No Spend September

Happy Labor Day!
I hope you all are getting some well deserved rest and relaxation. I'm still coming down from all of the fun that my birthday entailed. Cheers to 4-0!

Anyhow, something interesting happened this past week. We had a visitor come into my office. He was telling me how years ago when his grandparents came here from Italy, they would feed their family of 10 for under $10/month.
I know that was 80+ years ago, but I still found it remarkable.  He told me that often their meals were nothing more then polenta or Pasta e Fagiole (bean soup).
It got me to thinking how easy (most of us) we have it nowadays.  As a society, we are wealthier than we have ever been. 
While I KNOW its not true for everyone, there are many folks among us who don't think twice before making a purchase. (I'll admit my guilt to this on more than one occasion).
For many of us, its just TOO easy to shop now. Quite often, its as simple as one tap of your finger on an iPhone. 

Because of this, I've decided to take part in "No-Spend September".  A 30 day challenge that eliminates all non essential spending.

That means that groceries, vet trips, hygiene/personal , gasoline , utilities, gym membership are all business as usual. 
However, the discretionary spending is on hold for 30 days. No new clothes, no new makeup,etc.

After doing my research, I believe that there are a whole lot of benefits to doing this.   
First and foremost, its a great way to boost up your savings (or knock down debt).

Aside from that, most obvious one, it seems that a no-spend challenge makes you use what you have. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but here goes...recently, I was putting together some things to be donated. I had not one, but three garments that still had the tags on them. At this point, there were already out of fashion.  That's just not acceptable.

A no-spend challenge also will eliminate impulse spending. This goes back to my earlier point. Now, we just click and suddenly we receive a "Thank you for your purchase" email.
In the old days, we actually had to drive to a store and really consider if we wanted/needed something.
I know for myself, when I force myself to actually wait a day before making the purchase, 9 times out of 10 I'll decide that I don't need or want it.

Granted, I know this will NOT be a temptation free time. Lilly's After Party Sale happens in September, Ulta's 21 Days of beauty happens in September along with Target's 20th anniversary colabs.
One thing I do know though, is that nothing motivates me like a good challenge. 


Would you ever consider doing a no-spend challenge?



XO,
SheShe