Update: Jan 31, 2013 – This contest is now closed. Congratulations to Jess G. (Entry #527) for taking home the $100 cash prize!
Anyone out there still paying off the Christmas bills? Even though Brian and I (usually) save enough to pay for Christmas in cash, I find that I get a bit of an after-Christmas hangover. I feel anxious about money, I don’t like to spend a lot, and I am more than a little tired of holiday excess. That makes January a great time to save some money. I talked yesterday about trimming the financial fat by getting rid of excess fees and services. Today I wanted to offer another suggestion for super-charging your savings: Have a no-spending weekend!
I like no-spending weekends because it’s a lot less commitment than say, a no-spending month. At the same time, Brian and I spend most of our money on the weekend. It’s usually things like social outings with friends and afternoon coffees together, but still – it adds up.
How do we entertain ourselves all weekend? Well, to be honest, a lot of our weekend is taken up by mundane chores and lazy bouts of relaxing. So it’s not really that hard! But instead of going out for brunch, we make a nice Saturday morning breakfast at home. Instead of coffee at the cafe with friends, we put on a pot of coffee in the afternoon and lounge around the condo with a book. In the evenings, it can be tougher. I do love heading to a local bar for a drink or meeting up with friends for a late night snack. But I also love having people over for a games night or getting together for a massive potluck.
After a no-spending weekend, we usually are able to put away $40 or $50 towards one of our short term savings goals. It only takes a few weekends to afford a pair of Canucks tickets (I’m looking at the bill for this right now… sigh) or to make a nice extra payment towards the student loan (which is what I really should do instead of going to expensive hockey games).
So on the continuing theme of making January a little less dreary and saving a bit of money, we’re pleased to be part of ANOTHER giveaway! This one features a prize of $100 via Pay Pal or Amazon gift card (winner’s choice). Just check out the Rafflecopter widget below for entry options and click here to see our other contests!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
