TikTok's "No Spend Challenge" Might Finally Help You Budget Better

Can you imagine going an entire day without buying anything? What about a whole month? On TikTok, creators are challenging themselves to go a full 30 days without shopping or spending money unnecessarily for the aptly named “no spend” month. That means no coffee, no snacks, no takeout, and absolutely no new clothes, jewelry, or makeup.

The trend gains traction at the start of every year with “no spend January,” but it hasn’t slowed down throughout 2024. Each month kicks off a new no spend challenge where the goal is to put down your debit card and focus on being more mindful with your money. A no spend month is said to help you save cash and highlights how often you spend without a second thought.

“Here’s what you do,” said creator @george.kamel, in a TikTok posted June 29. “You basically freeze all spending on everything for a month except on the essentials: food, housing, utilities, insurances, and emergencies.”

The whole point, he says, is to hit the reset button on your finances. “That way you can get a handle on where you are and take a good, hard look at how much you spend willy-nillie.” Feel like you might need to give it a try? Here’s what to know about the trend, as well as what you can do instead of spending money.

What A “No Spend” Month Looks Like

The rules of a no spend month are pretty straightforward. You can spend money on rent, bills, groceries, and gas, but everything else lands on the no-buy list. However tempting it may be, you shouldn’t pay for books, movie tickets, clothes, skin treatments, nails, drinks at the bar, or anything else non-essential. Keep that money and hold onto it — or squirrel it away into savings.

This challenge also encourages you to focus on your own, unique goals and intentions for spending less. For creator @thesavvysagittarius, no spend months a few times a year are a way to use up what she already has. “I’m trying not to bring a single thing into this house,” she said in her video, posted on April 1.

Instead of buying new books, she reads the ones she already had on her bookshelf or hits up the library, and instead of splurging on new craft supplies, she plays around with the ones she already owns.

For creator @madashlee, the no spend month is a way to reel in her self-admitted spending problem. Instead of shopping all the time, she focuses on free activities and low-budget outings. In her comments, one person said, “I need to do this too. I have like $800 to my name right now.”

Setting Up Your No Spend Month

While some people make a mental promise to themselves to stop spending, others like to keep track of their progress with a neatly laid out, color-coded calendar. Creator @bujo.budgets wrote down everything they bought in July and highlighted each item. Green for true no-buy days, purple for items they were allowed to buy, like gas, and pink on days they slipped up. (Looks like they went to Target on July 6.)

Another option is to lay out your rules in your Notes app so you can refer to them throughout the month. That’s what @madashlee did. She listed her Not Allowed items and a few Allowed items, which included one fun thing per week with friends, as long as it wasn’t shopping. “Shopping is not a social event,” she reminded herself. “That’s where I get in the most trouble.” She also kept some wiggle room for one paid monthly date night with her husband.

User @caggiebaby also went the Notes app route, allowing herself gas, bills, groceries, dinners out/drinks, gifts for others, and one monthly facial. Making a list is particularly helpful if you’re allowing little extras here and there. But most importantly, the goal is to get full the full 30 days without extraneous purchases.

What To Do Instead Of Spending Money

The most common question in the comments section of these videos is always, “What do you do if you aren’t spending money?” Creator @dropitlikeitsszot, who posted on Day 26 of a no spend challenge, says she focuses on going to work, walking her dog, napping, and reading the books she already has. “I also watch a lot of TV,” she says in her video. “It’s cool to stay in the house!”

In her comments, people suggested free hobbies like biking, birding, and doodling. In another TikTok, @socialbrit says she’s spending her no buy August cleaning out her apartment. “What we’re going to do this month, instead of making ourselves happy with shopping, is we’re going to declutter this whole apartment.”

She plans to go section by section, room by room, and focus on getting rid of junk. “I’ll donate or sell what I can,” she says in her video. In her comments, one person said, “You go girl!” while others vowed to join in and do a no spend month too.

While it might seem boring — and even a little impossible — it’s actually a fun challenge and a quick way to reset your relationship with money and shopping while getting your finances back on track.