Comments on: How Long Can You Go Without Spending Money?

By: David

David — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:47:50 +0000

I’m right there with you Ellie!

By: Ellie

Ellie — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:52:48 +0000

I have two main strategies for getting by another day without spending:
1) If I’m having a ‘craving day’ (like craving chocolate or crisps except craving to buy something particular – usually books for me) I’ll stay out of harm’s way. If I decide to wander past a bookshop or a charity shop, I’m not going to resist on a craving day… so I make sure I DON’T wander past.
2) Recognising my triggers. Like your newspaper guy – if I can spot a trigger a mile off and say ‘whoah, not going there’ then I’ll be fine. Speeding firmly past tin-jiggling charity collectors and the chocolate stall on the market I walk through sometimes, that kind of thing…

By: Allison

Allison — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:31:22 +0000

I’ve been reading these backlogs, so I’m sorry for posting this so late.

I’m one of those people who don’t spend money. Other than writing my monthly rent check and buying groceries (I don’t drive my car, although I own one, since I live in the city) my mint.com account unhappily states “$0 spent” this month.

I started this habit in high school when my mother made me buy my own school lunches. I had the option to make my own or buy it. At first I loved spending the money, but then I found out that I’d end up spending $20-30 a week (when I was *maybe* making $75) on lunch. It had to stop.

So, I stopped carrying around cash and I only used my atm card. Then, after awhile, I started alternating how much money I’d put in my checkings account compared to my savings. I decided that I only wanted to have $100 in checkings at all times in case I needed gas, or like, I was totally starving and I was 1000 miles from home. I put all my money into my savings account where I’d have to call the bank, go to the bank, or go online in order to switch accounts. This worked. Pretty soon the idea of watching my $100 in my checking account go down made me a bit paranoid, so I developed the habit of not spending money.

In college I started carrying around my credit cards, but I never activated them until I needed to spend a large purchase (like a car broke down). After I activated my card, or if I found that I used it more than I should have, I would destroy the card and order a new one – waiting until I needed it to activate it. Trust me, it makes you think twice about spending!

By: David

David — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:24:00 +0000

Interesting idea, I might try that one!

By: Sandra

Sandra — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:33:26 +0000

I got this idea from Everyday Cheapskate: I only keep big bills on me like a 20 or 100. I find it hard to break the bills for something that is not absolutely necessary. If I break the large bills, I put any 1s and 5s in a savings stash at home. We use this as spending cash when we go on vacation.

By: Kaz

Kaz — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:24:40 +0000

I can easily go for days without spending money. We do a weekly grocery shop and make our lunches for work days. I gave up coffee a couple of years back and have hebral tea at work (and at home). We don’t buy a newspaper anymore – we read our news online. We don’t eat out or have takeaway food. One thing that helps me is to not carry any cash with me. And with all of this…… we are happy. It doesn’t feel like some huge sacrifice. We are still eating well – probably better than ever. I have got over the mindset that spending money makes me happy.

By: SavvyChristine

SavvyChristine — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:58:56 +0000

I’ve gone as long as two weeks without spending on anything besides groceries and gas. For me, the trick was to cut back my grocery store trips.

I also convinced myself that our current savings goal (the wedding) was going to be so awesome that I wouldn’t care about whatever I was thinking about buying. As in: it would be nice to have a new pair of earrings, but it would be a hundred times nicer to have a wedding with really great food. Or I could look into a new laptop, but I’d rather have those ten extra guests at the wedding.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:37:29 +0000

It depends on the situation. There are times where I’ve gone for several days without spending anything. Then there are times when I get bored and spend away. I think it’s all about willpower and how much you have. The best thing to do to avoid spending is not to carry any cash or debit card with you. Of course that’s dangerous too because you could get into a situation where you really do need cash and don’t have it …

By: Jesse

Jesse — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:14:30 +0000

It’s taken months, but yeah, I can go a week without any petty cash leaving my pockets. I shop every weekend, stocking up for the week at the farmers market and a bulk item stop at WholePaycheck. I brownbag(actually it’s a small cooler from REI) lunch all week. And my only regular stop in the evenings is the dog park for a romp…I don’t stop for coffee(my office has tea and coffee available) anymore, having given up caffeine, and I don’t eat out(several reasons).
There you go…no cash needed all week. I’ve still got a $20 in my wallet from last month…

It just takes practice, for starters, stop buying the paper…go online for news.

You can always force the matter, take your cash and debit card out of your wallet when you leave the house. Just take whatever card you put gas on…

By: renee @ FIMBY

renee @ FIMBY — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:04:28 +0000

Not very long! Although I find the less I go out, the less I spend.