Monday, July 22
- No money spent
Here’s a really silly thing I’m sad about: I am running low on gems in one of my phone games. It’s impossible to play this game without gems and I have just decided to pay to play because I enjoy the game so much. But I have to abstain for another few weeks! Ahhh… what is a girl to do without her Cooking Fever gems?!
Tuesday, July 23
- No money spent
Normal day – nothing to report!
Wednesday, July 24
- Target: $7 (groceries)
- Target: $13 (Clorox wipes)
I placed a Target drive-up order today for two different food items I forgot at the grocery store. And I ran out of Clorox wipes so I bought a three-pack.
Also, I ran out of Cooking Fever gems today. THE HORROR.
Thursday, July 25
- Amazon: $9 (can opener)
My can opener broke tonight and I immediately pulled up my Amazon app and bought a new can opener. It will be here tomorrow. Living in the future is a wild experience! (And yes, I consider this to be within the parameters of No-Spend July because it’s a necessary purchase. I can’t live without a can opener!)
Friday, July 26
- Publix: $99 (groceries)
My same M.O. as last week: I went grocery shopping for the week on Friday so I could get myself a Pub sub for dinner. I wanted something yummy to eat for the Opening Ceremony! It was also really exciting to recognize that I only really need to plan for stuff through Wednesday since No-Spend July is over on Thursday. Woohoo!
Saturday, July 27
- Amazon: $21 (gift)
I bought a friend a gift for her birthday.
I passed a Target on my way home from picking up books at the library and got this small desire to go into Target and poke around. Obviously, I didn’t go in because I’m committed to seeing No-Spend July through, but I can’t deny that I really do miss shopping.
Sunday, July 28
- No money spent
Oh man, today was a hard day! I went to the gym at 10:30 and when I came home, I really didn’t want anything in my kitchen for lunch. All of the meals I had so lovingly bought for myself for moments like this just made me angry. I wanted Ubereats dammit! But I held strong and made myself eggs, sausage, and toast for lunch. It was a satisfying meal and I’m glad I didn’t cave when I’m so close to the end of this challenge!
Monday, July 29
- No money spent
I miss ordering takeout so much. This week, I didn’t really grocery shop that well so I’m feeling very meh about all of my lunch and dinner options. (I say I didn’t grocery shop well, but I still spent almost $100! Riddle me that, Batman.) Today, my lunch was popcorn chicken I heated up in the microwave, string cheese, a muffin, and white rice. At least I got most of the food groups? Sigh. At least I had plans with friends tonight, which meant dinner was pizza and cheesy bread! (And I didn’t have to pay for it since I was doing a favor for a friend.)
Tuesday, July 30
- No money spent
The worst part about today was when I was leaving a Marco Polo for my friend Mikaela and was excitedly talking about how I only had to make it through dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow because dinner on Wednesday was going to be with book club. EXCEPT BOOK CLUB IS ON THURSDAY. Cue tears! Nope, I would have to figure out dinner, lunch, and then dinner again. Ugh. I kept forgetting to take meat out of the fridge to defrost for certain meals (I had planned my whole week around a CrockPot meal but I didn’t take the chicken out of the freezer until Tuesday morning. And now that I think about it, if I let it defrost on the counter, I probably could have salvaged that meal even if it went into the CrockPot a bit late. But I didn’t and BOO ME.) Anyway, today my lunch was more popcorn chicken, tortilla chips with salsa, and a few pieces of chocolate. I’m really killing the nutritional game this week.
Wednesday, July 31
- No money spent
LAAAAAAAST DAY! I really, really, really wanted to get takeout for dinner. In fact, a friend who lives in the same apartment complex as me texted me that the power was out at her apartment when I was at the gym, and I was hoping my power would be out too, so I could justify an Ubereats order. I WAS ACTUALLY MAD WHEN MY POWER WAS ON! Lololol. I ended up having a pretty good dinner (pan-seared chicken, rice, and peas) but man, it gets old having to cook food for yourself over and over again, doesn’t it? How do you guys do this ALL THE TIME?!
Final Thoughts on No-Spend July
This was a hard challenge, but ultimately, a really useful one. It was the reset I needed for my spending because I was spending like crazy these past few months. And while I don’t feel like I saved a ton of money doing this challenge, I’ve also been spending beyond my means since the beginning of this year and July will be the first month I’m actually below my means. I was able to pay down my credit card balance ($1,550), which is very good news because I was in dire straights with my credit card at the beginning of July. I also created a new budgeting system for myself that will help me better understand how much discretionary money I actually have every month.
Of course, the biggest piece of No-Spend July was abstaining from Ubereats and other takeout orders all month long. And you guys, this was really hard! It showed me how much I rely on takeout and how much it can affect my mood. But I also learned that I can battle against my instincts to order takeout and find something just as satisfying to eat at home. It requires having a plan and making sure the food I have at home is something I want to eat. I’m a little scared to not have the strict parameter of no takeout at all because I tend to do better with something like that. (I’m more of an Abstainer than a Moderator, if you will.) But I do want to put boundaries up about how I often I use Ubereats or pick up food on my way home from the gym or something. I’m thinking:
- One Ubereats order per week (I’d like this to be lunch, which is often MUCH cheaper than dinner)
- One takeout order per week (this can be from Chick-Fil-A, Einstein’s, etc.)
And maybe I can give myself some sort of incentive if I meet that goal, like I can buy myself a book if I can do that for an entire month. IDK, I’m still thinking about it. I need rewards because I AM A CHILD.
Anyway, thanks everyone for following along on my journey this month! I’m glad these posts were somewhat interesting to other people. It was really helpful to have you guys cheering me on as my online accountability buddies because I am pretty sure I would have given up if I didn’t have these posts to use to report my progress.
Oh! And I can’t forget to share my final list of “Things I Want to Buy!” Anytime I thought of something I wanted, I added it to this list. It wasn’t too long (and I did end up purchasing one of those items), but I may just keep adding to this list so I can pick things to buy from it based on how much I budget for shopping each month. 🙂
Have you ever done a no-spend challenge?
Congrats on No Spend July! I like the idea of keeping something like a punch card that you mark off everytime you don’t order Ubereats and x punches = 1 book. It sounds like fun!
I know that the money thing is frustrating, but you will get ahead of the game!!! Keep going!!!
Omg, if I designed an ACTUAL punch card! And instead of getting a punch for each time I visit a place, it’s a punch each time I resist Ubereats! Hahahaha. I love this.
You did great on this! And there’s nothing wrong with needing rewards. Use any tool you can to get to where you want to be, I say. It sounds like this exercise is going to help you be really mindful of what you do in terms of spending money, and really appreciate what you spend it on, and that’s a win in my book.
Thank you! It was a really useful exercise for me.
So, Ubereats isn’t really even an option for us because I live in such a small town. If I want something to eat at a restaurant, I have to go get it and I don’t like to leave my house once I get home from work, so…it’s actually pretty easy for me.
I will say that we don’t eat out because of my husband’s food restrictions, so we plan every meal ahead of time. I mean, I know what I’m eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner next Tuesday RIGHT NOW. So I think you’re a little different from me in that you like to make decisions about what to eat on the fly and that would stress me out a lot.
That being said, Friday nights are the WORST. All I want to do is be able to order a pizza and veg at home after a long work week. Alas, I should have married a different guy if I wanted that to be my reality.
Oh, I don’t like making meal decisions on the fly at all! I do try to make a meal plan every week and follow it, but sometimes I’m not excited about the choice I made or I forget some ingredient or, like this week, forget to take the meat out to defrost in time. I just need to be better about how I plan ahead! Because I like having a plan – I just need to figure out what to do if the plan falls apart for some reason.
You did it! It sounds like it was a really instructive process as you figured out how much you rely on uber eats. I think setting firm limits around it like you’ve laid out above + a reward if you don’t cheat is a good approach. Is there someone that could be your accountability buddy? We are on the opposite end of the spectrum and only order take out maybe quarterly if that? We do get take and bake pizzas about monthly but that is pretty cheap and last for many meals. The boys usually do that when I am traveling. I am lucky that I can eat the same meal on repeat without getting sick of it – for the most part. I am really sick of the salad I’ve typically packed for lunch so I need to come up with another solution that is veggie heavy and more appealing. I only make about 3 meals/week and then we live off of left overs or simple meals like eggs and toast or cereal on the other days. If I had to cook something every. single. night I would really struggle! But it’s tricky to cook meals when I go into the office as ideally the adults want to eat by 6 and we get home around 5-5:15 and there aren’t many truly “30 minute meals”.
I can’t imagine getting takeout ONCE A QUARTER, haha. Most of my friends are like me in that we do like going out to eat/ordering in/etc, which I feel is so different from the blog world where it feels like nobody ever goes out to eat. I do really enjoy not having to cook – even making a simple dinner feels like WORK to me, and then there is the kitchen to clean and all of that. I just need to get over myself, though. I need to order out less and just figure out a better way for eating in.
I have never ordered UberEats LOL I do enjoy the process of meal planning and cooking, so it’s kind of a reverse riddle for me how some people struggle with it (and that is just an observation, no judgment).
I think planning and buying things you’re excited to eat are KEY.
I think trying to limit the eating out to once a week is probably a good idea… and it’s something to look forward to when you’ve stuck to the plan for the rest of the week!
Congrats on completing the no-spend challenge. I think it’s a good eye-opener for where the money goes and a good reset to implement changes. Keep going!
I wish I liked meal planning and cooking! It would make my life a whole lot easier.
I have actually never had food delivered to my house a single time in my life!!! I’ve never done a no-spend challenge, but it’s such a great idea and I’m sure you learned a lot about spending habits and delayed gratification! I am all about rewards. It makes a huge difference for me; that little reframe can be the difference between motivation to keep going with something hard.
If you’ve never had food delivered, don’t start! The convenience is SO nice, lol, but I need to get better about not relying on it as much as I have. This challenge was a great way for me to exercise that skill, and now I hope I can continue to eat at home more than I used to.
Do you have a FSA through your employer? If so, you can use it to buy the pulse oximeter. I bought one in 2020, a friend had really low blood oxygen (she has asthma) and thought maybe she had COVID. Because of COVID she did not go in to the hospital, just talked to the advice people on the phone, who poo-pooed her symptoms until she said her blood oxygen level was in the high 80s. Then they brought her in, and she had to have surgery THAT DAY for a heart valve issue. That’s my long winded way of saying, I think it’s something everyone should have.
Nicely done on your No Spend July! You inspired me. I did not do a No Spend, but I was a bit more careful with some of my purchases. I returned something I was not using and was unlikely to use. Regarding the in app purchases, I had a game that I was spending on. I couldn’t beat certain levels without purchasing coins or whatever, I don’t remember. I realized I was spending $10 or $15 a week on it, and thought that was an EASY way to save money. So I deleted the app. I haven’t missed it once. When I want some down time on my iPad, I play a coloring game that has zero purchases. Not suggesting you do that if you don’t want to, just that it was my experience.
Count me in with those who do not do food delivery apps. We haven’t done any delivery food in over 20 years, when we want take out we pick it up ourselves. (When we lived in San Francisco we would get pizza delivered, but the pizza place we like here doesn’t deliver…and I’m too cheap to pay a 3rd party when I can go get it myself.) I wonder if that might be a compromise that you could make with yourself? Replace your Uber Eats with take out that you pick up? You would save some money.
I recognize that cooking for one is different mentally than cooking for a family. I recognize it because when Ted and Maya aren’t here, I am much more likely to have cheese and crackers for dinner or something like that. It feels like a hassle to cook for one, for some reason. I admire people (like you!) who cook meals for yourself, and give yourself that gift of self-care.
I did use my FSA to buy the pulse ox! I was hoping I could find a super expensive one, ha, because I have a lot of money to spend in my FSA this year (long story) but they were all around $20.
I try to limit myself to a certain budget for my in-app purchases. It’s the only one I spend money on and considering how much time I spend on it, I figure it’s nice to give back to the developers in some way. (That’s how I make it okay in my head, lol.)
I should be better about going out to pick up food rather than ordering takeout. But I figure one Ubereats purchase a week is fine; I was doing it MULTIPLE times a week, which is when it really adds up.
Nice work on no spend July!! I think just doing the experiment and seeing where your money is going and/or where your limits are for certain things is a great idea. Like Julie, I feel like if maybe you replaced one or two Ubereats orders with takeout, you could save some money there. It also helps me to have nights for each thing, like Tuesday Taco night or Tuesday takeout night, so it takes the thinking out of it and you know that if you can last all week, on Tuesday you get your reward.
I love the idea of themed nights for dinner! I’ll have to think on this one, but that could be really helpful for me. Thank you!
I was laughing when you said you wanted takeout, and all the food you had at home made you angry. Yes- it is so, so tiring, boring and irksome to cook EVERY SINGLE DAY. I’m pretty much at the end of my rope, and am contemplating a new system at our house. More on that later.
Congratulations on getting through the month! I’m also an abstainer, but for some things I seem to be able to do a little bit of moderation. Like, for a while I was having a problem with tortilla chips. I would eat so many of them that I would start to feel ILL. Moderation didn’t work, but it was so depressing to say I could never have them. So what I did was, made the rule that I’m ONLY allowed to eat chips on Friday night, when we get takeout (which is usually chipotle for me.) That actually has been working- I know I’m not allowed to just randomly start snacking on chips, but I also know I can have some on Fridays.
Ugh, I can imagine how rough it is when you have to cook for OTHER PEOPLE as well as yourself. And those people have opinions, too! Good luck on your new system.
I think it’s so good to set those sorts of limits with foods. There are definitely certain food items that I am just NOT ALLOWED to buy because I cannot control myself around them. Having a specific night (+ meal) when you can have those chips will make them even tastier because they’re not something you’re having all the time!
Oh, wow, Stephany, you did it! Go, you! This was such a hard challenge for you and you did an amazing job. It’s easy for me to sit here and say, well, just don’t order UberEats. But it’s hard for you – just like it’s hard for me to change up what I eat. I eat essentially the same thing. Every day. It’s boring, but it’s easy. Your diet is much more varied – I need to do that for myself, but it’s so hard for me. Gold stars – so many of them – for recognizing this as something you wanted to try to change and actually doing it. I don’t know if I could do it. <3
Woohooo you made it. Congrats.
It’s so interesting for me to see what each of us is batteling. It looked really hard for you. Some of the things would be really easy for me. But I am sure things I have big issues you could laugh about.
I do plan a no spend month. Not sure when as birthday month and holidays are approaching fast.
So question: what was the take out meal you ordered after being done?