Many of you regularly partake in no-spend days, a full 24 hours where you make an effort to spend nothing. A number of no-spend days in a row can really help jump start your savings.
Unfortunately, no-spend days aren’t quite that simple.
Even if someone doesn’t physically spend money one day, they’re still being charged. We pay by the month, but we use things like power, gas, and our cell phones on a daily basis.
We also prepay for a lot of things. A cartload of groceries that will last two weeks costs a bunch of money day one, and then nothing for 13 subsequent days. It’s the same thing for a tank of gas, rent, or many other things.
The point is this: If somebody makes an effort to pay for a lot of things up front and then boasts about having no-spend days, it’s only marginally effective. They’re just loading all of their consumption onto one day. It’s an exercise in semantics and accounting tricks.
I like the spirit behind no-spend days much better than I like the execution. Instead of focusing on limiting spending to certain days, just eliminate extra spending all the time. That way, you won’t be tempted to spend extra while preparing for no spend days.
No-spend days are a good idea for those people who are just coming off shopping addictions or just feel the need to buy things. They’re not so valuable for people who already have their spending under control.
