i thought this year would never end. actually, that’s what i thought i would think. but what really happened this past year was a complete surprise.

last january, i decided to embark on a year of no spending. my goal was to refrain from buying ANYTHING for myself or my home for an entire year. to be honest, i was pretty sure i would quit somewhere along the way. instead, i stuck it out. along the way, there were LITTLE things that kept me going and ultimately, i think my success was due to two things:

• i took some simple first steps to prepare.
• i reevaluated every four months, with the option to quit.

if you are just tuning in, you might want to catch up at the links below and then come back to this wrap-up post. or, maybe you prefer to stay here for the highlights!

it all started with a resolution {and i am not even someone who makes resolutions!},

and then came a few simple steps to prepare for success.

after a couple months, i got used to no spending…

and now that the year is complete, here are the

5 things i learned, and loved in a year-long spending freeze:

{1} no spending saves time. i never realized how much actual, physical time i spent browsing sale racks. or how much mental time i spent wondering and considering whether i was getting the best deal. not to mention online price checks to further confirm i was saving the most money possible. my old self would be on the way to the checkout and spy a sale rack that i just HAD to look at. really quick. because what if those things never ever went on sale again. what if i ended up spending more money on them later? i did not want to miss out on saving money. so i would browse.

want to know something i’m sure of now? there will always be another sale. even the really really good ones will happen again. i used to try to tell myself this, as i browsed the sale rack, but i didn’t really believe it. this past year, i was forced to test it out.

now that i can buy things? they are still on sale just like they were last year and i didn’t miss out. knowing this, the sense of urgency is gone, and i save hours passing up those sale racks – happy with what i have and confident i can always find a sale later.

{2} there is a lot of value in waiting. before my year of no spending, i never gave myself much wait time between deciding i needed something, and buying it. we were out of glue sticks? hop on amazon. no socks in the sock drawer? head to target. the outlet stops working in our bathroom? call the electrician. sick of all my shirts? swing by tj maxx and check out the active section. need a basket to hold all our library books so we stop losing them? homegoods. that was my old self.

this year looked different. when we couldn’t find glue sticks for a school project? we looked harder. or used a different kind of glue. we got creative with stickers or tape. or figured out some other solution. after a couple days, the urgency of those glue sticks {and many other things} was gone and we survived. this was a great lesson for my children as well.

the outlet became stripped in our master bathroom this past year, and it was a huge pain to plug in my straightener every day. the whole box would come out of the wall every time i unplugged. what did i do? i just kept using it. i went the year with an annoying outlet every day. it was ugly and inconvenient. but as i waited, i put that outlet on a mental list of other things that needed to be fixed or updated. this list was a fixture in my mind. nothing on it actually got done or replaced. i just constantly reprioritized things until most of them didn’t feel so necessary anymore.

when i wanted a new shirt? i just wore an old one. for that day. and for the whole week and the whole month. and all was ok in the world and i didn’t feel any better or worse. again, the urgency was gone and i gave myself the chance to experience this.

practicing waiting between need and purchase, time and time again, made it very clear there are very few things i actually need and many solutions other than buying a new one.

{3} if you don’t shop you won’t buy. this seems obvious. however, before this year i truly believed i could go to a store and just look. not buy anything. this was sometimes true. but whether i bought something or not, i left having seen something i liked. something i maybe thought i needed. not necessarily now but later.

to be clear, i do not have a shopping problem. that is not why i started this no spend challenge. it was just on my heart to try something hard. something different. even so, i learned that for me, just walking up and down the aisles of target or homegoods leads to eventual buying. or it leads to an internal struggle of should i buy this or shouldn’t i buy this. avoiding that struggle altogether is very freeing.

{4} i like the things i already have. i love new projects and new decorations for my home. decorating, rearranging things, diy, and crafts are all fun hobbies for me. they bring me joy. not for having more things {i actually LOVE getting rid of things}, but for enjoying the space i am in. seeing ideas come to life is fun.

the problem with this is i rarely stop to give extra attention to projects already completed. spaces that are already organized or pretty or meaningful. when one project is done, i enjoy moving on to the next. this year, i learned there is equal joy in giving another look at something already completed. maintaining it, at no extra cost, and reusing things i already have in ways i never thought of. at a store, it is much easier now to say, i like that, but i like what i already have just as much.

{5} not spending money does not mean missing out. i was a LITTLE worried i might have a good dose of FOMO during this whole process. not spending money on myself meant saying no to some things i usually enjoy.

i decided when i started i would still go out to eat, have coffee, or go to a movie with family or friends. if it was a social event, i gave myself permission for those things within reason. but there were many times i turned down things that seemed in excess of this rule. manicures with sisters or friends, going in on a purchase with my mom, shopping trips just because. well, i’m not buying anything this year, so i think i will sit this one out was a phrase i adopted.

and you know what?

it was great. i loved having an excuse not to spend money on something. it is easy to get wrapped up in social engagements, ways to treat yourself, or just in being scared to say no to something for fear of hurting someone’s feelings or feeling like you’re no fun.

no one cared when i said i couldn’t do those things. my decision and my reason {not that i needed to give one} were respected. i was still invited next time and i don’t feel like i missed out on a single thing.

a year of no spending provided great opportunity for changing old habits and ways of thought. habits i never gave myself the chance to change in the past. it freed up time, taught the value of waiting, changed patterns of thinking, gave a greater appreciation for things i already have, and showed that making a change does not mean missing out.

you’re probably wondering, did i go out and buy ALL THE THINGS on january 1st of this year? the answer is no. we did get our outlet fixed. i also bought one shirt and some baskets to organize my work papers. otherwise, i am happy to continue in my newfound freedom of no spending. i highly recommend you give yourself the chance to change a habit or way of thinking this year!

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