Gentle No-Spend Challenge: How One Quiet Week Helped Me Notice My Money

By Thursday night, my brain was tired.

I was in my small room, half-watching a drama while my thumb scrolled Shopee almost automatically. The week had been long: traffic, work problems, family group chat noise.

Without thinking too much, I added a cute mug to my cart.
“Only a bit… I deserve something nice,” I told myself.

Then my phone buzzed:

Balance alert: account below minimum.

Again.

I had just been paid not that long ago. How was it always like this?

I put the phone down, muted the drama, and sat there in the quiet.
Inside, something whispered: Enough. I’m tired of this cycle.

That night, I didn’t suddenly decide to “fix my whole financial life”.
That felt too big, too heavy.

Instead, I chose something smaller:

“I’ll try a gentle no-spend week. Just one week. I won’t fix everything. I just want to see what’s going on.”

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My Usual Pattern (maybe this sounds familiar)

You can picture me in Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur. Change the city, but the rhythm is similar:

• Salary comes in → for a few days I feel “rich”.

• Bills, rent, and loan payments go out.

• The rest slowly disappears into:

  • food delivery,

  • random rides,

  • small “I deserve this” treats,

  • and late-night online shopping.

I’m not lazy. I’m not trying to be reckless.
Most days I’m just tired. And when I’m tired, spending becomes a quick way to feel better for a moment.

The balance alert that night didn’t magically transform me into a “disciplined person”.
All it did was wake me up enough to try an experiment:

What if, for a short time, I only spent on essentials and paused the rest?

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Discovering the Idea of a “No-Spend Challenge”

On the train the next morning, I searched quickly:

“no spend challenge how to start”

I saw people doing No-Spend November, cash envelope challenges, and big transformations.

A lot of it felt too extreme for my situation. I still had family responsibilities, a cat to feed, and a life that wasn’t so simple.

But one basic idea stayed with me:

For a chosen number of days, I only spend on essentials and pause all non-essential spending.
It’s not forever. It’s just a reset.

By the time I reached my stop, I decided:

I would try one gentle no-spend week, adapted to my own life in Indonesia/Malaysia.

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Before the Week: Setting My Gentle Rules

That night, I took a simple notebook and opened a new page.

At the top I wrote:

“Gentle No-Spend Week – My Rules”

1. Choosing my timeframe

A full month? No way. Even 2 weeks felt like a lot.

A 7-day challenge felt just right: long enough to feel something, short enough that my brain didn’t panic.

I picked Monday to Sunday of the coming week.
That gave me a few days to prepare.

I circled the dates in my calendar.

2. Defining “essentials” and “non-essentials”

On one side of the page, I wrote ESSENTIALS. For me, that meant:

• Rent / kos / home share

• Basic groceries: rice, vegetables, eggs, tofu, simple protein

• Cat food

• Transport to work (TnG card / e-wallet for public transport, maybe 1–2 rides if there was heavy rain)

• Basic data/phone credit

• Medicines and health needs

On the other side, I wrote NON-ESSENTIALS:

• Bubble tea and café drinks

• Food delivery when I could cook or reheat

• Shopee / Lazada / TikTok Shop impulse buys

• Extra Grab/Gojek rides when bus/LRT/angkot was okay

• Random snacks from the convenience store “just because”

Then I added a line at the bottom:

“Grace pass: If there is a real family need or emergency, I’m allowed to spend without guilt. This challenge is not more important than people.”

Just writing that made me feel calmer. This was an experiment, not a punishment.

3. Checking my kitchen

On Sunday, I opened my fridge and cupboards properly.

Here’s what I already had:

• Half a bag of rice

• Frozen vegetables

• Eggs

• A block of tofu

• Instant noodles

• Onions, garlic, and a few seasonings

I wrote a quick list of simple meals I could make:

• Nasi goreng with leftover rice + egg + frozen veg

• Stir-fried tofu with vegetables

• Simple omelette with rice

• Basic vegetable soup with whatever is left

It wasn’t fancy, but it was enough.

4. Setting my essentials budget

I checked my remaining balance and decided on rough numbers for the week:

• Groceries: RM80 / IDR 250,000

• Transport: RM40 / IDR 100,000

• Cat food: RM20 / IDR 60,000

I took out cash for groceries and transport and put them into two envelopes with handwritten labels.

The rest of the money stayed for bills.

It felt simple and a bit old-school, but I could literally see my essentials budget.

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During the Week: Small Moments of Truth

Day 1–2: The automatic reach

On Monday afternoon around 4pm, the usual sleepiness hit.

My first thought: “I need a drink.”
Without thinking, my fingers opened a food delivery app.

Halfway through adding a bubble tea to my cart, I remembered:

“I’m on my no-spend week.”

I stared at the screen. It was almost physical, this urge to tap “Order”.

Instead, I locked my phone, walked to the pantry, and made the simple coffee that was already there.

It wasn’t as exciting as a fancy drink, but it was okay.
Later that night I wrote:

“Wanted boba at 4pm. Actually I was just tired and bored. Coffee at the office was enough.”

It was the first time I really saw how automatic that habit was.

Day 3–4: When emotions show up

Wednesday was rough.

A project got delayed, my boss was stressed, and one comment from a colleague stayed in my chest longer than it should have.

After work, the mall near my station felt like a magnet: air-con, bright lights, the comfort of walking around and looking at things.

“Just window shopping,” I told myself.

I walked towards my favourite store, then paused at the entrance.

“If I go in, I probably won’t come out empty-handed,” I thought.
“And this week is my experiment.”

I turned around, went home, cooked a simple dinner from my fridge, and watched some videos instead.

That night I wrote:

“Bad day at work = I wanted to escape into the mall. Not because I needed anything, but because I wanted to feel better.”

I underlined “wanted to feel better”.

It became very clear: a lot of my spending was not about the item, but about my feelings.

Day 5–7: Getting creative

By Friday, my groceries envelope was quite thin.

Old me would have said: “Ah, no food, let’s order delivery. Just this once.”

But this week, I opened the freezer, took the last vegetables, and made a big pan of nasi goreng. It lasted for two meals.

On Saturday, social media was full of people posting their weekend food.
I felt that familiar FOMO.

Instead of ordering something, I messaged a friend:

“I’m doing a no-spend week. Want to come over for tea? I have biscuits.”

We sat at my table, dipping old biscuits into hot tea, talking about everything and nothing.

It wasn’t aesthetic or Instagrammable, but it was real.

By Sunday night, I realised something strange:

I had spent less, but I didn’t feel more deprived than usual.
I actually felt a bit more in control.

I did end up using one grace pass for a small unexpected family thing. But I stayed true to the main rule about non-essentials, and that felt like a quiet win.

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After the Week: Counting and Learning

On Sunday night, with my cat purring nearby, I opened my notebook again.

1. Roughly calculating what I saved

I thought about a normal week:

• Bubble tea / café drinks: usually 3–4 times

• Food delivery: at least twice

• Extra rides: 2–3 times instead of cheaper options

• Random online “small stuff”

I gave myself rough numbers:

• Drinks: 3 × RM10 = RM30

• Delivery: 2 × RM20 = RM40

• Extra rides: 3 × RM8 = RM24

• Random online bits: around RM30 per week

Total: about RM120–130 of non-essential spending in a normal week.

During my no-spend week:

• No boba

• No food delivery

• Only one extra ride (big rain)

• No Shopee checkout

I estimated I had only spent RM30–40 on things outside of essentials, including the small family grace-pass.

So roughly, I had around RM80–100 that would usually have disappeared without me noticing.

The exact number didn’t matter. What mattered was:
for the first time, I could see the pattern.

2. Giving the extra money a job

I didn’t want that money to turn into “oops, it disappeared again”.

So I decided:

• Half would go to a small emergency buffer in a separate account.

• Half would be an extra payment on a small loan I was trying to clear faster.

I opened my banking app and moved the money right away.

Then I wrote:

“This RM___ came from my gentle no-spend week.”

It felt satisfying in a quiet way. No drama, no “I changed everything overnight”. Just one week, one small step.

3. What I learned about myself

I answered a few questions in my notebook:

What did I miss the most?

“The feeling of ‘reward’ from a drink or delivery after a tough day.”

What did I not really miss at all?

“Random Shopee things. When I didn’t open the app, I almost forgot what was in my cart.”

When was the hardest moment?

“Walking past the café after a bad day at work. I really wanted to walk in and hide there.”

What helped me stay with the challenge?

“Having simple food at home already, and telling one friend about my challenge so I felt less alone.”

What small habit do I want to keep?

“No weekday food delivery, except real emergencies.
Boba only once a week, not ‘whenever I feel like it’.”

That was it. Simple, but it felt real.

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How You Can Try Your Own Gentle No-Spend Challenge

You don’t have to do exactly what I did, but you can use my week as a template.

1. Pick your timeframe

Start small:

• Weekend (2–3 days)

• Work week (5 days)

• Full 7 days if you feel okay with that

Short is fine. This is a reset, not a lifelong rule.

2. Write your own rules

Grab a notebook or notes app and list:

• Essentials: rent, basic groceries, transport, data, health, kids’ needs, etc.

• Non-essentials: treats, eating out, delivery, impulse shopping, extra rides, etc.

Then add your grace passes:

“If there is a real emergency or important family need, I will spend without guilt.”

3. Prepare a little

• Check your kitchen and plan 3–5 simple meals from what you already have.

• Set a small essentials budget for the challenge.

• Put it into envelopes or clearly set it aside in your e-wallet/bank.

4. During the challenge, pay attention

Each time you want to spend on a non-essential, ask:

• Where am I?

• What time is it?

• What am I feeling?

Use small rules like:

• “Add to wishlist, not cart.”

• “If I still want it after the challenge, I’ll review it.”

• “Wait 24 hours before non-essential purchases.”

Have a list of low-cost comforts: walks, tea at home, music, stretching, calling a friend.

5. Afterwards, count and decide

• Roughly estimate how much you didn’t spend compared to a normal week.

• Put that money somewhere on purpose:

  • A small emergency buffer,

  • A debt payment,

  • Or a meaningful goal (not just another random purchase).

6. Keep one change

Don’t try to become a new person overnight. Just keep one or two rules that helped the most.

For example:

• “No weekday food delivery.”

• “Online shopping only on one planned day a month.”

• “Boba max once a week.”

That’s it. Tiny, but repeated.

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If You Want a Next Step After This Week

For me, the gentle no-spend week was like taking a slow walk with my money. I saw where I usually slip, where I use spending to comfort myself, and how much small changes matter.

If you want to go further than “one experiment” and build a simple system—something like:

• A clearer picture of where your money goes

• A tiny emergency fund

• A weekly money check-in routine

• Some basic structure for Needs / Wants / Goals

…you can move on to something like a 7-day money reset with small daily tasks.

On this blog, there’s a guide just for that:

7-Day Money Reset Challenge: 20 Minutes a Day, Real Savings

You don’t have to do everything at once.
One gentle week. One small habit. That’s enough to start.