I’m considering going on a spending moratorium for one month, which means not buying anything except groceries and gasoline. The experiment would push me to find creative ways to get around purchasing things. What can I reuse or repurpose? What can I do without? I think forcing myself to not spend anything would increase the perceived value of certain items and decrease the value of others.
But there are three major loopholes that make me wonder if this experiment is worth conducting.
First, by turning on the lights I am buying electricity. By cooking I am buying gas. I’m not willing to give up electricity and gas for a month. Same thing goes for my rent, cell phone, and a few other built-in expenses. So really what I am proposing is going on a discretionary spending moratorium. I’ve done a good job paring down my discretionary spending with my forward-looking budget system. Is it useful to cut back further?
Second, there are ways to get things without spending, like when Hubby and I go to our weekly dance class. Afterward he takes me out for dinner, which I enjoy immensely. I’m not paying for the meal per se because he is using his own discretionary dollars, but the money comes out of our joint checking account. If I go on a spending moratorium, am I obligated to say no to items purchased on my behalf?
Lastly, the duration of the moratorium – one month – is short enough that I can basically hold my breath on a lot of purchases. Is one month long enough to really feel the effect of a spending moratorium? Or am I just practicing delayed gratification?
Well folks, I’ve practically talked myself out of this experiment. But before I make my final decision I’d really love your input.
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Here’s another option altogether. YOU go on a one-month spending moratorium and submit a blog post about the experience. The fame! The glory! The saved money! Email me if you are interested.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
I challenge you to go on a complete spending moratorium!
Don’t buy ANYTHING (excpet phone, utilities, rent) for 30 days. See how long you can live off of the groceries you already have on hand. You will be surprised.
Be extra careful about how much eletricity & gas you use–unplug appliances, play a game instead of watching tv or read a book, don’t leave the light on when not in the room, etc.
maybe have your own dance class, and a picnic in the park?
I myleft am observing a no eat-out month this June! While it’s not easy for me to say NO to eat-outs always but still it surprisingly brings down my bills.
All d best ppl 🙂
Just keep practicing being discretionary in your spending. I also agree with Katie about the electricity, food, etc. There are ways to cut back without cutting out.
It’s your discretionary money that is going on the moratorium. You can’t omit certain bills, they are just part of living. But all the extras, going out to dinner (and, yes, hubby’s money counts too!) movies, the new shoes, Starbucks. It’s not necessarily delayed gratification b/c after one month you will probably find you didn’t really need it after all… you only wanted it. I liken it to quitting smoking – get through each day, one hour at time and before you know you’ve quit!
We practiced this 2 times last year and are in for a 3rd round in for 28 days starting on June 25th. (we are paid bi-weekly so the 28 day thing works for us)
I call it a No Spend Month and first read about it on the blog, Small Notebook. Rachel herself does a no spend month every July. They limit their spending for gas, groceries and other things.
You may find it is easier to eat from your pantry for the first week or two and then purchase groceries for the remainder of the month.
I found that setting a spending limit was key since it meant we could spend a little on some things (like coffee out for a date night) without going overboard.
I think it’s a worthy experiment since it helps you see your triggers, and can really change your spending habits over the long haul. Good luck!
Great idea – may filter through to future life in general…which wouldn’t be so bad, right?
As for dining out…maybe order half what you typically would be ordering…that way you’ve not spent “your” half. Orno dinner out, but maybe just have ice cream out…or maybe better yet: have ice cream – IN! Other’s comments about using pantry items first is good…I play games like how long can I go before HAVING to go to market? Develops Creative Cooking!
Have fun, and Good Luck!
It’s summer, income is down and I’m already on a discretionary moratorium – no clothes purchases, no movies (I did treat myself to “UP” in 3D when it came out, otherwise it’s library checkouts and Netflix), Gas on the credit card, cash only on other purchases. Today I bought a battery for my conked-out watch ($5) and groceries at Trader Joe’s ($6.50).
As for eating out, cut that way down…instead of sit-down dining, it’s brown-bag snacks and/or the dollar menu at the fast-food on the days I find myself out at dinnertime.
I can tell my checking account is benefiting from the frugality, but BofA just raised its no-fee bar…
🙁
I think that if your hubby is willing, you should do it jointly if you are going to do it at all. Kind of like a diet, it’s easier with support.
I think it’s a very worthwhile experiment that anyone who does it will benefit from because it will save you a ton of money as well as force you to be content with things you already have. By not spending, you focus your efforts on other parts of your life and can make those things better. Heck, if I could stay out of Walgreens I might get more done.
Good idea, I need to get Hubby on board. But I may have to do this myself. He’s already changed his spending habits a lot at my request, namely that he writes down each penny he spends.
I try to do this during the week–bringing my own refilled water bottles, lunches and all; using up lots of food my hubby buys and stuffs in our freezer and pantry. I’m limiting myself to buying fresh fruits, veggies and milk. If I use the mind set of week to week–before I know it, it’s been a month! Extra motivation is when I have a trip planned and know I’ll need extra cash in a couple of weeks.
We have been cutting back since Jan. We are going for a full year. No extras, just food & gas. It is tough, since we have 3 kids that always want something “new”. So they are learning to save, recycle, reuse. I’m learning also you can do so much more with out a lot. I’m teaching my kids to find things to do that are “free”, so my 6yr old said that the park down the street has free movie and popcorn night on Saturdays. So we will go. The plus is we can walk!
Nancy, sounds like you and your family have adapted very well to the moratorium!
Doing this “on your own” will be difficult; for me, doing it on my own would be impossible, 4 ravenous kids home for the summer! I don’t have enough storage for a month of food for them! But the “not buying THINGS for a month” is really do-able; cut herbs and flowers from your garden and put into jars (repurposing!) as gifts for people; re-use gift bags and make gifts to put in them; free museum days as outings:… etc!
I’m doing this in June. It’s a really interesting experience. I’m still buying food, gas, and other things I consider necessities (like a new filter for my PUR–though I stretched the old one farther than I thought possible). I’m also have a budget plan but this really is making me consider and evaluate every single purchase. What’s fun is how other people respond: I’ve had more offers to buy me lunch than ever before!
What’s important is not what you do short term, but how you plan for the long term. If you don’t need something, you shouldn’t buy it, moritorium or not. If you need something (or at least want it a lot), you should buy it at the best possible price. If you miss the best sale of the year because of a self-imposed moritorium on spending, you’ve just hurt yourself for no good reason.
The attitude you describe is the best possible one, in my opinion: only buying the things you really need and then getting the best possible price. The tricky part is defining need. My hope is that going on a spending moratorium will help me further define needs v. wants.