No-spend day

What It Means

A no-spend day is a single day when you buy nothing beyond essentials. Bills that are already scheduled still pay, and anything else waits: no coffee out, no takeout, no online orders. Savings challengeSavings challengeA set of simple saving rules followed for a fixed stretch, such as a rising amount each week, to build a savings habit and a balance by the end. See more guides usually describe it as one chosen day each week, which makes it a small version of the longer no-spend challengeNo-spend challengeA set stretch of time, often a month, when you spend only on essentials like housing, groceries, bills and transportation, and cut everything else. See more.

How It Sounds at Home

• "Wednesday is my no-spend day."
• "I packed lunch, it's a no-spend day."
• "Let's find something free to do tonight."

The Breakdown

Worked example. Rosa usually spends about $25 a day on extras: a coffee, a lunch out, something small online. She makes Wednesday her no-spend day, packs lunch and makes coffee at home.

Those totals hold only if her spending on the other days stays the same.

What the result means. Money from a no-spend day is easy to lose if it stays in checkingChecking accountA bank or credit union account for everyday money going in and out, used by debit card, checks, transfers and direct deposit. See more, where the next day's spending can soak it up. Moving the day's usual amount to savings at the end of the week gives it somewhere to go.

Planning one

• Pick a day with nothing on the calendar that would tempt you to buy.
• Plan meals from what's already in the pantry and fridge.
• Line up something free to do, like a library book or a board game.
• Leave bills on autopay alone, since they're essentials.

Good to Know

No official body defines a no-spend day. Savings challenge guides from Chase, Bank of America and Experian describe a no-spend day challenge as choosing one day each week to spend nothing on nonessentials and getting by on what you already have, and the longer no-spend challenge in Fidelity's and Experian's guides follows the same essentials-only rule. Keep paying bills on schedule, since a missed one can bring a late feeLate feeA charge added when a payment arrives after its due date, set by the card agreement, lease or contract and limited by federal or state rules. See more. To see whether the habit is working, the free spending tracker in the CFPB's Your Money, Your Goals toolkit gives you a simple place to note which days had spending and what it went on.

Related Terms and Categories

• No-spend challenge

  A set stretch of time, often a month, when you spend only on essentials like housing, groceries, bills and transportation, and cut everything else.

• Impulse spending

  Buying something on the spur of the moment, without planning for it or checking it against your budget.

• Savings challenge

  A set of simple saving rules followed for a fixed stretch, such as a rising amount each week, to build a savings habit and a balance by the end.

• Discretionary spending

  Money spent on things you want rather than need, like eating out, entertainment and travel. In government, the spending Congress sets each year.

Household money and budgeting