No Spend March Update
by Katy on March 13, 2025 · 19 comments
We’re a few days off from the halfway mark for No Spend March and although I’ve been blogging updates here and there, I thought it would be good to write a dedicated post. How’s my “no spend” month going so far? Actually pretty good. Mostly because I don’t have many impulsive spending patterns to reverse, but also because I have The Non-Consumer Advocate community for accountability.
We’ve spent $139.59 on groceries/food so far this month, which is less than normal because A) There have been zero restaurant meals; and B) Fewer grocery trips = fewer impulse purchases. Keep in mind that we often feed our adult kids and that I continue to stock up when I come across sale items.
You may notice that “Fred Meyer” (Kroger) is on this list, even though they’re part of my boycott. This was a late night trip that my husband made to pick up supplies for his work lunches. Trader Joe’s is also a store I’m trying to avoid due to their anti-union lobbying at the federal level, but all I bought were ten of their their 24¢ bananas. (My husband eats a lot of bananas!) I consider walking out of Trader Joe’s for under $2.50 to be an exercise in self control. <– I’m aware that this is a full on rationalization.
I haven’t bought any non-food items beyond some Dollar Tree bar soap and unavoidable expenses such as gasoline, utilities, car insurance, etc.
My adult niece will be staying us next week and that’ll be a challenge, as we normally dine out here and there when hosting out of town family. I’ll have to figure out how this’ll effect the challenge, as I can’t let it interfere with being a generous and kind hostess.
Are you participating in No Spend March or are maybe just racheting down your spending due to rising food prices and the general state of the economy? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I would have loved to, but I had to replace some of the wooden handled/silicone utensils in the guest cottage as the puppies had chewed them up. sigh. I also needed some hardware for pictures as my organization lady insisted on hanging many of my pictures with command strips, with predictable consequences.
However I am passing on some very nice Eileen Fisher silk tops and dresses to a friend of mine who needs a nice outfit for some award her son is getting.
Oh, I also bought some more dog chew toys to distract the puppies from my househol items.
And the crabapple for my garden and some seeds.
Basically: FAIL! but I’m OK with that.
Rose,
Go easy on yourself, lady! All those purchases sound like they’re necessary, and I didn’t read that you went to the mall and spent money like crazy. That’s in keeping with the spirit of no-spend month; it can also be a low-spend month.
Very generous of you to pass along those silk blouses; you sound like a marvelous, true blue friend!
Living in the back of nowhere, I am not at all sure where the nearest mall is!
Yes–I’ve been staying off an on in the guest cottage to reinforce housebreaking, and the puppies went to town, sigh. I will probably have guests for March 31-ish as that’s our local St Patrick’s Day parade, which people love. Apparently 40,000 people show up, I have no idea why. Not a parade person. The chamber of commerce does have a soup contest beforehand which is fun: buy a commemorative mug and then sample as many local soups/chowders you like from local restaurants.
So I need to buy more stuff to replace the chewed up stuff. Also, sigh, a TV remote, which went the way of all flesh a few months ago in the puppies’ mouths. Good thing they’re cute.
There is nothing I wouldn’t do for this friend. Ha, 12 years ago she scooped up her dog’s poop from her yard and mailed it to my husband’s mistress. She lives in Chicago so plausible deniability!
I get rid of my too many clothes, she gets some nice things, we are good.
Between three mystery shops that each required $10 of purchases, and some amazing left behinds (like eggs) that volunteers were free to take, we have spent exactly $15.00 out of pocket on milk since March 1. (Husband drinks milk with nearly every meal and I love it too.) Oh, yes, I forgot last Friday when I did get a Filet ‘o Fish from McDonalds. It was a very bad day and I didn’t care about anyone or anything else. We have been eating from freezer and cupboards, eating things that have been lingering in there too long, so this is a really good exercise for cleaning out corners often ignored while I am looking in the freezer for inspiration.
We all have bad days, and if a Filet-O-Fish can make things a little better then it’s worth every penny!
I’m trying to be more mindful about purchasing items. Instead of going to the regular supermarkets, yesterday I bought my food for the week at a small grocery store. It is locally owned and operated by a Christian mission serving disadvantaged people. Yes, I paid a bit more for the groceries, but I also supported a good cause. Supporting them helps revitalize their inner city neighborhood. The mission administrators say that if folks from other neighborhoods would shop there once a month, they could much better financially stay afloat. (Due to “outside” money coming in; many of their regulars have to use food stamps.)
Alas, they were out of milk and they don’t sell everything I needed (only about 3 or 4 things), so I bopped into Aldi for those items. Better Aldi than Walmart, correct?
One possible no-no: As I’ve previously mentioned, I got my floors installed. (Technically, I ordered this done in February, so…) I need some other items including electrical outlet covers (prior to flooring, the room was repainted and the painters carelessly got paint on the outlet covers bc they didn’t remove them, just hit-and-miss taped them). I wanted decorative electrical outlet plates and they are hard to find. Habitat Re-store didn’t have any and that would’ve been in keeping with our boycott, IMO. Neither did the Mom and Pop hardware stores around town. But instead of going to Walmart or using Amazon, I got some via Wayfair, which I hope is not a “bad” company. Their covers are about $5 each instead of $27 or so, which is what a lot of other online places charged, and I have 9 plug outlets in that room. (I didn’t wait until April bc it’s easier/better to put them in before we move the huge china cabinets back into the room; my bad!) If I don’t have things around the house that I need, I’m hitting the charity thrift stores for stuff.
Meanwhile, I am waiting with baited breath to see if the Social Security check comes through. Please pray for everyone on SS and Medicaid and Medicare and VA benefits, that we don’t get shafted by the great orange monster and his sidekick.
Continued rationalize for Trader Joes:
I live in Asheville, NC and serve at a local church that has a weekly food pantry. For the past year or so TJs has supplied significant donations to our weekly pantry. Because of our downtown location, we were one of the first places for electricity to be restored after Hurricane Helene, so our weekly food pantry quickly became a daily Free Market and was able to be one of the first relief sites in the city.
Because of our existing relationship with Trader Joes, they sent us vanloads of food (literally, 2-3 cargo vans stacked high each day) that we were able to pass along to individuals and organizations in the area. Because of TJ’s generosity, we were one of the few places able to supply fresh produce and meat to folks, many of whom ended up being without power for weeks.
Our congregation has committed to shopping at TJs as much as possible as a thank you for their abundant generosity and TJs continues to donate to our weekly pantry. In February, they supplied us with 641 pounds of food!
That is very good information to have, thank you so much for sharing it!
Great job on your No Spend March goals! You are definitely inspiring me. We are living more frugally over here lately too, due to the economy + inflated food prices + the impacts of cancer. In particular we are focused on eating more meals at home, making sure to consume any leftovers and general fridge items we might have, making cheaper menu plans, and doing more frugal outings/activities.
I’m currently ratcheting down our spending month by month. My fiancé loves to shop, and going cold turkey would trigger his need to spend money. This month, we were aiming for 15 no-spend days, next month we will aim for 17 no-spend days, etc. I did this when I was single with HUGE success.
I’ve been planting the seeds of working together towards debt freedom once we are married this summer. My fiancé doesn’t have a comprehensive knowledge of personal finance, and rudimentary budgeting skills. I was able to convince him to open a retirement account this past year. Our next steps will be to get a Roth IRA going for him, and reinvigorate my own account. We are trying to break generational cycles of poverty in our families by becoming educated, owning our own home, and carrying no debt.
Wishing you all the best in your endeavor!
Autumn, those are some impressive goals! Good luck!
We are not attempting a no/low spend month but are attempting to only buy necessary items and to support local businesses. We have not eaten out. I don’t want to deprive hard working locals of employment when we can afford to spend.
I think this is a really helpful example that shows it is not all or nothing! Unless you are 100% off the grid there is no way to eat, power, or manage our lives without spending some level of money. I appreciate this so much.
On my end, I’m focused on growing my savings and eliminating debt this year to better absorb any economic uncertainty. This month I’ve focused on not over-buying groceries and reorienting my food budget to be more in line with our post-pandemic lifestyle. I spent a lot of money on groceries in bulk during COVID to avoid going to the store frequently and I am working to break those habits, whether while at home or while traveling (we spend up to 50% of every month on the road, either for business or pleasure). Otherwise, I am trying my best to avoid unnecessary spending (bars, coffees, treats) to support those goals. I wouldn’t say I am doing a full no-spend March, but this overall reduction has done wonders to open my eyes to where my money was going before.
No spend March is definitely not going well. We celebrate two birthdays. My oldest daughter was visiting for a week. The girl loves to eat out and I love to spoil my kids. I haven’t made any major purchases. I am trying to eat in now that the oldest has gone home. I’m more trying to be mindful of where I’m purchasing what I do buy.
Appreciate you keeping it real, Katy!
I have made the long-overdue switch to buying produce at a local farm store.
I’m making effort to grow more food in my garden.
Decreased shopping at Trader Joe’s-they do have some specialty items that are hard to find other places and their return policy is very generous.
Focused on doing projects at home, for which I have the supplies as I’m good at squirreling useful things away in a manner in which I can find them when needed.
Giving more time to the community garden and fresh produce food bank.
And buying as little as I can. Today I spent 5o cents at the thrift store for a new egg dyeing kit for my grandson.
Thank you for your frequent posts!
1. Received $22 for a few items sold at a consignment store.
2. DH switched our internet/TV provider, cancelled cable, and did a few other tweaks to save us around $120/month.
3. Put my Dad on our cell phone plan, saving him around $50 per month.
4. DH has almost finished building us a new pantry cabinet for our kitchen in an area that once housed a useless empty space that filled up with shoes, coats and reusable shopping bags and looked messy. He has saved us thousands, as I did have it priced by a cabinet maker, and it was very expensive.
5. Booked a 4 day getaway at my cousin’s beautiful house on a nearby island, while he is out of the country, in April. It’s not far to go, has a beautiful view and our dogs are welcome. He likes us to go and stay and check on the property, and feels like he pays us back as we have helped with various projects on the property.