spend a lazy Sunday afternoon drinking mimosas,

[00:09:39] listening to music, and trying on each other's clothes. Every time I've done this, everyone always

[00:09:44] leaves with much less than they brought, and we don't eat any leftovers. There are also buy

[00:09:50] nothing groups all over the country where you can find almost anything you might need for free from

[00:09:55] your neighbors. That'll do it for today. Thank you for being here every day and listening. Have a

[00:10:00] great rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.