No Spend Money Saving Challenge

Whoop, whoop. We love challenges - money challenges, walking challenges, workout challenges! We've shared a ton of challenges but this is our first no spend challenge and we are so excited to introduce you to this concept!

If you find yourself struggling to pay your bills or if you only have a tiny bit left over after paying your bills, you might want to take a look at your spending habits. Most people can identify the large purchases that destroy savings accounts but the small purchases that many people do not think about have the ability to do the same thing.

Believe it or not, there are things you can do in your free time that don't cost money. ;-) People always ask us how we afford to go on trips so often. We choose to place emphasis on experiences rather than things and we don't let small purchases take over.

For this challenge you choose the length. You can do the no spend challenge for one weekend, one week, one month, or even an entire year (yes, I've seen it done!).

There are some exceptions to the no spend challenge. You can buy/spend money on items that you need such as groceries, gas, and bills. This challenge is meant to completely cut out spending on things like clothes, shoes, eating out, buying coffee/tea, etc. 

After you complete a fitness challenge you shouldn't go out and eat everything in sight and not workout again. After this challenge you shouldn't go out and buy every single thing you wanted to buy. Write down what you did want to spend money on and be as specific as possible. Think about why you really wanted that item. After your spending challenge is over, I bet most of the items you wanted you are no longer interested in.

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Looking for a printable version of this challenge? We've got you covered! Join our newsletter and you will be taken to a black and white printable version right away! Grab the printable challenge here.

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No Spend Money Saving Challenge Ideas (to do instead of spend money!)

1. Volunteer: animal shelter, boys & girls club, local trash clean-up
2. Read a book: Here is a link to our favorite books
3. Go to the park
4. Watch a movie
5. Visit your local library: You can pick out a book to read or a movie to watch at your local library!
6. Play a board game or card game: Get your spouse or friends together to play games. You could even color or put together a puzzle!
7. Get creative: What did you like to do as a kid? Did you like to color, draw, paint, or write? You should start doing it again!
8. Get active: This is the perfect time for you to start a new hobby of working out! We have a TON of free workouts on the website and even offer complete workout plans. The main point is to just get up and move though!
9. Declutter/organize: Need help with this one? Use our list of 10 Things to Get Rid of for a Clutter-Free Home and our 30-Day Minimalism Challenge to get started!
10. Sell: Why not use this time to make some extra cash? Sell your unwanted or unused items! There are plenty of websites and apps that make this possible! You could use eBay or even a free resource like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

Gluten Free Avocado Banana Bread

This one is GOOD. We had bananas AND avocados that needed to be used ASAP so I decided to make a variation of our banana bread. It took me a few tries to get the ingredients right and about a year to post this recipe. ;-) I love to eat a slice with my breakfast or before my workout.

Clean Eat Recipe: Gluten Free Avocado Banana Bread

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten free oat flour
• 1 cup gluten free quick cooking oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (avoid HFCS)
• 1/3 cup liquid egg whites (or 2 egg whites)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 avocado, mashed
• 1 ripe banana, mashed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mash avocado and banana together (I used a fork)
3. Mix together wet ingredients (including mashed avocado and banana). Mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
4. Add ingredients to pan coated with coconut oil (to prevent sticking)
5. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Makes 8 Slices.

Macros (per slice):

• Calories - 154
• Protein - 6 g
• Carbs - 22 g
• Fat - 5 g
• Sugar - 2 g
• Fiber - 5 g

Clean Eating Everyday Pancakes

I've had this recipe done FOREVER because I've been making these almost every single week for Scott...I just could never get a good picture so I asked my amazing friend Kenzie (of Hettman Homestead) if she would make them and take a picture and she said yes! She's the one that we collaborated with to produce Baby Eats Clean, Breakfast Crock Pot Recipes eCookbook, and our FREE Desserts & Treats and Fit Festive Foods eCookbook. You can find out more about all of those amazing books here. So thanks to Kenzie and her amazing pictures, I can finally share this yummy recipe with you!

Another problem was that I also had no name for these and literally could not think of anything. Scott said to call them everyday pancakes (since he eats them every day). I'm not a big fan of the name but I'm going with it anyway! These pancakes are perfect to make in advance. We store them in the refrigerator and take out a few each time we want to eat them. You can heat them back up or enjoy them cold!

Clean Eating Everyday Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Oat Flour
• 1/2 cup 2% Cottage Cheese
• 3/4 cup Liquid Egg Whites
• 1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 4 oz Organic Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
• 1/4 cup Stevia in the Raw
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Combine dry ingredients into large bowl. Add wet ingredients. Stir to combine.
2. Spray or coat griddle with coconut oil to prevent sticking.
3. Scoop batter onto warm griddle in 1/4 cup increments.
4. Cook until browned, around 2 minutes. Flip to cook opposite side.
5. Top with fruit, pure maple syrup, or enjoy them plain

How many pancakes this makes will depend on the size of your pancakes. It usually makes 12-14 for us.

Macros (per pancake, assuming 14 pancakes):

• Calories: 103
• Carbs: 13 g
• Fat: 3 g
• Protein: 6 g
• Sugar: 1 g
• Fiber: 2 g