Showerthought: my no-spend week in March went great but my one in April fell apart, was it luck or the plan?

Blake Allen · 2026-10-24T06:05:04.817664+00:00

Back in March I did a full no-spend week and it felt easy, I packed lunches, skipped the coffee stand, and rode my bike to work every day, ended the week with $147 still in my checking account that I would have normally blown on little stuff. Then I tried the same thing the second week of April and it went sideways by Tuesday. My car needed a $60 part, my kid had a school thing that cost $15, and I caved on takeout Thursday night because I was too wiped to cook. Same rules, same person, way different result. So I keep going back and forth on this. One side says a no-spend week is still a win even if it falls apart, because you learn where the weak spots are. The other side says setting a hard zero just sets you up to feel like a failure, and a looser target like $40 for the week would hold up better. I honestly don't know which way I lean. What has worked for you, a hard zero or a small buffer?

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Showerthought: my no-spend week in March went great but my one in April fell apart, was it luck or the plan? | Budgeting Wins - The Community Guide