It was time for a financial reset.
After December’s holiday chaos (and the financial hangover that comes with it), I decided it was time for a reset. I've seen people on TikTok (RIP) swearing off buying anything new for an entire year, which seems great…for them. I committed to No Spend January with one main goal: no purchases, except for pre-set subscriptions and utilities.
What Was Allowed vs. Not Allowed
I kept the rules as simple as possible:
Allowed:
- Pre-set Amazon subscriptions.
- Utilities and necessary bills.
Not Allowed:
Everything else, but especially:
- Takeout or delivery food.
- Random purchases or any other unnecessary spending.
The goal was to avoid buying anything outside of what was already planned. I even made a meal plan for the whole month and went grocery shopping on December 31st. Target was having 15% off all groceries, plus the 5% off for using my Red Card so I couldn’t have picked a better time for this! We looked a little ridiculous, but man I understand why people say it's best to go grocery shopping with a list. This was so much faster than my usual bopping around.
How it’s Going
I have not been able to fully stick to totally no spending because of some unexpected things:
- The cat got sick (cue vet bills).
- Jordan got sick, and we ran out of Mucinex.
- We needed to pay an electrician for an issue we were having.
- The dryer started throwing errors so we also had to have someone come clean our vents.
- I ran out of toothpaste and toilet paper because apparently, I’m bad at estimating basic household needs.
- And there was one night we caved and ordered DoorDash when our aid couldn’t come.
Despite the hiccups, I still count this as a win because all those expenses were unavoidable necessities. The first few days were surprisingly hard—by January 3, it felt like I’d been at it for weeks. But then it got easier. Now, when I feel like shopping out of boredom, I just add things to my cart for later. I even started a Target registry for myself. (Yes, it’s ridiculous. No, I regret nothing.) By coming back to it later, I can decide better if I truly want it or if it was fleeting dopamine.
While I’ve stayed on track, Jordan’s new 55-gallon aquarium—his Christmas gift—has still kept our Amazon delivery drivers busy. Currently, a mountain of tank-related items is taking over our foyer.
Why Am I Doing It?
While I want to recover a bit from December, it is about more than just saving a few bucks. We have a big year ahead (including a trip to Italy…eek!). I also wanted to challenge myself to use up things I already had before consuming more.
Jordan says he’ll join me for No Spend March since he spent so much on aquarium products. February is of course out of the question because of Nascar betting.
Even with a few unexpected expenses, No Spend January is still going well in my book. It’s not about being perfect—it’s about being intentional. Only 15 days left of January to finish this challenge up!
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