The Challenge of Zero Spending

We all love new beginnings – I certainly do.  I love a new course which I celebrate with a blank notebook and new spiffy pens.  A new week – “I’ll start on Monday.”  And yes, a new year. Yet, studies show that the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions fail by February!  Hence, I am not a fan of such resolutions.

That being said, for the past months, I have been working on a decluttering/budgeting/living-minimally trifecta which I am enjoying.  And with the advent of this blog, I will be sharing aspects of this effort.

Today I want to share my personal challenge of zero spending.  I haven’t gone daft.  I don’t mean tossing out my bank account, and foraging for nuts and berries, dumpster diving, eating bugs and the like – although I am not passing judgment on those activities either.  What I mean by the term “zero spending” is actually the concept of zero of reduced discretionary spending.

Why even do this?

1. As a challenge
2. To opt out of rampant consumerism
3. To adopt a minimalist lifestyle
4. Out of necessity

 
What I did was to set a baseline of relatively fixed, necessary expenditures such as:

Rent/mortgage
Insurances
Utilities
Taxes

Food is a necessity but has lots of room for zero spending fixes.  No drive-thru purchases, no Starbucks, no ordering out for lunches; limit alcohol, restaurants, and delivery meals like PIZZA.  Sad, I know.  But each month I challenge myself to see how well I can eat on minimal expenditures. 

Most of us can live with the clothes we already own.  A fun challenge is to revamp one’s wardrobe and come up with new combinations, new ways to wear something, resulting in breathing new life into our formerly boring clothes selections.

I am amazed by how much of a habit mindless spending was for me.  I once told a my business coach (when I co-owned the Creating Calm Broadcast Network) that I was going to kill some time by walking around Target to see if I needed anything.  I was stunned by the truth of his reply:  “Ann, if you needed something, you would know before you left the house.”  Sadly, until that moment, I never thought about it that way, but this one sentence has changed my shopping M.O. drastically.

Confess – isn’t Target one of those stores where you go in for toilet paper and come out with your basket piled high with things you “needed” – even a complete bedroom makeover which you didn’t know you even wanted until you saw their display.
 
Some of my current practices for my goal of living minimally and spending mindfully:

Cut my own hair—I use a FlowBee – someday I may do a vlog post and show you how this works
Trim the dogs’ hair.  Necessary spending: their toenails – we all freak out when I try this at home.
Bring my own food and beverages for the day
Eat food I already have in the pantry – a creative cookery challenge!
Revamp my existing wardrobe
​
Throughout the year, I will discuss this challenge of decluttering/budgeting/living-minimally.  I’d love to hear your ideas of ways you may have succeeded in this area.  Leave comments below.

---