What can I say? After years of no New Year’s resolutions, this year I’m overflowing with them. Mostly because I seem to have gotten an energy bump this January, so I’m taking advantage of it.
This particular resolution, if that’s what you want to call it, is to spend no money in January. IOW, this January I am reigning in my discretionary spending. I tend to be perhaps a little too generous/spendy during the holidays, so I find being intentional about my spending in January helps me reset that spending mindset (which is strongly encouraged and reinforced by all the holiday marketing!).
I find that I get into a mindset of not being as critical of my spending during the holidays, and this helps me reset so that I stop and think before I spend. Plus, an uber frugal January helps offset the excesses of December and get my budget back on track.
Although I got the idea from Mrs. Frugalwood’s “January Uber Frugal Month Group Challenge,” I don’t participate in her groups when I do my January reset. For me, it’s enough to know that it’s January and I’m on a spending fast. However, if group support would be helpful for you, consider joining her group challenge next year. (I don’t know if this year’s groups are still open.)
I acknowledge that it’s a privilege to have discretionary income (money left over after paying bills, buying gas & groceries, etc.). And that it’s a privilege to be able to spend freely (however one defines that) during the holidays. When I was young, my family did not have that privilege, and I am grateful for it now.
So far, it’s January 10th and I haven’t spent any money. But I will be making my quarterly trip to the VA hospital for medical Botox injections later this month, and I plan to stop for Mexican food on the way home – my quarterly treat. (AKA, one “cheat day” from my spending fast.)
Otherwise, no restaurant meals this month. (Which we’re still getting to-go, because COVID.) We’ve got plenty of food in our pantry and freezer (also a privilege), and of course we can buy groceries as part of our normal monthly expenses. And no rationalizing other discretionary spending.
Hopefully after a month of resisting the urge to spend, I can break the holiday-inspired attitude of “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.” The January uber frugal money fast usually does the trick.
[This approach works for me because I am an abstainer, not a moderator. If you are a moderator, perhaps a different approach would work for you. Or perhaps you moderate your spending during the holidays and don’t need to get back on track after the holidays because you never got off-track.]
Do you splurge over the holidays? What techniques/tricks/hacks do you use to get your budget back on track in January? Or do you set a spending budget for November/December and stick to it? Please comment below.
Whew I’m an abstainer but I’ve evolved my approach to budgeting and money a lot over the years. I used to track and allocate every single penny to be sure I had enough to cover each bill.
Now it’s a very aggregate approach: I put away a set amount of savings and whatever is left can be spent. Some months are higher spending, some are lower, and that’s fine as long as it works out by the end of the year. If I end the year with roughly the same amount in checking as I started, like I did in 2021 and 2022, we did a decent job balancing our spending and saving and cash flow.
I DO spend a lot of time poring over the finances generally so I know what our projections are for the year, and making adjustments, so it’s not all hands off. It’s just the way that I work with the numbers is a little different than it used to be.
“The way that I work with the numbers is a little different than it used to be.” That’s true for us too. And, to be accurate, we never really liked budgeting, so we’ve never really used a strict monthly budget. But, like you, we had designated savings going straight off the top each month, and only spent from the amount we had left after savings and bills. Saving for the future was always more important to us than splurging in the present. But since retiring and becoming severely chronically ill, our priorities have changed a bit – we’re spending a bit more to enjoy the present. Yet we only splurge on the things that are important to us and don’t spend on the things that aren’t, still.
A spending fast is an excellent idea! I tend to go a little overboard during the holidays as well, although for the last two holidays husband has been unemployed so we’re reigning in the spending. Unfortunately, January in general tends to be an expensive month for me, as it’s when a lot of my annual plans renew (antivirus, blog hosting, professional license) and fees are due. I think I’ll pick a random month this year and set a reminder to practice no discretionary spending for that month. Thanks!
Lindsay, Sounds good! Let me know how it goes.