No-Spend-ver'ish

Several of my friends have done "no spend" challenges, often in the month of February. With my upcoming trip to Spain and holiday shopping just around the corner, I thought this would be a good time to take on a no spending challenge. I guess I should say it's a No-Spend-ver'ish challenge because I leave for Spain on November 25th so the "no spend" period will end then. But I figure 24 days of not spending money will still be a good challenge.

So what are the rules?  Basically I will only spend money on essentials such a groceries, gas and household items we need.  So no lattes, no dinners or lunches out, no yarn or clothing purchases, and so on and so forth. I will be doing this on my own as I know I couldn't get Phil on board since he buys his lunch every day during the week (but usually spend $7 or less so it's not much). But he pretty much spends less money than any person I know so he really doesn't need to do a no spending challenge since he barely spends any money in the first place!

I will make a couple of exceptions for this challenge, though. I already have lunch and dinner plans with a couple of people so I will follow through on those plans, and I also need to purchase a gift for a friend's wedding shower. But those are the only exceptions I plan to make.

I think I do a good job of managing my finances, but there's always room for improvement. Plus I know I'm a better abstainer than moderator as I seem to do better with strict rules versus telling myself to 'spend less.'  Lastly. I think it's good and healthy to flex the 'saying no to yourself' muscle.

I think it's perfect timing to focus on spending less during the month of November as I try to focus on practicing an attitude of gratitude during the month. So by spending less and using what I already have, my hope is that it will push me to focus on how plentiful my life already is instead of thinking about what I need to add to my life.

Have you ever done a no spending challenge?