30 Days of No Spending

It is no secret that January is always a little tight financially. This is kind of universal. December is the month you spend just a little more and indulge just a little more because hey it is the holidays and festive cheer and I never see these people.

January is when you pay for it. Every January since I was a fully functional adult, I barely scraped by. It always came down to rolling change for laundry and eating the last of the pantry so I shouldn't have been surprised when things got tighter and tighter this last paycheck.

On the other hand, January is a time of goals and resolutions and new beginnings. New beginnings generally cost money. Most of my 29 cost money. It is more exciting to buy kombucha supplies or get my passport pictures than do nothing. Which is why, for the next thirty days, I'm taking a vacation from the debit card and entering a no spend month.

When I first added this to the list, I envisioned a calendar month with a perfect start and stop. I wanted to say "I spend nothing in July" but now I realize that isn't what I need. What I need is to spend nothing additional on coffee runs or lunches out or movies or brunches or new pants or pretzels or Target trips or craft supplies.

So from January 7th until February 7th, I am enacting a 30 day no spend cycle. What does that mean you might ask? I present my 30 day no spend rules:

1. If it is a necessity then buy it. If it is a luxury then don't buy it. This means I can buy toilet paper but not scented candles. Getting my oil changed isn't a luxury but something I dread so that counts.
2. I am not a monk so my grocery budget (which is $50 until 1/21) is my discretion. This means I can buy Hot Tamales.
3. Gift cards can be redeemed at this time. This includes whatever I have on my Starbucks card, my $25 Regal card, $50 to Macy's and my $5 to the Dollar store. This is probably controversial. I make my own rules.
4. Reoccurring but entertainment focused bills like Comcast and Jazzercise are fine but I should not sign up for additional bills. Medical expenses such as paying for my new glasses are allowed. 
5. I have a pretty strict budget set up for the next two weeks that I will follow which includes allotted money for gas. On 1/21, I will assess my budget and create another budget for the next two weeks.
6. I am actually going to look at my bank account daily. Even more, I am going to track what goes in and what comes out in a Google doc just like a checkbook ledger. I hate this.
7. At some point in the next 30 days, I need to buy a plane ticket to Florida for vacation. Most likely this will happen after the 21st or when I get my tax return. This is an allowable expense.

This probably sounds easy but it won't be at all. It will require that I have to pass on some things I want to do. It also will mean that I have to go to some happy hours and just hang out. Brunches will probably be spend at my house with friends than at a restaurant. Dinners will be made not bought. I don't know what coffee runs will look like. This is kind of scary but I am putting it in writing. 30 days of no spending begins today

Update: I realize that this kind of conflicts with the them of "More adventure, less worry". It has a lot less to do with the more and more to do with the less. Money is a constant worry for me. It is what keeps me up at night and keeps me from doing things and it stems from spending money on frivelous things instead of the big things. Additionally, I know how to have a credit card fueled weekend in Seattle but I am not sure I know how to have fun without spending money. There is challenge in that and I like a challenge.