1. Choose the length
Start with a weekend or a week. Move up to a month once you know your weak spots.
2. Write your essentials list
Rent or mortgage, bills, groceries from a list, transport to work, medicine. Anything not on the list waits.
3. Plan for known events
Birthdays, a work lunch, a trip: put money aside for them before you start, so they do not break the challenge.
4. Remove temptation
Unsubscribe from shop emails, remove saved cards and turn off app notifications. Our unsubscribe week lists the steps.
5. Fill the time
Plan free things to do. Boredom is behind a lot of spending.
6. Decide where the money goes
Move what you did not spend into savings or towards debt at the end. Otherwise it quietly gets spent next month.
If you slip
Write down what you bought and why, and carry on. The notes are the most useful part.
