How to Go on a Spending Fast

save your money

Many of us are struggling with our finances, what with prices sky high on gas, food, housing, utilities and practically everything else. Get control of your spending and start saving money again with a spending fast. The idea is to stop buying things you don't need while saving money. It's not designed to make you feel miserable or deprived, but to empower you and get you kick-started on a more frugal lifestyle.

Things You'll Need

• desire to save money

Instructions

1. Pick a specific period -- a weekend, week, month or year -- when you try to get your spending back to reasonable levels by limiting spending only to necessities. It's a lot like losing weight by going on a juice or water fast for a few days and then starting your diet plan once the fast has ended. A spending fast works on the same principles, except instead of fasting from food, you are fasting from spending money. You are literally in a no-buy time.

2. Set up the ground rules before you start. You'll have to pay your rent, utility bills and medicine costs if you need them. What you won't be doing is eating out all the time, buying fancy coffee drinks on the way to work, seeing theater movies or buying books, clothes and shoes you don't really need. In a spending fast you eat at home out of your cupboards, freezer and refrigerator as much as possible. Buy only buying the absolute minimum foods and supplies needed to get by.

3. Specify a period of time for the fast. Set a start date and an end date. Set a goal for your savings so you can go through the experience in a positive frame of mind.

4. Plan your meals ahead of time and pack your lunch to take to the office. Look in to mass transit options between your home and office.

5. Record any money spent on a daily basis and post it where you can see it. Your goal is to spend no money during a complete day, but realistically things may come up.

6. Use cash. Put your credit cards away for the duration of the spending fast.

7. When the spending fast is over, evaluate the results. If you feel a sense of success and are delighted with how much money you've saved, you'll probably want to repeat the fast sometime soon.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember the idea is to stop buying things you don't need and at the same time to save some money. It's not to make you feel miserable or deprived, but to empower you and get you kick-started on a more frugal lifestyle.

• It can be really hard the first few days to not buy anything. We are used to buy, buy, buy; not save, save, save.

References

• FInancial Highway: Want to Save Some Serious Cash? Try a Spending Fast

Resources

• FrugalDad: The Ultimate Frugal Weekend: A 48-Hour Spending Fast