This month is supposed to be No Spend January which is something that a few bloggers are trying out.  We will be ‘trying’ not to spend this month and just using what we have and what we generate for the month. Here are my guidelines for the month:

Use what is in the pantry

Use gift cards for purchases

Be thrifty/frugal

This was inspired by Sox who has had successful No Spend Months and has challenged others to try it too. Now I will be taking a few liberties with my spending as I will be using my CVS gift cards and Walmart gift cards that I get from using my cash back credit cards.

Bills are not included in the restrictions because you have to pay for them anyway…it only applies to things that you actually go out and BUY or ORDER so that should help.

I will also be using my CVS Extra Bucks to purchase items as needed….although I will only use them to purchase items that give back more ECBs.

I was not allowed to stock up in December so I have to use what is in the pantry and this means I will have to cook more at home.

I love fresh fruits, especially bananas which I like to be sort of green….so I will be buying those weekly (and ignoring the No Spend Rules ) and thumbing my nose at J. Money coz it is MY blog and I can do what I want!!!!!!!

Since we have to generate money to be able to spend for the month I guess I need to hustle and log in to my Blue Cross Blue Shield account daily to update my actions so that I can earn points towards a gift card. I guess this means I will not be able to eat out for the month (no Subway???? sigh) since I will have to save any generated money to actually pay for groceries.

I will be saving on gas for the month as well because I will not be making frivolous trips to WallyWorld to play with stuff that I do not need. Luckily I do not drive that much as I live close to work.

I can already predict that this will be hard for me because I am so used to spending….but I know that you will all be here to cheer me on when I fall. If you think you are ready to try this go ahead and do it. Do not be discouraged if you fall off the wagon and spend…it is not the end of the world….you can get back on and continue the journey and it just means that at the end of the month you still will have spent LESS than if you did not take up the challenge.

If you want to join the No Spend January challenge simply post a list of your own rules on your blog and then link back here so we can know who else is doing it.