Budget Divas

Back To Basics Money Series: Feeling Frustrated With Your Budget? Do This Money Challenge.

February 21, 2023 Episode 56
Budget Divas
Back To Basics Money Series: Feeling Frustrated With Your Budget? Do This Money Challenge.
Show Notes Transcript

 Ep #56  Have you ever felt frustrated with your budget? 

Frustrated that …  

…there’s not even enough money to pay the bills each month

…money runs out as soon as payday hits 

…you feel you are spinning your wheels trying to make more money each month with little to no progress 

When we first started our debt-free journey, this was a frustration that would run through my mind daily. It seemed like no matter how hard we worked, there wasn’t enough money to last the entire month. I was afraid to open the mailbox and see the stack of bills in it, and it seemed like Dooms Day was everyday. 

There were more stressed out days than there were happy days. Even though we tried as hard as we could to hustle our way out of debt, we ended up feeling frustrated, depleted, and sick to our stomach because the debt wasn’t going down fast enough. 

Whenever I rush the process on anything I do, it always ends up being a bad decision. There are only so many hours in the day and trying to cram everything in a short amount of time usually means sleepless nights, multi-tasking without getting anything done, and more ugly crying nights than anything else. You know that ugly cry where you cry your eyes out and can’t even breathe. 

Can you relate to that? 

If you’ve ever felt like your heart is racing all the time, stressed over money woes, and all you want to do is close your eyes and hope that it all goes away, there is a money challenge that works every single time to recalibrate my mind and my spirit. 

Whenever I do this challenge, I feel more relaxed as it forces me to slow down and it’s like a detox that is getting rid of the toxic thoughts in my head that causes me to feel frustrated with money. 

And that challenge is a no spend challenge. 

What exactly is a no spend challenge? 

It is a personal challenge in which you set a goal to not spending money on non-essential items within a certain time period. 

The goal of the challenge usually targets areas to reduce unnecessary expenses, increase savings, and improve financial health.

During this challenge, you set your own rules so that it’s meaningful to you. 

Some of our goals for our no spend challenge - 

  • Spending money on essential bills - housing, utilities, and transportation
  • Avoiding non-essential purchases -  clothes, electronics, and entertainment
  • Using up items that have already been purchased before buying more – groceries, toiletries, personal items 
  • Looking free or low-cost alternatives for leisure activities


Whether you decide to do it on a weekend, 7 days or even for an entire month, the transformation coming out of it will be so powerful. I’m cheering you on friend. You got this. You may feel frustrated now but I know that it’s only for a season, and this season won’t last forever. 


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Ep # 56 Have you ever felt frustrated with your budget? 

Frustrated that … 

…there’s not even enough money to pay the bills each month

…money runs out as soon as payday hits 

…you feel you are spinning your wheels trying to make more money each month with little to no progress 

 

When we first started our debt-free journey, this was a frustration that would run through my mind daily. It seemed like no matter how hard we worked, there wasn’t enough money to last the entire month. I was afraid to open the mailbox and see the stack of bills in it, and it seemed like Dooms Day was everyday. 

There were more stressed out days than there were happy days. Even though we tried as hard as we could to hustle our way out of debt, we ended up feeling frustrated, depleted, and sick to our stomach because the debt wasn’t going down fast enough. 

Whenever I rush the process on anything I do, it always ends up being a bad decision. There are only so many hours in the day and trying to cram everything in a short amount of time usually means sleepless nights, multi-tasking without getting anything done, and more ugly crying nights than anything else. You know that ugly cry where you cry your eyes out and can’t even breathe. 

 

Can you relate to that? 

 

If you’ve ever felt like your heart is racing all the time, stressed over money woes, and all you want to do is close your eyes and hope that it all goes away, there is a money challenge that works every single time to recalibrate my mind and my spirit. 

Whenever I do this challenge, I feel more relaxed as it forces me to slow down and it’s like a detox that is getting rid of the toxic thoughts in my head that causes me to feel frustrated with money. 

And that challenge is a no spend challenge. 

What exactly is a no spend challenge? 

 

It is a personal challenge in which you set a goal to not spending money on non-essential items within a certain time period. 

The goal of the challenge usually targets areas to reduce unnecessary expenses, increase savings, and improve financial health.

During this challenge, you set your own rules so that it’s meaningful to you. 

Some of our goals for our no spend challenge - 

  • Spending money on essential bills - housing, utilities, and transportation
  • Avoiding non-essential purchases -  clothes, electronics, and entertainment
  • Using up items that have already been purchased before buying more – groceries, toiletries, personal items 
  • Looking free or low-cost alternatives for leisure activities

 

Budget Divas recently hosted a 7 day no spend challenge and it was so mind-boggling what we could get accomplish in 7 short days. 

Some of the responses I received from the participants included – 

-       Using up items in the home before buying more

-       Getting creative with meal planning 

-       Putting things in the Amazon cart but not checking out 

 

It was so refreshing to hear that instead of this being restrictive for them, it was freeing. It allowed them to stop and breathe, make some mental space for creativity, and think about their intentions before buying an impulse item. 

 

These challenges do not have to be a specific amount of time. Some people like to do it only during the workweek so they can enjoy their money on the weekends, others want to do a 30 day challenge to get to their financial goals faster. There are even Facebook groups where participants will do a no spend year.

I find that 7 days is just enough to get me back on track with my financial goals whenever I’m feeling stressed, frustrated, and want to throw my budget out the window and go on a shopping spree instead. 

A no spend challenge can be a powerful way to take control of your spending habits, increase your financial awareness, and work towards your financial goals. However, it's important to approach the challenge with a positive mindset and be flexible in the face of unexpected expenses or emergencies.

However you long you decide to do a challenge, I want to give you five reasons why a no spend challenge will help to overcome the frustrated feelings of budgeting. 

 1.    Forces you to slow down 

 Last year was probably the busiest year in a really long time. Although it was super productive, I felt stressed all the time. It was like running on a hamster wheel 24/7 with no end in sight. I usually try to do (2) 7 day no spend challenge weeks a year (typically at the beginning of the year after the holidays and right after summer ends) but since last year was filled with so many activities for work, my business, and my husband’s business – it just felt like there was never a good time to slow down. 

In the most recent 7 day no spend challenge that ended a couple of weeks ago, I decided that as much as possible, I was going to stay home to save money on gas. Using that time usually spent on the road running errands and getting things done allowed me to take a breather at home and journal. I also noticed that the brain fog went away and was able to download the contents of my brain to paper and map out what I really wanted to accomplish during the no spend week. 

2.    Brings out your creativity

When you are doing a no spend challenge, you are forced to get creative with meal planning, your time, doing activities with your friends and family that do not require spending money. Now, if you already have money set aside for a special occasion – birthday, anniversary party, etc go ahead and spend that… but most of the time you will try to do a no spend challenge when you don’t have any important planned events. 

During the recent 7 day no spend challenge, I honestly had so much fun with it. The first task was to plan meals around my kitchen inventory. 

It was to the point where it was stressing me out because my chest freezer and pantry were overflowing with food that I had to use up and each time I went to the store, it was like a game of tetris trying to fit everything in. What I did was make 2 – 3 meals at once that we could eat over the next few days so I wasn’t cooking and cleaning on a daily basis. 

I also felt inspired to recreate some of my favorite restaurant recipes at home that were healthier and inexpensive. 

You might also want to pull out that your list of things you want to learn during a no-spend challenge. Pick up that guitar and learn a new song, learn to sew, even learn how to build a website if you’re starting a business. This is one of the greatest ways to spend your time during a no spend challenge. Not only does it energize you because your brain is learning something new but it also gives you the confidence to keep learning a new hobby or perfecting your skills. 

3.    Less is more 

When you’re at home during a no-spend challenge, you may be inspired to declutter and sell items that you no longer need or are no longer serving you. In this podcast, we talk a lot about spending money on items that are meaningful and getting rid of items that no longer fit your lifestyle or current season in life. I heard from some of the participants in the challenge that during this time, they had garage sales, sold items on Facebook marketplace, Mercari, and so forth. So not only were they saving money during the challenge but they were also making money right from the comfort of their home. 

I didn’t sell items during this most recent challenge, however, a family member said their church was having a yard sale so this was a great time to go through my items and donate whatever I didn’t want. I used to feel like when I donated items, I needed to fill that space with new items. But I am learning that having that empty space is OK and is actually a lot more freeing. Looking in my closet and seeing the items that I truly love and not wanting more is so powerful. 

Another cool thing that happened was I had put several items in my Amazon cart to save for later but when the no spend challenge was over, I didn’t want it anymore. If you’ve ever heard me talk about mystery shopping, one of the cool takeaways is that most of the time these companies don’t require you to spend any money. You can go to the store like a regular shopper, go through the motions of shopping, and come out without buying anything. That was exactly what I did with my Amazon cart. There were items that I thought I needed so I went through the motions of putting it my cart, only to realize that a few days later that I no longer needed or wanted it. 

4.    Evaluate your financial goals

When you’re on a no spend challenge, you start to realize how many free things you can do outdoors that not only refreshes your mind and spirit, but also brings that joy and energy back to you. I can get so caught up with a long list of to-do – running from store to store, getting errands done and so forth that I don’t actually stop to smell the roses. 

During this particular no spend challenge, my husband and I went to the beach to enjoy each other’s company, did a couple of food mystery shops to pay for our lunch, and talked about our financial goals for the year. It’s usually during these no spend challenge periods that we start to come up for air and think of creative ways to cut back on expenses and increase our income so we could hit those goals by the end of the year. 

5.    Gratitude 

Last but not least, is gratitude. I have saved the best for last because this is THE most important item to remember when you are feeling frustrated with your budget. 

Each morning, I would go outside with my cup of coffee and write in my journal for an hour everything that I was grateful for. Even though I try to do this on a regular basis, there is something about a no spend challenge that makes me think clearly about gratitude. I started walking around my house looking at all the things I was grateful for, thinking about God, family and friendships that have lasted for many years. Doing this type of meditation made me realize that even though I can get super frustrated with my budget and if I’m not hitting my financial goals fast enough, it always brings me back to what’s most important – and that is the relationships and connections we have with one another. Being grateful for what God has already blessed us with. Sure, it is natural to crave for more but being in the state of mind that you’re already happy with what you do have is so so powerful. 

So those are my 5 tips on how to successfully do this money challenge. 

 

1.    Forces you to slow down

2.    Sparks creativity

3.    Less is more – decluttering is so freeing

4.    Evaluate your financial goals

5.    Gratitude heart 

Whether you decide to do it on a weekend, 7 days or even for an entire month, the transformation coming out of it will be so powerful. I’m cheering you on friend. You got this. You may feel frustrated now but I know that it’s only for a season, and this season won’t last forever.