No Spend January

By KimberlyMarket Ready
No Spend January

I successfully made it through No Spend January! I set a plan in motion and achieved my goal. I am mainly writing this article as a kind of diary to myself outlining why—why this particular time I not only met goal but did it with such resolve, to which its origin I am not quite sure of. I am a former Financial Counselor and I am very passionate about the subject of Women & money. I have written many articles on the subject such as: 

  1. Reduce Holiday Debt While Simultaneously Saving Money (Even A Little Bit Counts)
  2. Money Basics-Woman Market (Life) Ready
  3. Holiday Budget Spending Plan
  4. It’s All About the FICO you know?
  5. A Woman’s Guide to Buying a Car—Love or Loathe?

Heck, I even wrote a book with an entire chapter dedicated to the subject!

In its third year of print!

So why now, why this particular January, was I so successful? Then it hit me—I had changed my mindset AND I didn’t micro to the nth degree my goal! I built in a fail-safe. $200.00 was my fail-safe. I had $200.00 of discretionary money to spend on whatever I wanted. Now I know, that may seem like a lot to some but for me it is what worked in my budget arena and kept me on goal. I have been the CFO of my household for a very long time, trying all the tricks & creative financial accounting imaginable to reach a monetary goal. And now I found the secrets—the fail-safe. Oh and the mindset thing too, don’t let me negate that. They go hand in hand. 

So to the paragraph that probably should have come first—why implement a No Spend January in the first place? And to that there is only one answer—financial control. To me 2022 is to be the year of experiences not things. And I love things, no matter what the lady who says if it doesn’t bring joy, dump it. Things & memorabilia I have collected over the years do bring me joy and I will not apologize for that. But it is said to change a habit successfully you need to love something more than the habit. Again, going back to experiences. I love the time spent with family & friends exploring different parts and beaches of my new region. I love being able to throw a big party with lots of spirits & delicious food. I love being financially free to do so. 

I will never abandon my financial goals; as a woman I feel there is no better service to yourself and your family than to be the CFO of your own life. No Spend January has taught me I can however simplify the financial bottom line into these components: 

  • Always have money in the bank for emergencies & just plain life.
  • Keep your credit score in check as it follows you your entire lifetime.
  • Love something more than the habit you wish to break and build in that fail-safe to all your financial plans.
  • Mindset matters, be the change you wish to see in your financial life. 

And feel free to review any of the articles I have written & shared above. It’s just the basics but sometimes we all need to do just that—get back to them.

Much success to you!

Love something more than the habit you wish to break.

 

 

 

Featured image by rawpixel on Unsplash

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Kimberly

Author; Blogger; Self-Proclaimed “Woman” of all trades and Self-Proclaimed “Master” of some! AFAA Certified Group Aerobics Instructor since 1998; MA Licensed Real Estate Agent since 1995; former Certified Financial Counselor and Passionate Advocator of Financial Education for Women. Tech Geek; Home Cook & Most Importantly, Mother of 3, my #1 Reason for Living!!!

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