How To Save Money FAST With A 7-Day Spending Freeze

Spending nothing for a week. That‘s the idea of a 7-day spending freeze. For some, that will be really really hard. But why actually? And why drain your family so much? Only to save extra money? No. But because you will discover something that has the power to skyrocket your savings beyond that 7-day spending freeze. How?

Everyone of us has money habits that keep us poor – even if we earn enough. We do it unconsciously without even recognizing it. But if we stop spending money for 7 days, we will learn one thing or two about how we usually spend our money. About our impulse buys. About our bank account. And about our pain points when it comes to money.

In this post, I will show you what a spending freeze exactly is and how you can easily make it through an entire week of spending 0 money. I will present you that spending freeze as one of the 7 money-saving challenges we talked about in one of the last posts structured as follows:

1. What to expect
2. How much time you will need
3. How much it will suck
4. How often to do it
5. My lessons learned

What to expect

You will stop spending money for a set period of time. Zero Spending. 0! You will act as if your bank account is frozen. And as if your credit cards are frozen too. All at once. You simply consider having no money at your disposal during your spending freeze. That will allow you to save money fast. But it requires a lot of self-discipline.

But what about unpredictable expenses? What if I run out of something? What if …. you name it. The simple answer is this: Everything that is not an emergency, like a medical issue, has to wait to be paid.

If you have vouchers or coupons, I would put those away too. Because the purpose of this money-saving challenge is to feel how it‘s like to spend 0. That will open up valuable lessons for the whole family. If you use a voucher, you will not experience the same as this voucher represents some money.

The No. 1 financial lesson

A spending freeze allows you to reflect on your bad spending habits. Maybe you like scrolling through social media or Amazon and impulse buying. Or renting that movie on Netflix. Stocking up on these paper towels as they are on sale. Buying that fast food or convenient food because it‘s easier. Or just going out and spending money.

Whatever your pain point is, you will discover it now. That‘s the No. 1 financial lesson you will learn from your own spending freeze. What I personally discovered – to my surprise – was that I still struggle with impulse shopping. I shared with you what I learned on my journey on How To Stop Impulse Buying And Save Money In 2 Simple Steps. My pain point is the grocery store. I have the impulse of wanting to go into that store as it‘s next to my house. When I do, I still buy other things that are not on my list. Especially when I shop with my little one.

But these unplanned purchases I and maybe you too make without even realizing it add up to hundreds of Euros every. single. month. In a year these are thousands of Euros that have left your bank account forever. But you‘re not alone. I wrote about that in the post Impulse Buying: Its Roots & How To Overcome 3 Main Triggers.

Unfortunately, that‘s the No. 1 reason that keeps people away from living their dream life as a family without worrying about their personal finances. From enjoying that family vacation they want to make every year. From going on that family trip at the end of the month – when there just isn’t enough money left.

Can‘t I even spend 10 Euro?

You may ask yourself „What about expense x, y, z. I have to spend money on that.“. But if you start thinking of all the possible reasons why the spending freeze may not work for you, it will not work for you. Stop trying to find loopholes to still spend money on this and that. You will get there again in 7 tiny days. Remember, this spending freeze is only temporary.

So, how about making your own spending freeze work for YOU. For no one else. But for you and your financial goals? I have set my own spending rules for that challenge and you can too. I wanted to have 10 Euro to spend on my family’s bare bones necessities. And I stretched that money as far as I could. Also, I wanted 20 Euro for unexpected expenses such as medical costs I immediately need to cover like pharmacy drugs. But then I stopped.

You could also keep a part of your discretionary spending during your spending freeze. A discretionary spending is any spending that is not necessary. You can live without it like your kids sports lessons. However, be super frugal with the money you still spend, if at all, during your spending freeze.

Bare-Bone Budget vs. Spending Freeze

Where is the difference between a Spending Freeze and a Bare-Bone Budget? First, both have one thing in common: They are only temporary. It‘s nothing forever but only for a predetermined amount of time.

When you live bare bones you cut out every unnecessary spending. No online shopping, no streaming services, nothing like that. But you keep spending money on your basic necessities. Even if you approach those expenses with frugality and spend less money on them, you still spend some money.

In the last post I shared with you How To Create Your First Bare Bones Budget if you‘re interested in that. I have already done this using our Bare Bones Budget Calculator. Actually, I created it just for myself in the first place. It helped my family to make it through 2 years (of parental leave) with less income and higher expenses.

I can tell first-hand that you can easily live really well on less as a family. If you‘re new to the budgeting world, try a minimalist version of this calculator that is 100 % for free! You will find it in the post. That is a great way to get started.

However, when you do a spending freeze you challenge yourself to go one step further. You simply spend 0. No grocery store, no laundry detergent, nothing – even if you run out of it. You will need to get creative and unsubscribe from any subscriptions you have if possible. If you need to delete some Apps, do it. You can re-install them in a couple of seconds after your spending freeze is over.

How to prepare for a „Spending Freeze“ in 7 steps

How I made it through my first spending freeze? Well, to be honest I didn‘t. At first, I failed. I had forgotten about a play date. I didn‘t check our pantry so that we had run out of almost everything we usually need. And we forgot about paying a bill that was due that week.

If you want to be successful with doing your first spending freeze, the following 7 steps will help you to set you up for success. Ready to save hundreds in 7 tiny days? Let‘s go.

1. Make sure that all of your financial obligations are covered
2. Look at what‘s left in your bank account and transfer money
3. Look through your calendar and switch play dates or do this
4. Talk to your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors
5. Dig through the refrigerator, pantry and freezer
6. Make it easy for your kids
7. Put away your wallet & all credit cards

First, you want to make sure that all of your financial obligations are covered in advance. All fixed costs and bills need to be paid before the spending freeze starts. There is still a bill on your table that needs to be paid? Pay it now. You expect to get a bill during your spending freeze like a car payment or your credit card bills? Talk to your credit issuers and ask if they can wait just a couple of days.

But where‘s the point if you pay them anyway? Only by not paying your bills for the moment will you need to engage with your finances on a deeper level. Maybe for the first time ever.

If unexpected bills flow into your postbox, you pay them after your spending freeze is over, if possible.

Next, you look at what‘s left in your bank account. Divide the sum of all into the remaining days of the month. Then, transfer the money for 7 days of spending freeze to your savings account. Make sure to not touch that money!

Do you want to do your spending freeze at the beginning of the next month? If so, do you already know how much money you spend during an entire month? Do you know about your weekly budget? Then, transfer that into your savings account.

If you have no clue what I‘m talking about, stay tuned. Marc will publish an article series on how to get started with budgeting as a couple. We‘re tracking and budgeting our money for > 10 years now. So, we learned one thing or two that we will share with you in this article series and in a F.I.R.E. workbook to come (Financial Independence Retire Early).

In a third step, you look through your calendar and switch play dates. Do you need to go to the office during your spending freeze? Make sure to fill up your gas tank in your car and to buy food and drinks to take with you. Have you planned an expensive activity? Switch to a garden party at your house.

If you‘re invited to a birthday party, maybe you have a gift box. I have one in our basement where I collect a couple of gifts that would work for kids and adults throughout the year. If that‘s not an option, allow yourself to spend money on that particular event.

Do not postpone your spending freeze to another week just because this week is an exception with a special event. Every week you‘ll find another exception so you may never get around to it. Just make sure to stick to your own spending freeze rules.

Next, you could talk to your family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors before you start your spending freeze. Not only will they understand. But I can almost guarantee, you will inspire one or two people to do that too. Also, talk about WHY you’re doing a “Spending Freeze” with your partner and maybe your kids too. They will be so proud of that accomplishment if you allow them to join.

In a fifth step, you want to dig through your refrigerator, pantry, and freezer. If you do that you‘ll see that you already have plenty of food to live off for just 7 days. I bet you also find at least one hidden treasure to cook a delicious family meal. Use AllRecipes to type in the ingredients you have on hand to get recipes from around the world. Last, make a list of what you need to buy to fill the gaps like milk or eggs.

Maybe consider approaching that problem strategically. Create a list of our family‘s weekly essentials when it comes to food and toiletries. What‘s on my list? Greek yogurt, eggs, milk, butter, high-quality meat and cheese, toilet paper, soap, and some more. What would be on yours?

Also, make it easy for your kids. Stay at home as much as you can. Go out for a hike or a walk in nature. Do not expose your kids to all kinds of temptations such as ice cream shops you walk by. If you or your kids have a hard time with self-control, write down what it is that you really want to buy. Again, create a list. It can be pretty funny to spend the evenings comparing each other’s lists. After the freeze is over, everyone can pick one thing to buy. How do you feel about not buying the rest?

Last, help yourself by putting away your wallet, debit card and all credit cards. If you need to have your wallet with you, at least put out your credit cards or debit card and any cash. Lock it away if necessary.

Bonus tip: start and end a spending freeze on a Sunday. That will make it easier for you and your family. At least in Germany (Bavaria – where we live), everything is closed on Sundays. No grocery store, no bakery, nothing is open on a Sunday where you could normally spend money. It‘s supposed to be a day of rest. Well, as restful as it can be with little kids 😉

How much time you will need

Are you already experienced with saving money? Do you live below your means? Then, you can easily go for 2 weeks or even one month of spending freeze. Experienced savers usually choose one month (or two) in a year to do a spending freeze as a family. Extreme savers even try an entire year. Typically, they do so if they have an ambitious savings goal they want or must reach fast.

But if you‘ve never been a saver – for whatever reason – it is a good idea to start with one week to do a spending freeze. It‘s just 7 tiny days. 7! You‘ve got this. You can make it through such a short period of time of spending 0. That will be enough of a challenge as you start.

How much will it suck

Chances are this money-saving challenge will suck quite a bit. Especially when it comes to self-control and saying NO. Something we‘ve kind of lost in our daily life. That can be especially hard for kids. They usually have that inner drive of wanting something really badly NOW. I wrote about how we can help our kids in the post How I Teach My Kids To Invest For Financial Independence.

But the whole purpose of a challenge is to be challenging. For some of us, it will be really challenging. And that‘s ok. Saying NO to spending money for 7. Entire. Days. Is hard. But only until we find new ways to make things work. Until we see the money we saved in our checking account. That will be a great feeling of accomplishment. Promised.

After the 7 days are over, you can return to business as usual. But please please do not go out and spend twice as much money. Instead take a look at the remaining budget you have for the rest of the month. What‘s left in your bank account? Stick to that money and do not overspend.

How often to do it

We experienced that 7 days in a row is the perfect period of time to do a spending freeze. You can do that a couple of times per year or for one week each month during a year. That will benefit you in 2 ways. If you have a specific savings goal within one year, your spending freezes can do the heavy lifting for you.

Let‘s say you typically spend 300 per week. You decide to do a 7-day spending freeze every month. Multiplied by 12 months in one year, that is a total of 3.600 saved in your bank account! Alternatively, you could do a spending freeze each quarter for 1 entire month.

Some people do a No-Buy July to save up for the family’s summer vacation in August. And yet others do a spending freeze for 1 entire year. That might seem extreme. But people do this to save up for a sabbatical or a longer parental leave or to quickly build up their emergency savings. Do whatever feels right to YOU.

My lessons learned

I love that money-saving challenge. It teaches so many valuable money lessons. I learned a lot when it comes to my money habits and so will you. Maybe you are impulsive when it comes to your buying behavior. Or you simply like to spend money on „things“ for recreation. But even if you only spend a seemingly small amount of money on „things“ like consumer goods or eating out, it’s worth taking a closer look.

Do you eat out at work for around 25 Euro per week? That doesn’t sound like a lot, right? But that’s 100 Euro each month and 1.200 Euro per year. Over a 10-year period, that is 12.000 Euro. What happens if you instead invest that money and bring your own lunch to work? Cook one serving more for dinner the evening before. That portion could be your lunch the next day at no extra effort on your side.

Financial Surprise

Some of your expenses might seem like you couldn’t quit spending money on them as you start. But just through trying it out you may find it pretty easy to supplement them. As we did with taking our own lunch to work. I developed the habit of eating my lunch in a park nearby. Also, I took a walk through the park. I was so relaxed afterwards. Incomparable with eating lunch in our canteen.

By implementing small changes within your spending habits you will be shocked at the amount you‘ll be able to save over the long run. For example, my lunch at work was about 5 Euro each day. Back then, I went into the office every day. So, 25 Euro per week. Some afternoons I also met with co-workers at a cafe. That was around 3 Euro every other day. 10 Euro per week. That was a total of 140 Euro per month and over 1.500 Euro per year saved! Just by changing one habit. One habit. How about yours?

If you too want to get your finances in order and eventually even become financially independent as a family one day, check out these FREE resources TODAY.

I hope you walk away today with at least one new idea to improve your personal financial journey (towards F.I.R.E.). I’d love to show you some more in the next post. To not miss a new release, you can apply to become a part of the community down below in the green footer.

Now, I’d love to hear from you: Have you ever done or considered doing a spending freeze? What do you do or should do to set yourself up for success? How much would you save? Let me know in the comments below!

Title Image Source: Randy Fath on Unsplash