I looked at my bank account one day in January and had one of those moments where you just stare at the screen thinking “where did all my money go?” I’d gotten paid two weeks earlier, and somehow I was already down to like $200 until my next paycheck. And I hadn’t even paid for anything big. No emergency expenses. No major bills. Just…stuff.
That’s when I realized I had a spending problem. Not the kind where you’re buying designer handbags or racking up credit card debt. The kind where you’re spending $12 here and $30 there and it doesn’t feel like a big deal in the moment, but it adds up to hundreds of dollars a month that you can’t account for.
I’d order takeout because I didn’t feel like cooking. I’d stop at Target for one thing and leave with six. I’d see something on sale on Amazon and convince myself I needed it because it was a good deal. And every single month, I’d wonder why I wasn’t saving any money even though I made a decent income.
So I decided to try something I’d been seeing all over social media but thought sounded kind of extreme. A no-buy month. For 30 days, I’d only spend money on true essentials like rent, utilities, groceries, and gas. Everything else was off-limits. No takeout. No online shopping. No random Target runs. Nothing.
I’m not gonna lie, I was skeptical. I didn’t think I could actually do it. But I also knew something had to change because I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck when I didn’t have to.
Here’s what happened, what I learned, and how much I actually saved.
Week One: Realizing How Often I Reach for My Wallet
The first week was honestly the hardest, not because I was struggling financially, but because I kept catching myself about to spend money without even thinking about it.
I’d be scrolling Instagram and see an ad for a cute sweater. My first instinct was to click and add it to my cart. Then I’d remember I was doing a no-buy month and have to close the app. It happened probably five times that first week. I’d see something I wanted, get excited about buying it, then realize I couldn’t.
What really shocked me though was how often I was about to spend money on things I didn’t even want that badly. Like I’d be driving home from work and think “I should grab dinner” even though I had food at home. Or I’d be at the grocery store and see something that looked good and almost throw it in my cart even though it wasn’t on my list.
I started keeping a running list on my phone of everything I almost bought but didn’t. By the end of the first week, I had 14 items on that list. Fourteen things I was about to spend money on without really thinking about whether I actually needed or even wanted them.
That was the first big realization. I wasn’t spending money because I needed things. I was spending money out of habit. Because I was bored. Because I saw an ad. Because it was easy.
Week Two: Finding Free Ways to Have Fun
The second week was when I started to worry I’d get bored. Usually when I have free time, I’ll meet friends for coffee or go browse stores or order something online while I’m watching TV. But all of those things involve spending money.
So I had to get creative about how to spend my time without spending money.
I started going for walks instead of scrolling on my phone. I borrowed books from the library instead of buying them. I invited friends over for dinner instead of meeting at restaurants. I watched movies on the free streaming services I already paid for instead of renting new ones.
And honestly? I didn’t feel deprived. I actually felt less stressed because I wasn’t constantly thinking about what I should buy or whether I could afford something. I was just…existing. Enjoying my time without attaching a price tag to everything.
One night I had friends over and we made tacos and played board games. Total cost: maybe $15 for ingredients, which I would have spent on groceries anyway. If we’d gone out to dinner and drinks like we usually do, it would have been at least $40 per person. And we had just as much fun, maybe more, because we were actually talking and laughing instead of sitting in a loud restaurant trying to hear each other.
That was the second big realization. Most of the things I was spending money on weren’t actually making my life better or more enjoyable. They were just things I did because I thought that’s what you’re supposed to do when you have free time.
If you’re someone who tends to overspend on Amazon without really thinking about it, I created a complete system for breaking that cycle. It’s saved me over $200 a month, and it’s full of practical strategies for stopping impulse purchases before they happen.
Week Three: Dealing with Actual Temptation
Week three was when I hit my first real challenge. My favorite store sent me an email about a sale. 40% off everything. And I had items sitting in my online cart from before I started the no-buy month.
I sat there staring at that email for probably 10 minutes, trying to convince myself that buying something on sale was actually saving money, not spending money. Which is ridiculous logic, but that’s how my brain works when I want something.
Here’s what I did instead. I closed the email and wrote down what I wanted to buy and how much it cost. Then I put that amount of money into my savings account. If I still wanted those items in 30 days, I could buy them. But in the meantime, the money was going toward my savings goal instead of disappearing into my closet.
I also unsubscribed from every single promotional email I was getting. Turns out I was getting like 15 marketing emails a day from stores, and every single one was designed to make me want to buy something. Once I stopped seeing those emails, I stopped thinking about shopping nearly as much.
This is also when I started noticing how much money I was saving by not eating out. I usually order takeout at least three times a week. Sometimes more if I’m tired or busy. At an average of $15-20 per meal, that’s $60-80 a week just on food I could have made at home for a fraction of the cost.
During my no-buy month, I meal prepped on Sundays and actually used the groceries I bought instead of letting them go bad in the fridge. It took maybe an hour of my time each week, and it saved me hundreds of dollars.
If you’re struggling with meal planning or feel like you’re wasting money on groceries that go bad, I wrote about the system that finally worked for me after failing at Pinterest-style meal plans. It’s way less complicated than those color-coded spreadsheets everyone shares online.
Week Four: Realizing I Don’t Actually Want Most of the Stuff I Almost Bought
By week four, something weird happened. I stopped wanting to buy things.
I’d look at that list on my phone of all the stuff I almost bought during the first week, and I couldn’t even remember why I wanted most of it. The sweater I saw on Instagram? I already had three sweaters that looked almost exactly like it. The kitchen gadget I saw on Amazon? I’d been cooking just fine without it for the past month.
This was the biggest realization of the whole challenge. Most of the things I was buying weren’t things I actually needed or even really wanted. They were just things I saw and thought “oh that’s cool” in the moment, but then forgot about five minutes later.
The problem is, before this challenge, I would have just bought those things without thinking about it. And then they would have sat in my closet or my kitchen drawer, unused, while I wondered where all my money went.
By the end of the month, I went back through my list of things I almost bought and realized I still genuinely wanted maybe two of them. Everything else? I’d completely lost interest.
The Results: How Much I Actually Saved
At the end of 30 days, I sat down and looked at my bank account. I’d saved $340 more than I usually do in a month. And that’s not even counting the money I put toward paying off debt instead of accumulating more of it.
Here’s the breakdown of where that money would have gone if I hadn’t done the challenge:
Takeout and restaurants: $180
Online shopping: $95
Random Target runs: $45
Coffee shop visits: $20
I’m not saying I’ll never spend money on those things again. But now I’m way more aware of where my money is going and whether it’s actually adding value to my life or just disappearing.
The other thing that changed is how I think about money. Before, I saw my income as something to spend. Now I see it as something to protect and allocate intentionally. If I’m going to spend money on something, I want it to be because I genuinely want or need it, not because I saw an ad or was bored.
If you’ve tried budgeting before and it never seems to stick, I get it. I failed at budgeting probably 12 times before I figured out what actually works. The approach that finally made sense for me was way less complicated than the systems financial gurus try to sell you.
What I’m Keeping After the Challenge Ended
Now that the no-buy month is over, I’m not going back to my old spending habits. But I’m also not staying in no-buy mode forever because that’s not realistic or sustainable for me.
Instead, I’m keeping the habits that actually made a difference:
I unsubscribed from all promotional emails. If I want to shop somewhere, I’ll go to their website. I don’t need daily reminders to spend money.
I wait 48 hours before buying anything that’s not essential. If I still want it after two days, I’ll consider it. Most of the time, I forget about it.
I meal prep once a week so I’m not tempted to order takeout just because I’m tired.
I put the money I would have spent on impulse purchases into savings instead. Seeing that number grow is way more satisfying than another shirt I don’t need.
I also started using the system I mentioned earlier for stopping my Amazon spending spiral. It’s been a lifesaver for breaking the habit of mindlessly adding things to my cart.
Should You Try a No-Buy Challenge?
I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking this, but I think a no-buy month is one of those things that sounds extreme but is actually way less painful than you’d expect. And the insights you get about your spending habits are honestly worth way more than the money you save.
If you’re constantly wondering where your money goes, or if you’re trying to save up for something but never seem to make progress, I’d say try it for 30 days. Or even just two weeks if a full month feels too overwhelming. You don’t have to be perfect. You’re just trying to break the autopilot spending cycle and see what happens.
The worst case scenario? You save a few hundred dollars and learn something about yourself. The best case? You completely change how you think about money and spending, and you actually start making progress toward your financial goals instead of just treading water.
For me, it was absolutely worth it. And I didn’t feel deprived or miserable. I actually felt more in control and less stressed, which is the opposite of what I expected.
If you want more strategies for talking about money and teaching your kids better financial habits than we were taught, I wrote about how we approach money conversations in our family. It’s helped us be way more intentional about the messages we’re sending.
Your spending habits don’t have to stay the same forever. Mine sure didn’t. And honestly, my bank account is way happier for it.
