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This post is part of the START SAVING Challenge. Make sure to read previous posts.
Day#5: Take Action

START SAVING Challenge: Day #6

Today's easy saving task:

• Focus on necessary spending and save the rest.

“Necessary: being essential, indispensable, or requisite”

You have now made it through 5 full days of the START SAVING Challenge! That's HUGE! Let's keep at it. Today's challenge is all about focusing on necessary spending. Today, I want you to only purchase things that you absolutely NEED. Cut out other things that you usually spend money on that you don't think twice about such as coffee, tea, lunch or other treats. (Don't worry – I will give you some tips below on how to minimize the temptation)!

One of the only ways to see your savings grow is by truly getting a handle on your spending. Have you ever heard someone say “I got paid last week and I don't even know where my money went – It's gone!” Most likely the problem is due to uncontrollable, unnecessary spending and not having a proper budget (we will get into this in the next challenge). If you really think about it, can you tell me right now exactly how much you spent on coffee in the morning for last week? If you can't, it's time to really think about where your money is actually going.

Today, I want you to write down ALL of the things that you WANT to purchase throughout the day that are not necessary (keep track of the price). You will be surprised on how much you save when you stop spending little amounts here and little amounts there on things that don't really matter. At the end of the day I want you to add up all of the money you saved from cutting back on your day-to-day spending, and we are going to take action!

Remember that savings account that we opened on Day #3? I want you to transfer the amount you saved today into that new Savings Account. Don't worry about the amount. If you only saved $3.99 by not getting coffee in the morning or $6 by bringing lunch to work instead of eating out – that is totally fine and completely awesome! I want you to take it one step further. Commit to having 2 “necessary only” spending days in a week. If you do this, you will start to see your savings account grow beyond your expectations and you will be one step closer to saving successfully!

ANOTHER WAY TO CUT OUT NON-NECESSARY SPENDING

• Now is the time to start unsubscribing to your email subscriptions. Let me tell you, this was by far one of the best decisions I have made on my saving journey. There were so many times I made purchases simply because I received an email telling me that it was on sale. So do yourself a favor, cut out the temptation and really ask yourself – is this necessary and is it something I truly LOVE, or am I buying it only because the email said “On day only sale – 50% off?”

DAY #6 RECAP

1. Today, only buy things that are necessary. Cut down on day-to-day spending such as morning coffee or lunch.
2. Write down every purchase you wanted to spend money on and didn't.
3. How much did you save today? Add it up.
4. Share your saving amount with your accountability tribe.

NEXT STEPS:

• Make sure to talk with your accountability tribe throughout the day. Give them encouragement and motivate them to stay on the right track. This is a hard one, but I know you can do it! Simply send them a quick email or text letting them know your progress and help each other out. At the end of the day, come together and share how much you saved today!

That's it friend! Remember, really think before you buy. Do you NEED it, is it necessary, or is it a WANT? Make sure to let me know how much you saved in the comments below. What purchases did you skip today that weren't necessary? I can't wait to hear about it! Make sure to share your progress in the private TBM Family group and cheer each other on throughout the day. This may seem small, but it will add up! Be proud of yourself, you are about to take another step towards saving successfully! {virtual hug}

Make sure to share your savings progress with friends. Use the sharing buttons to spread the wealth.

[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@thebudgetmom”]Today I am only spending money on things that are necessary! Day 6 #StartSavingChallenge[/tweetthis]

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NEW COURSE!

If you have been part of my previous Savings Challenges, we shook things up for 2020. Let’s resolve to have 2020 vision when it comes to seeing how we can become better savers. This year we have 24 savings challenges, two each month. These are designed to be fun. Saving should be fun because you make things easier for yourself. My course will guide you on a year of savings so you will be better off when 2020 comes to a close. Sign up for the Savings Challenge course to kickstart your savings.