What Happened When I Tried Living on Half My Budget for 30 Days

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I’ll be honest: no part of me was looking forward to this challenge.

Who can actually live on half their allotted budget for an entire month? It turns out I can — and not only that, but it completely transformed many of my mindsets around money and gave me a surprising sense of freedom.

My Social Life Changed

I convinced myself my social life would come to a stop once I couldn’t “afford” to go out every weekend. But instead of canceling plans (or just not making them), I got creative. I suggested a game night at my place, which was way more fun than I was expecting.

I suggested that my friend and I go for a walk in the park instead of grabbing lunch. No one even really cared that I was cutting back on my budget. My friends wanted to spend time with me, and I wanted to spend time with them — it was that simple.

I Found Money Hiding in Plain Sight

In order to prepare for this challenge, I had to slice and dice my budget within an inch of its life.

That’s how I found memberships I no longer used, a bunch of charges to my credit card I don’t remember making, and a few automatically renewing app purchases that I didn’t really need. Even though this step was technically before the challenge even started, it was easily one of the most impactful, as it helped me identify problematic spending that I could free up for more important things.

My Excessive “Wants” Went Away

This challenge gave me a harsh reality check: I realized I’m a sucker for a good marketing campaign. There were so many things that I “wanted” because I was bamboozled into believing they’d change my life.

Yet this challenge flew right in the face of that. Sure, there were things I saw while scrolling that I saved for later to revisit after the challenge. But I found that not only did I not really want most of them after the thirty days were up, but I’d forgotten about every single one.

I Felt Much Less Stressed

I didn’t even know I was experiencing low-grade anxiety over pushing my budget to the brink. The more intentional I was with every dollar, the more control I felt like I had over my life. By knowing exactly what my financial limits are, I found that I was never really worried about my spending, even if it was on something discretionary. I trusted the process because I knew everything was accounted for.

I Learned I Don’t Need Much

This is similar to reducing wants, but I think it’s still worth mentioning because of how profound this realization was for me. I used to think that little luxuries were the keys to being happy, and that I’d lead a miserable existence without them.

The opposite was true: the less I had, the more grateful I became for what I had. This challenge taught me to live simply and find joy in the little things, even if they seemed inconvenient or less exciting.