These Are the Science‑Backed Ways to Save Money During a No-Buy Challenge

Have you cleaned out an overstuffed closet and thought, “I really need to stop buying so much random stuff.” It’s not easy to break the shopping habit, but as a behavioral scientist who joined No-Spend January, I can help.

In January, after all the holiday parties and shopping, I felt like I had less control over my finances than I’d like. So, I embarked on a no-spend challenge to hit the reset button: I would resist temptation and only spend on essentials.

The Benefits of a No-Spend Challenge

It gets you out of spending mode.

I’m not typically a big spender anyway, but once I start, it’s all too easy to keep going. And there’s a reason for that—a cognitive bias known as hyperbolic discounting. We tend to place greater weight on immediate satisfaction, even if focusing on the long term will have a greater payoff.

This might be counterintuitive, but feeling stressed about finances can also get us off track. While some people respond to financial stress by saving more, others respond by spending more in order to regain feelings of control.

It shifts you into saving mode.

Though spending in the moment can be satisfying, the things I’m saving for—long-term goals like retirement and some shorter-term goals, too—would pack a bigger punch over time. For example, I live in an old house, and I wanted to check off several home improvement projects while still being able to take a nice trip.

Even with those goals in mind, No-Spend January wasn’t easy. We’re bombarded with social media posts pressuring us to spend and an endless stream of marketing emails. Another challenge is that brick-and-mortar stores are set up to encourage impulse buying. (I almost ended up the not-so-proud owner of a new travel tumbler when I ran out to get tea.)

Fortunately, being a behavioral scientist helped me not just stick to No-Spend January but also turn it into an opportunity to improve my finances by saving more. If you’re trying No-Buy July, maybe this will help you, too.

How to Motivate Saving

1) Write down your goals.

Goals can motivate you, so make a list of what you’re saving for. If you don’t already have them in mind, there are techniques to help you find and articulate your financial goals.

Research shows that the most motivating goals often relate to security, such as retirement, or to self-actualization, such as opening a business or contributing to charity.

It’s also helpful to connect your goals, which can boost motivation. For example, I could pair “save for vacation” with “donate to charity” by giving any leftover amount from my vacation budget to my favorite nonprofit.

Whenever you feel yourself wavering, come back to your goals for a dose of motivation.

2) Figure out what you can and should save.

This step may not make me popular with the math-averse, but it’s important. When we’re stressed about money, we may convince ourselves that all of our current spending is more of a priority than saving. So, start by doing a full review of your budget. A no-spend challenge is the perfect time for this because you’re inherently only spending what you need to.

Record how much money comes in each month, how much goes out, and where it goes. You may find that you already have a surplus. This is an easy win; commit to saving that much money each month. You can even decide how much of it goes toward each of your financial goals. But if there’s no extra money, take a hard look at your spending and figure out where you can spend less.

Give yourself a bit of a reality check, too, by calculating how much you need to save each month to achieve your goal when you want to. It’s especially eye-opening to calculate how saving more or less each month can affect your ability to retire. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t save as much as you’d like right now; that happens to everyone. By saving what you can now and coming back to this practice when your circumstances change, you can still make serious progress toward your goals.

3) Take it out of your hands.

OK, you’ve decided what you’re saving for and how much. Now automate it. Because let’s face it, if you have to manually transfer money into savings, chances are it won’t always happen. But if you remove yourself from the process, you’ll save more and be more likely to stick with your plan for months or years to come. I feel more at ease knowing the money I need for home improvements is automatically moved to my savings.

Shift Your Perspective and Try Some Tricks

Talk to yourself. Self-talk is one of the earliest ways we learn to regulate our behavior, and it can help us as we adjust our spending habits.

• Try this meme: Look at your belongings and say, “This used to be money.” One of my colleagues says this worked for her. Before she’d buy something, she pictured seeing it in her house and recited that sentence. It was a game changer.
• Look at the (hopefully) distant future and tell yourself: “Someday my kids will have to deal with my stuff. Do I want to add this to the pile?”

Satisfy the urge without spending. Novelty can trigger the release of dopamine (a feel-good chemical in the brain), even if you don’t make a purchase.

• Go to the library and browse to your heart’s content. Check out a few books and bring them home. You don’t have to read them, but the act of “shopping” at the library might be just what you need.
• When Instagram or TikTok tempt you, try going to a “dopamine site” that simulates the shopping experience. They’re not for everyone, but if you crave the ritual of consumption, these sites let you scroll, add to cart, “pay,” and even get shipping notifications. When nothing shows up at your doorstep, you’ll hopefully be relieved you didn’t spend money.
• Organize or join a clothing swap among friends, neighbors, or co-workers. You might even find one in your community. Everyone brings a few things and maybe leaves with a few.

Address the habits or conveniences that make shopping too easy. Introducing extra steps can slow down the thinking that can cause us to spend.

• Delete mobile payment services (such as Apple Pay or Google Pay) from your phone.
• Put your credit card in a nesting doll situation—a zippered bag inside another zippered bag, and so on. If you’re hard core, you could padlock it.
• Use cash so the spending feels more tangible.
• If your favorite store is on the way home from work, take a different route.

A no-spend challenge is usually only a month, but it can inspire better saving habits that serve us all year—and beyond. We can do this!