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.

3 Simple Fitness Habits That Changed Our Life

Did you catch our post on 3 Simple Eating Habits That Changed Our Life? Not only did we change our eating habits but we also started our fitness journey. Below are a few of the fitness habits we adopted that changed our life.

RELATED: 5 Things We Have Done to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle 5+ Years

3 Simple Fitness Habits That Changed Our Life

1. Focus on weight training first.

• Most people think that they need to start running or doing some other form of cardio when they start their fitness journey. While you can definitely have running and/or cardio goals, you will do yourself a huge favor by focusing on weight training first and early! Don't wait until you lose XX number of pounds to start lifting.
• The more muscle your body has the more calories it burns, even at rest.
• Our workout plans lay out which exercises you should do, including sets and reps along with recommended intensity levels. The workout plans also include HIIT routines, training logs, our popular grocery lists, a sample daily meal timing schedule and tips for what to eat before and after a workout.

RELATED: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Fitness Plan

2. Find a cardio activity that you enjoy.

• When you do introduce cardio, don't force yourself to do one activity. You can take a cardio based class, incline walk, run, swim, bike, etc. Switch it up so you don't get bored.
• We typically hike on the weekends as our cardio. If we are doing cardio in the gym we stick with sprints on the treadmill or incline walk/running. Scott also loves to use the rowing machine. I enjoy running short distances when the weather is nice. I call myself a "fair weather runner". ;-) Walking is a great form of exercise too!
• You don't need to spend hours upon hours on a piece of cardio equipment. Don't overdo your cardio sessions.

RELATED: 30-Day Walking Challenge

3. Take rest days seriously.

• You NEED at least 1-2 rest days per week. Your body needs time to rest, recover, and grow. When people start on a fitness plan and they are actually excited about working out (maybe for the first time in their life) they start to think that "more is better" and that is definitely not the case here. Stick with your routine/plan and see it through until the end. Read: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Fitness Plan
• This might be the most important reason: You don't need to spend your whole life in the gym/working out.

Don't get overwhelmed. So many people come to us overwhelmed that we even did an entire podcast on the topic! You can find that here. Listen to that and just get started. Don't over-complicate things...Just start moving!

Non-Scale Victories: Ways to Measure Your Progress

I hear from so many people who get so discouraged with the scale. Normally I send them a link to the scale project that I did a few years ago. If you haven't read it yet, please do (here's a link)! I've never really been a scale person, I just never cared. Before I went to the doctor a few weeks ago, I hadn't known my weight in TWO years! Weight is just a guide and you should not weigh yourself more than weekly, and I really suggest monthly.

So, if you don't weigh yourself, how are you supposed to measure your progress? Well, you can look at yourself and possibly see changes (but even then it's hard for us to see changes ourselves) or you can think about how you feel now compared to when you started. I've come up with a list of my favorite non-scale victories so that next time you are discouraged you can take a look at this list and check them off as victories!

• Loose Rings - This is one that I noticed right away. My wedding ring would start sliding off my finger and I finally had to get it re-sized!
   
• Better Sleep - If you are eating healthier and working out, chances are that you are sleeping better. Sleep is VERY important, just as important as eating healthy and exercising (maybe even more).
   
• Clearer Skin - At first your skin might do the opposite of clearing up but after your body adjusts to the changes to your diet and lifestyle your skin should start to clear up. It's a win-win!
   
• More Energy - Fueling your body with healthy food, quality sleep, and exercise will do wonders for your energy levels. I'm not saying that you won't need the occasional caffeine but overall you should feel more energy.
   
• Loose Clothing - Do your pants seem to be getting longer? It's probably because they are getting too loose in the waist! This means that you are losing inches but it might not translate with a lower number on the scale.
   
• Lift Heavier, Run Longer and/or Faster - When you go to the gym if you can lift heavier weights (with proper form) or run longer and/or faster than when you started, you should be proud of yourself!

One last bonus NSV (non-scale victory) is that you may find that you actually start enjoying exercising and eating healthy!

Now, if you aren't seeing any of these NSV's or scale victories maybe it's time to be honest with yourself. How hard are you working? Have you really changed or have you just been thinking about it? If you are confused about where to start, check out our workout plans (RELATED: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Fitness Plan).