My sister in Boise talked me out of the 'no spend month' thing and into a $50 fun budget instead

Cameron Perez · 2026-10-10T14:00:04.49465+00:00

I always thought a no spend month was the gold standard for getting your money back on track, and I pushed my sister to try one after she kept going over every single month. She pushed back hard and said she had done two of them and both times she snapped around day 19 and spent more than she saved. What she did instead was give herself a $50 fun budget that she could blow on anything, no guilt, no tracking, and she has kept it up for seven months straight now. She said the $50 felt like it was hers, so she stopped feeling like she was white knuckling her way through the whole month. I tried it in June with a $60 limit here in Boise and honestly I ended the month with $210 more in my account than May. I think the no spend thing worked for me because I like a challenge but it clearly does not work for everyone. Has anyone else had better luck with a small guilt free bucket than with a full freeze?

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My sister in Boise talked me out of the 'no spend month' thing and into a $50 fun budget instead | Budgeting Wins - SMM Buzz