WEBVTT - Should You Try a No-Spend Challenge? 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:05.519 Should you try a no spend challenge. 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:09.880 Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:16.840 save money, embrace simplicity, and liver a your life. Here 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:18.280 your hosts Jen and Jill. 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:23.840 Welcome to Frugal Friends. My name is Jen, my name 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:26.960 is Jill, and today we are re airing episode two 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:30.080 eighty six. This is back from February and twenty twenty three, 0:00:30.440 --> 0:00:32.960 So if you were not with us, then you did 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:37.440 not get to this episode. That was a fan favorite 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:40.960 and we want to make sure that you hear all 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:42.000 the best of us. 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:46.560 But first, this episode is brought to you by Possibilities. 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:53.680 What if you could identify ways to save more, spend better, 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:58.360 and even keep track of all of your debt payoff goals, 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:03.160 all from your phone. Guess what you can? That possibility 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:05.880 is there for you, and you can do it the 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:09.360 Frugal Friends way with our new mobile Optimized Spending Planner. 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:14.160 It's beautiful, it's simple, it does math, it's easy to 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:18.040 navigate from your phone, and it's inexpensive, which is one 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:21.440 of our favorite things about it. Save money, track money, 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:25.440 spend money, get good at money. It's all possible for you. 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:30.440 Frugal friendspodcast dot com slash planner and you can use 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:36.440 code summer fifty that's summer five zero, and that will 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:40.640 get you fifty percent off this mobile Optimized Spending Planner 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:45.360 spreadsheet through July. So that's a pretty long time that 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:47.600 you have to get fifty percent off of this thing. 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:52.600 The fact that this planner does math. The spreadsheet is 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:55.840 important because I heard it at the dog park this morning. 0:01:55.880 --> 0:02:01.000 Five out of four people are bad at math. Let 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:07.200 that sink in. She is processing it for their eyes. 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:13.240 That there was dog park, there was five out of four. 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:17.239 Yeah, we got there. You got there, But you don't 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.400 need to do the math because the spreadsheet does it 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:25.320 for you. Okay, Summer fifty do it. That is fifty 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:30.560 percent off and that's straightforward. Yeah. So today we are 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:34.000 talking about what you can use, the information you can 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:36.200 use to vet whether a no spend challenge would be 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:39.920 right for you in this season of your life, whether 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.799 it will help you or not. For most people, we 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:46.120 think it's going to be really beneficial for a lot 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:49.520 of seasons in life. Sometimes it's not. Though for me 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.840 right now, I'm in a really hard season and I 0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:56.160 should not add something on top of it. This morning 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:58.880 on the radio, people were talking about seventy five hard. 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:01.320 Do you know that chill? Yeah, and I was like, 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:04.520 oh gosh, maybe Travis and I should do that. It 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:07.440 would bring us closer to it, right you look at you. 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:10.320 That's exactly as soon as I said that, in my head, 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:13.639 I too was like, oh, Chen, stop it. 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:17.160 Oh you are living three hundred and sixty five hard 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:18.400 right now? 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:23.320 I am, And I right. So like, sometimes we think 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.000 we are living in something hard, that something else hard 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:29.680 will be the solution to our problems, and sometimes it's not. Okay. 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.320 So like, if you're thinking about doing a no spend challenge, 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.360 this is a good episode for you. For most people, 0:03:36.400 --> 0:03:40.200 I really do believe thirty days of no discretionary spending 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:43.800 is going to be really healthy and really good. But 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:47.040 for some people it's not. And this is a really 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:50.280 good It was a favorite episode from two years ago. 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:53.160 Yeah, because it can be fun. That's the thing too, 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:55.200 And we'll talk about ways to make it. 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.800 A challenge forces you to get creative in ways you 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:04.800 wouldn't have and creativity produces beautiful things in your life. 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:11.680 So absolutely all right, Like you did it though. So 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:17.520 our first article comes from I love this or Rinky 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:20.640 do finance, And that's how I'm going to choose to 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:24.680 say it. Rink and do finance. 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:27.760 Tells me the logo is a is an elephant. 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:32.600 It's so cute. It's a very cute logo, and it's 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:36.480 all about the benefits and dangers of the no spend challenge. 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:43.200 I think they take a great, measured, tempered approach where 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:46.080 they're looking at just the pros and cons. So we're 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:49.479 just gonna highlight all of the different pros and cons 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:51.880 of a no spend challenge. Of course, we're assuming that 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.680 you understand what a no spend challenge is that for 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:59.760 a period of pre selected, predetermined time, you are deciding 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:04.880 to not spend, typically on specific categories. Of course, you 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:10.440 still need to spend on food, water, shelter, transportation, healthcare utilities, 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:14.560 but generally you're deciding other categories and maybe all other 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:16.800 categories that you're not going to spend on. But it 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:20.719 can be relatively loosey goosey. But that's a quick little 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:24.000 overview of what even a no spend challenge is. We're 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:25.960 not going through how to do one, We're going through 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.920 whether or not you should do on pros and cons. 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:32.400 So let's first talk about the benefits of a no 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:35.480 spend challenge. Jen back to you. 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:39.080 Yeah, so the first benefit of a no spend challenge 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:43.039 is that it will help you achieve your goal faster. 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:46.719 If you're just looking at numbers, Yes, it does that. 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:50.800 So this example is a little extreme for me. It says, 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:53.839 let's say you plan on taking a vacation in five months. 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:57.080 If the no spend challenge saves you one hundred dollars 0:05:57.120 --> 0:06:00.240 every weekend, you'll be two thousand dollars closer to your goal. 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:03.359 I don't think anyone should stop spending money on the 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:07.520 weekends for five months. That has never been my aim. 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:12.520 But yes, mathematically, if you were to not spend money 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:16.320 one hundred dollars every weekend, then yes, you would save 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:18.840 two thousand dollars for whatever goal you have. 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:23.719 Yeah, that's a reasonable thing to see. How can I 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:28.760 propel my savings goal for? But what I do like 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:31.520 that they've highlighted here is that there's a specific goal 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:35.640 in mind. It's not always in forever, and it's not arbitrary. 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:38.359 It's I have a certain amount in mind. I know 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:41.839 that if I save this amount and can cut in 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:46.200 other areas, then I will have X amount of money 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:49.360 for this specified goal, which I do think is aimed 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:53.160 at a good reason to do a no spend challenge. 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:53.760 Absolutely. 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.440 The next benefit is that it does help us to 0:06:57.520 --> 0:07:02.719 exercise self control. And so when it comes to spending 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:04.440 in ways that we don't want to spend, a lot 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:11.760 of times it's tied to impulsivity, making financial decisions purchases 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:16.080 that we're not necessarily planned for, and so doing a 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:19.040 challenge like this can help us to rein in and 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:23.600 exercise that muscle, to learn a bit more of what 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:27.880 it feels like to say no to ourselves, which isn't 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:32.560 always the most comfortable, but when practiced, when we exercise 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:36.160 that muscle, it can become easier and easier, especially when 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:39.240 we realize the benefits, because it's not just about deprivation, 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:45.160 it's about saying no, experiencing self control for a specific. 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:49.000 Reason, And that kind of lends to the next one 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:52.360 that gets into really the core reasons why I love 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:56.040 no spend challenges is that it can help you identify 0:07:56.280 --> 0:08:01.960 hidden impulsivity issues or like I like to say, spending triggers. 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:06.640 So when you stop spending money altogether, and this is 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:10.400 a this comes down to decision fatigue. Right, So when 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:12.840 we make a lot of decisions in a day, our 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:17.120 decisions get progressively worse and worse throughout the day, and 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.440 that's called decision fatigue. When you take the decision off 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:25.480 the table and the decision is always no, then you 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:28.120 become a lot Your head becomes a lot clearer and 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:33.439 able to identify spending triggers. So things that you wouldn't 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:37.240 have even thought of crossed your mind when you're making 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:38.920 all kinds of decisions and you're just trying to get 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:44.480 through the day become glaringly obvious when you give yourself 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:50.120 pause and the space to identify them. So that is 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:54.760 really what I love about no spend challenges, and I 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.920 think you can accomplish that in a short amount of time. 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:01.160 I don't think it takes a long time to start 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:06.520 to identify those issues. If it does, no spend challenge 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:10.040 probably isn't for you. It's you're probably already spending in 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:12.640 alignment with your values, and you are in tune and 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:16.200 mindful to all your expenses, and that's fantastic. This isn't 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:19.720 for you. But if you are spending money and busting 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:22.679 your budget and you're like I don't know my budget 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:24.880 says I should be able to do this, yet I'm 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:30.840 never able to. This is a great way to pause 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:35.680 without actually pausing your life and identify some of those 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:38.200 things that you can work on to improve the way 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:39.600 you stick to your budget. 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:42.280 I agree. I do think this is one of the core, 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:46.760 most core reasons and pros to do a no spend 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:50.880 challenge to really get to the foundation of what's going 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:54.400 on for me, because it absolutely will highlight when we've 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.800 already said I'm going to say no to this to 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:01.480 most of these things. What surfaces it kind of is 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:06.000 that that crucible that like shaking ground, the sifting ground, 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:09.400 to show Okay, here's where the true thing is that 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:12.320 I need to tackle, because ultimately it's not just the 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:14.880 spending behavior, it's what it's tied to. 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:18.360 Yeah, because you can save a lot of money doing 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:21.840 a no spend month, but that saving ends at the 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:25.200 end of the month, and when you're focusing on identifying 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:32.000 those spending triggers, those are savings that carry on for months, 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:38.160 years beyond, and those savings compound more than the four 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.839 hundred dollars you might save on one month of a 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:41.920 no spend challenge. 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:45.400 This last benefit that they list is one of my 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:49.120 faves in that it can help discover ways to have 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:55.160 fun without spending money, and that I think also helps 0:10:55.240 --> 0:11:00.640 us to exercise this kind of creative muscle for us, 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:04.000 this problem solving muscle of it. Again, it's not just 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:08.760 about deprivation. It's about creativity and filling in the gaps 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:12.839 in other ways, identifying alternatives so that maybe it's not 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:18.439 just about this ultimate savings goal, but reorienting some behaviors 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.680 and habits all together that we can take with us 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.319 beyond the no spend challenge. And this is one of them. 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:29.679 When we're talking about exercising muscles of self control, I 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:32.240 think that's what this one is too. How can I 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:35.360 be creative with the way that I spend my time 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:41.200 my resources? What happens when something is taken away? Really interesting? 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:43.920 This is reminding me. I was just chatting with my 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:48.480 husband Eric and another friend, both of whom are musicians, 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:51.600 and they I was more so listening in to this conversation, 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:57.559 but they were commenting on how better their creativity and 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:02.760 their creation of music is when they've got limitations. This 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:07.280 friend was also describing this in a video production project 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:09.800 that they were doing as well, Like they put these 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:13.720 certain limitations on themselves that you would think, oh, you're 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:16.320 not going to be able to do as well or 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:18.199 you're not going to be able to have the best 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:20.440 product if you don't have all of the things. But 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:24.320 they were commenting on the phenomenon that when they took 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:28.679 away all of the expensive equipment or had a time 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:32.080 limitation or different just whatever kind of limitation you want 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:36.880 to input here, it helped them be more creative to see, well, 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:41.040 what can I do within the confines of this where 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:43.840 they almost like those are some of their favorite projects, 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.760 where ah, I didn't have the best of the best equipment, 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:48.880 or I didn't have all of the mics I would 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:52.040 have preferred, or I didn't have the camera that I wanted, 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:55.000 or all the time in the world, and those constraints 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:59.680 made me more creative in the process. And I think 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:03.000 there's some correlation to what we're talking about here that 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:08.640 when we put constraints on ourselves sometimes that can create 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:14.840 space for the play, the creativity, the discovering new things 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:19.680 or skill sets. I think it's worth implementing for everyone 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:21.960 at some point in life, whether it's a no spend 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:26.000 challenge or other types of constraints to discover more about ourselves. 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:27.520 It's a worthwhile exercise. 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:31.480 Yes, that is my favorite. That is my second favorite 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:36.480 thing about no spend challenge is that forced creativity because 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:39.480 when we are so used to solving all our problems 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:42.200 by spending money, not only do we wonder where all 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:46.960 of our money has gone, but we lose the satisfaction 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:53.360 and the like, yeah, self satisfaction that comes with being 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:57.520 creative and thinking critically and figuring things out, which is 0:13:57.559 --> 0:13:59.640 not even like great for our self worth, but it's 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:03.200 actually great for our brain health function as well. 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:05.560 I think it also helps us to get started on 0:14:05.640 --> 0:14:08.120 something that we want to get started on. Oftentimes our 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:10.760 barrier to entry is I don't have all of the 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:14.240 tools and resources in order. But this can give freedom 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:17.520 of you don't have to just begin. Like one of 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:19.680 the things I want to do soon is get back 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:22.360 into painting and drawing. But I'm like, oh, I don't 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:25.080 have all the paints. But like hearing this conversation of 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:29.280 Eric and this friend, it's like, oh no, I actually 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:32.800 love the challenge of start with what you have and 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:35.760 see what comes of it. So yeah, it's just getting 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:37.840 me excited. You can see where I land on this. 0:14:38.480 --> 0:14:42.760 You know, Bob Ross only painted with I think like 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:46.720 eleven colors, eight colors. 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:49.080 Yeah, are you like googling this right now? 0:14:49.160 --> 0:14:51.000 Yes? I knew this. I was like, it's got to 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:55.240 be like nine or eleven eight colors because somebody got us. 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:58.560 Somebody got kai this like Bob Ross color book and 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.880 when he was an infant. So I know all the 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:06.320 color colors now because they're in the book. But think 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:11.200 of Bob Ross and the empire of painting that he did. 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:16.840 He used eight colors, eight and. 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:19.440 They had a try weird even if you don't have 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:26.440 all of the resources. Yeah, back to our sponsor, right, Let's. 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:30.320 Talk about the dangers of the No Spend Challenge, which 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:34.600 we haven't covered a ton of. But whenever I see 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.280 somebody talk negatively about a no Spend challenge, I just 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:41.800 want to clap back, like because I because I have 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:44.520 something to say. And and then I was like, oh 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:47.120 my god, I'm a podcast. I know exactly where I 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.400 can say it. So here are the dangers of the 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:54.520 No Spend Challenge, and uh, the first is that they 0:15:54.600 --> 0:16:01.160 focused too intently on small picture. So it says during 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:03.640 the No Spend Challenge, people tend to focus on eliminating 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:12.440 relatively small short term expenses like coffee, dining out, snacks, streaming, 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:18.080 and so, to paraphrase Ramitt Seti's famous ad at a 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:24.200 dast on adage adage, thank you, these are three dollar problems. 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:28.760 And we one hundred percent agree we would much rather 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:33.880 focus on three thousand dollar problems and thirty thousand dollar problems, 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:39.320 which is why we love the long term focus of 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:43.160 a no spend challenge and focusing it more on how 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.440 can I spend better long term because that's gonna save 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:51.600 you three thousand dollars in a year, whereas focusing just 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:55.840 in the month or week that you're doing it, that 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:59.840 that gets you thinking in solving three dollar problems. So 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:04.080 that is an actual danger of the nosepench challenge, but 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:07.520 I think it's a danger in frugality in general that 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.639 if you are trying to become frugal and you're trying 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:13.000 to listen to the Frugal Friends podcast to find out 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:17.320 how I can save money on coffee, dining out and snacks, 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:21.240 We're gonna give it to you. We actually have, we 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:24.000 have a full episode on how to save money on coffee. 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.080 It's not that we're not gonna not like we're not 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:28.760 going to give it to you. But that is one 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:33.520 episode in two hundred and eighty six, because that's a 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:35.440 three dollars problem. 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:37.560 Girl, You are want to lapping back. 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:43.960 While we have probably got fifty episodes on how to 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:49.160 save money on food in general, and we've got ten, 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:55.320 maybe twenty episodes how to save money on housing and transportation, 0:17:56.080 --> 0:18:00.360 we've got a lot more episodes on how to how 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:05.280 to mindfully spend. Those are the big decisions. 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:09.520 I think it's worth identifying the potential pitfalls because I 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:11.960 think it can help us lay a good foundation for 0:18:12.200 --> 0:18:15.120 entering into a no spend challenge. Well like this, They're 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:18.800 not wrong about identifying this as a pitfall. And it 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:22.920 comes back to motivation. What are you doing this for? 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:26.680 What is the end goal. If it's just to not 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:29.320 buy a Lotte, then we might be missing the mark. 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:33.200 If it's to identify some of our behaviors and root 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:39.159 causes and reorient some of our cycles and patterns, then great, 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:42.600 we're on the right track. And those small things, those 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:46.960 three dollar things, will absolutely bear weight on the thirty 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:49.800 thousand dollar things, because if we're not doing well with 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:52.320 the smaller things, We're definitely not going to do well 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:53.320 with the bigger things. 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:53.959 Amen. 0:18:54.920 --> 0:19:01.720 The next potential danger is, as they identify, establishing a 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:08.800 false sense of security. I have mixed opinions on this. 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:10.879 I don't know, tell me all your opinions. 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:13.720 I just don't know how much of a potential pitfall 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:17.240 this actually is. So what they're saying here is that 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:21.159 if you're putting in a ton of effort towards not 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:26.040 spending on something, that can lead people to believe, oh, 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:28.920 because I'm putting in a lot of effort, then numbers 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:31.680 will work themselves out and it doesn't work that way. 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:34.440 And I would agree, but I'm not sure how many 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:37.600 people are actually thinking that way, like, oh, just because 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:43.520 I'm working at not spending this is and maybe maybe. 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:47.160 Yeah, I think it's a very it's almost an elitist 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:52.280 view of the problem. It's saying like, if you're not 0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:56.040 doing it honestly. It's saying like, if you have an 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:58.639 income problem and you're just doing a no spend challenge 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:01.600 to focus on your expenses, then you're doing it wrong 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:05.080 because what else is there? Like yeah, I mean, I 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:09.359 would also say doing something is better than nothing, and 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:13.280 the lowest barrier to entry. Thing that you can do 0:20:13.480 --> 0:20:19.560 to get good with money is to decrease your outgo. Like, yes, 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:23.080 you might have an income problem, and I don't even 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:26.800 like to say that it's an income problem. You may 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:30.320 more opportunities will open up to you with more income. 0:20:30.880 --> 0:20:33.320 You can't deny that. So we always want to be 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:35.920 working towards that if it's in alignment with our values. 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:41.680 But that takes time. It takes no time to decide, 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:43.880 like I'm going to do a no spend challenge next 0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:46.679 month and try to get better control of my expenses. Like, 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:48.320 so it's easier. 0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:51.240 I guess this is just like an easy enough pitfall 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:53.800 to be aware of and keep a pulse on because 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:56.680 they give the example, you know what if you cut 0:20:56.720 --> 0:21:00.239 a ton of your discretionary spending for a month, you 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:04.280 say five hundred dollars, but what you actually needed was 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:07.200 an additional one thousand dollars that month, And so yeah, 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:10.160 they're saying you'd be better off focusing on your income. 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:14.960 My pushback to this one would be, if we're doing 0:21:15.000 --> 0:21:19.359 a no spend challenge, chances are you're the person who's 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:22.560 looking at the money. You kind of know what you 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:25.560 need to be bringing in like no spend challenge isn't 0:21:25.600 --> 0:21:30.960 typically where people start, like this is kind of step two, three, 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:35.080 four five in the financial journey. So I don't know 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:37.600 how much of a pitfall this is for the common person, 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:41.800 but it is worth being aware that even though a 0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:45.119 lot of effort may be put into a no spend challenge, 0:21:45.119 --> 0:21:50.119 it doesn't mean that it's going to solve our financial issues. 0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:53.040 And I would agree with that. I just don't think 0:21:53.080 --> 0:21:57.000 that this is the most important pitfall to highlight. I 0:21:57.080 --> 0:21:59.119 don't think that this is what most people are going 0:21:59.200 --> 0:22:00.160 to run into. 0:22:00.800 --> 0:22:06.120 Yeah, No, I would actually I would absolutely agree rephrasing 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:08.520 it like that, and I would, I mean, and I 0:22:08.560 --> 0:22:12.600 would say, the no spend challenge gives you space to 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:18.200 be able to think more clearly and creatively about Okay, 0:22:18.240 --> 0:22:20.520 so maybe I do need an extra thousand dollars a month, 0:22:20.560 --> 0:22:24.960 maybe I do need to earn more. Well, now I'm 0:22:25.000 --> 0:22:27.879 not you know, automatically going out to happy hour or 0:22:27.920 --> 0:22:31.000 going out shopping when I'm bored. I can start to 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:35.440 think of ways to increase my income. I can start 0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:37.959 to think of ways at work that I have saved 0:22:38.000 --> 0:22:41.840 the company money or brought more in that may warrant 0:22:41.840 --> 0:22:44.680 a promotion or a race for me, So it also 0:22:44.760 --> 0:22:47.480 gives you that space to think about this. 0:22:47.960 --> 0:22:50.720 I think this is more a pitfall of a scarcity mindset, 0:22:51.480 --> 0:22:55.639 just like our constant mindset of like I just don't 0:22:55.760 --> 0:22:58.560 ever do anything with my money. It's not even connected 0:22:58.600 --> 0:23:01.880 to a no spend child. Why am I not doing 0:23:01.960 --> 0:23:05.199 better with my finances? Like, I think that's more of 0:23:05.240 --> 0:23:08.639 a mindset thing that requires some of these tools and 0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:12.600 resources to dig into. Why is that the case? Why 0:23:12.640 --> 0:23:14.679 do I feel like I'm putting in so much effort 0:23:14.760 --> 0:23:17.680 and not seeing any results? And what are the big 0:23:17.720 --> 0:23:20.359 things that need to shift? Yeah, if anything, and no 0:23:20.440 --> 0:23:22.840 Spend Challenge could highlight this reality. 0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:27.080 Yes, absolutely when you think, oh, yeah I can, I 0:23:27.119 --> 0:23:30.160 can definitely do a no spend year, which I hear 0:23:30.200 --> 0:23:33.760 a lot of you know, around January, everyone's starting their 0:23:33.760 --> 0:23:37.600 no spend year and they realize very quickly, probably by 0:23:37.600 --> 0:23:40.480 the time that they're listening to this episode, that it's 0:23:40.560 --> 0:23:43.760 not possible. So there's a good amount of time to 0:23:43.800 --> 0:23:48.920 think about how to compensate. But yeah, I mean it's yeah, 0:23:48.960 --> 0:23:51.760 probably not one I would think of, but sure it 0:23:51.800 --> 0:23:54.320 gave us the chance to talk about it. The next 0:23:54.400 --> 0:24:00.600 one is actually a pitfall. It is a justifiable should 0:24:00.640 --> 0:24:05.040 be on this list is binge spending. And it's exactly 0:24:05.160 --> 0:24:09.280 like when we've been like when we diet, it's you're 0:24:09.359 --> 0:24:13.760 trying to go too hard, too fast, too restrictive, so 0:24:14.119 --> 0:24:18.119 you fail and then you binge eat and you feel 0:24:18.160 --> 0:24:22.119 guilty and shame, and next month you start the cycle 0:24:22.160 --> 0:24:25.919 all over again. That is a real reality that can 0:24:25.960 --> 0:24:28.359 happen with no spend challenges, is that you try to 0:24:28.359 --> 0:24:34.240 go too hard, too fast, not prepared, fall off the wagon, 0:24:34.760 --> 0:24:38.880 and then just compensate by binge spending and then start 0:24:38.920 --> 0:24:41.040 the whole thing all over again next month. 0:24:41.359 --> 0:24:44.560 I could see binge spending happening even on both sides 0:24:44.600 --> 0:24:46.920 of a no spend challenge, like being aware that a 0:24:47.000 --> 0:24:49.880 no spend challenge is coming up and wanting to give 0:24:49.920 --> 0:24:52.960 yourself that ability and freedom. So okay, I'm not going 0:24:53.040 --> 0:24:55.080 to be able to do this for a while, So 0:24:55.160 --> 0:24:57.800 what do I need and want and what might hold 0:24:57.800 --> 0:25:01.000 me over? And then afterwards, oh, I did so well, 0:25:01.040 --> 0:25:03.280 I got to reward myself and that's just not going 0:25:03.359 --> 0:25:06.560