The Spend Nothing Game Part 2: Planning For The Unexpected

Last Monday’s post, The Spend Nothing Game – How Long Can You Go Without Spending Any Money? laid out the initial ground rules for living a more frugal life – with the goal of living a more free life.

Some have pointed out that the Spend Nothing Game is easy if you literally have no money. It’s a fact of life for the poor. It’s not a game at all for them. But many, even those with very little money, find it far too easy to waste money, just let it slip away. This game is for them.

If I were a programmer, I’d develop anti-Foursquare.com, a web site and phone game that would reward players with badges and titles for the length of time between discretionary purchases. Instead of encouraging people to go places and to spend money as often as possible, my through-the-looking-glass version would encourage them to do things that required NO money and rewarded them for avoiding spending on non-essential items.  Do I have any volunteers out there who want to partner up?

Let’s talk today about a more advanced version of the game: dealing with the unexpected.

Corollary #1: There’s ALWAYS an unexpected expense.

No matter how simply you live, no matter how carefully you’ve planned, there is ALWAYS something that you simply couldn’t or didn’t plan for. Your water heater gives out. Your car battery dies. You blow out a disc in your back and can’t work for six weeks (yep, that’s me in 1995). The unexpected is usually just a trickle of little expenses – that book your kid suddenly needs for school, a tear in your pants you have to get mended, an old friend suddenly comes to town and wants to go out for the evening.

It all adds up. Therefore, if you want to successfully play the Spend Nothing game you have two choices:

1. Become a recluse and withdraw from the world.
2. Include the unexpected in your budget planning.

The key is to make sure that these unexpected expenses are requirements and real needs, not just that unexpected desire for a Caramel Macchiato.  Oh, and if you see me with a Caramel Macchiato, remember first, it’s a game, and second, within our budget, we’re allowed a treat!

Oh, you don’t have a budget? How are you going to play if you don’t have a plan? Your budget IS your plan.

And that plan will include a category for the unexpected. If your budget is so tight that you can only just make the critical expenses out of what you earn, you need to go back to square one and make the changes that will let you comfortably fund your budget.

It’s hard, I know. When I was in college the only technology I had was a typewriter and a stereo. And not much of a stereo, either – a yellow plastic Sears model. I didn’t have to pay for cell phones or data charges; there was no public Internet for me to pay for. Yes, I am that old.

Computers, internet access, smartphones are all virtual necessities today, and the associated expenses ratchet up the income required to support them. But if you’re going to live without being constantly in fear of falling hopelessly into debt, or if you’re in debt and want to get out, you’ve got to control all of unneeded spending.

So look again. What do you spend money on? What do you spend on every day, every week? What can you cut out? I’m not asking you to give up the sweetness and enjoyment of life. I’m only suggesting that you can live and live well without wasting so much money.

Next week in this space: The Spend Nothing Game: Prizes, Rewards, and Motivation.