The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: frugalkristen on October 18, 2016, 11:39:22 AM
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I am planning on doing a no-spend year in 2017. Of course I have a mortgage and utilities. And food and gas. But I plan to cut back to the bare bones. No shopping or eating out. I really want to challenge myself to see how far I can take this. I started a journal which I will update more as January 1st approaches. I might even resurrect my old blog to keep a running tab of my expenses. I'm curious if anyone has done this and how it went?
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This is ambitious! I commend you for taking on such a long challenge. I've never done a whole year of no eating out because the reality is that I find myself out in the world without a packed lunch all the time. I believe I've done a whole year without shopping for clothing (minus undies) without even meaning to.
How will you do your tracking?
What will you do with all your savings?
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I guess you will come up with strategies to avoid the need to shop or eat out. Getting a small cooler you can fill with snacks like fruit and cheese and crackerswill help.
Do you have a fridge at work?
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Interesting! How much of a stretch is this for you? Do you currently eat out once or twice (or sometimes not at all) each month, or do you buy lunch out every day? If the former I bet it will be totally doable (this is more where I'm at, and I think I could do it -- my wife might not be too happy about it though), but if it's the latter I think burnout would be a serious issue you should be careful of.
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I always bring my lunch to work (I make a big meal on Sunday and portion it out so I can grab and go during the week!). I eat out when I feel like it - not usually planned. Mainly on the weekends - not after work or anything. But I like cooking and so does my BF so it'll force me to try things I've never gotten around to making. As for shopping, I don't really like shopping. I end up hitting the outlet mall once a year for a few things. So it should be easy to avoid that. I like challenging myself and this seemed like a great challenge. I want to increase my savings for retirement.
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I am 9.5 months into my year of eating no restaurant food. I did not just give up eating at restaurants, but also take out, leftovers, and the grocery store deli.
When my work or family wants to go out to eat, I will accompany them and socialize like I always have, I just don't eat.
It's not just about the money, but also control over what goes in me. A couple of times I paid full price to sit at a banquet and not eat.