As I finish out Day 1 of my No Spend January that’s detailed below, I’ll have to say not ordering on Amazon is the most challenging. Today, at least twice, I’ve considered breaking my own rule! On Day 1!! What a slacker. I didn’t, however. When we have extreme cold, we heat with wood using our wood boiler. We are currently bringing it “on line” right now and I realized Mike doesn’t have a good pair of work gloves, and he needs a new pair of gloves for this. I started to order a pair on Amazon. It would be oh so easy. However, he can go to Lowe’s or Rural King and get the gloves himself. If I get started breaking my own rules, I’ll continue. Besides, he can get exactly what he wants.
I have some goals for January — I’m going to walk on the trail 3 times per week, do a daily Bible devotion, and I’m going to systematically de-crapify my house. However, the one that I’ve thought most about is my No Spend January. It started today.
I did this once before but I would give myself about a C+ on my results. This year, I made rules that are more flexible. I’ve also got more buy in from Mike. Mike is not participating in the No Spend, but he cannot break the rules and buy me something that is on my list as a NO!
Here’s my list:
Not Allowed:
- Don’t buy anything from a window or convenience store (no fast food). There is one exception. After church on Sunday, I can get a Pal’s tea and hotdog. One per week.
- No soft drinks or candy
- No clothing or footwear purchases (admission here–I ordered a pair of boots yesterday. They were on sale and I’ll save them for Fall 2025. They are excluded because while they’ll arrive in January 2025, they were purchased and shipped in 2024.)
- No home decor purchases
- No Amazon purchases (extremely difficult)
- No quilt fabric purchases (very difficult)
- No skincare purchases (very difficult although I am pretty stocked up)
- No trips to the movies
- No Audible book purchases
- No streaming videos for additional cost or new subscriptions from what we currently have
- No home cleaning/home organization purchases
- No hair appointment in January
Allowed
- Normal groceries and pet food (but no Azure Standard, etc.)
- Medical for pets and Mike and me if needed
- RX’s if needed
- One meal out per week for the two of us in a sit-down restaurant
- Car wash as needed
- Any emergency supplies we may need for cold weather etc.
It’s important to note that Mike is not a participant. If you see him out buying from Pal’s or getting his haircut or stopping to get a snack, that’s on him. It’s my No Spend. I think he’ll support me and go along with most of it, but he’ll do what he wants to do. I have no control over this man, so why in the world would I think I could influence his spending?
In preparation, I went through my credit card statements and looked to see what subscriptions I have. I found two for streaming networks that I haven’t watched in months. I paused my Audible account and I may close it out as I can use the Washington County Library’s Libby ap. It’s paused until April. I found that there was a car wash subscription that I thought was closed out because I’d verbally told the carwash but the account failed to close — got a credit back on that one.
My January is about staying home, staying healthy, using what I have and enjoying it.
