What is the 30 day rule to save money? And can it really help you to learn how to save money?
You leave school and think you are done with rules. Then you go to work and find a whole bunch of rules you have to abide by.
But that’s OK because outside of work, you don’t need rules right?
Then you realize you’ve spent way too much money and need to:
- create a budget (money rule),
- save money (money rule) and
- somehow stop yourself from spending too much money (another rule)
And then you come across the 30 day rule, that is actually called a rule – yikes!
But if it saves you money, perhaps it’s a good rule to have?
how to save more money
In theory saving money should be easy.
Spend less than you earn and save the rest.
In practice, it’s not as simple as that and that’s why you need a little extra help to get you in the savings habit.
Financial goals, no spend challenges and impulse spending rules, as well as the 30 day rule are all designed to help you learn how to save more money and manage your money better.
What is the 30 day rule for saving money?
The rule is very simple.
If you see something you want then wait 30 days before you buy it.
How does the 30 day spending rule work?
The 30 day rule to save money is a rule, no getting away from it. But it’s only a temporary rule, in fact why not consider it as a 30 day money challenge?
Put the money it would cost into a savings account for those 30 days.
If you still want it in 30 days then feel free to go buy it.
No longer want said item? Keep the money in your savings account.
If you truly want to buy something after imposing a month long freeze then you can.
It’s no longer an impulse spend, one to be regretted when you get your credit card bill.
Now it’s an item you know you really do want and will cherish it that much more for having waited 30 days.
But being a 30 day money challenge I bet you end up saving more money doing this challenge. Because you won’t want everything you thought about buying 30 days ago.
Related post: How to stop spending money on clothes: 10 Simple Tips for Success
Why use The 30 day rule to save money?
The point of this not spending rule is to readjust your spending habits, to understand the importance of saving money.
It’s also a great money rule to use when you need to learn how to save money fast on a low income, because money is really tight.
So many of us these days spend without thinking then get a nasty surprise when our credit card bill arrives.
We don’t use the cash envelope systemso we don’t see how our spending mounts up over the weeks and months.
Until it’s too late and we’ve got debt.
When you spend impulsively, without giving careful thought to the item, price and your budget, you can blow your budget very quickly.
When you’ve got financial goalsyou are determined to achieve, anything you can do to change spendy habits into saver habits is a good thing.
The art of delayed gratification, as it is called, helps you understand your true priorities.
It encourages you to question what you take for granted, why you spend as you spend. To think about and practice simple ways to save money everyday instead of just once in a while.
As a result you can learn how to save more money than without the rule.
You may also like: How To Start Saving Money: 7 Tricks You Can Easily Do
what the 30 day rule is not
The 30 day rule is about learning how to save money. Not to be confused with a few other 30 day rules that floating about. For instance you also have:
- The 30 day rule for cgt
- FTC 30 day rule
- 30 day dating rule
Very different rules for very different purposes!
What Can You Gain from using the 30-day rule?
It’s a Win:Win
I find it’s one of those clever ways to save money that is totally win:win.
You win if you really want that item after 30 days because you’ve given yourself permission to buy it.
And you also win if you decide that you no longer want it because you’ve saved the price of that item and it’s now safely in your savings account.
No Depriving
It works so well because you are not depriving yourself in any way.
Either you get to buy your longed for item and you’ll probably want it all the more for waiting a month.
Or you get to save an extra bit of money. It’s a very simple and creative way to save money.
Satisfaction
You gain a sense of self satisfaction twice over.
- You gain when you successfully impose the 30-day rule and abide by it. After all 30 days is a long time to make yourself wait for something.
- After 30 days you either know you truly want that item and will treasure it that bit more.
Or you realize you didn’t want it and have saved a nice chunk of money instead.
Consideration Time
Delaying your purchases by 30 days gives you time to consider whether it’s something you really do need, or whether in reality it’s just a want.
And whether you want it enough to still buy it when it’s no longer an impulse purchase but a well considered delayed purchase.
You get to say noto yourself, without any feelings of deprivation.
You could also try having no spend days.
learn how to save money each month
Each month you employ the 30 day rule as a tactic to save more money, you will. Spending money is too easy with credit cards and pay later options.
The simplest ways to save money every day are often the easiest:
- Don’t spend in the first place
- Don’t given in to temptation
- Plan ahead for when and if you spend
This is how to save more money. keep it simple and save more every month.
If you want to learn how to discipline yourself to save money then you will want to check out this post of mine which includes monthly saving challenges as well as longer ones. Some of them also include a money saving chart to make keeping track of your progress easy.
25 Best Money Saving Challenges To Boost Your Wealth
How To Implement The 30 Day Rule to save money
To be successful in applying this money rule to your spending and getting the most from it, there are a few elements to it.
- Note down all the details of the specific item you want to buy but are now going to wait 30 days for – if you do decide to buy it after 30 days you’ll know where to find it.
- Put the exact amount this item costs into a separate savings account – this is what you will use to buy it after 30 days. If you still want it.
- Make a note of the start and end dates of your 30 days.
- Keep your notes someplace visible so you can consider those items during the following month.
- Add further items to your list as they crop up – they will of course have different end dates to your first item.
- After 30 days – make your decision. Are you going to buy it or keep the savings?
Thinking about the item/s is important because you can mull over it’s worthiness, how it will enhance your life, what you will use it for.
And perhaps what you could use instead or whether you really need it.
Word of warning. The 30 day rule doesn’t work if you can’t afford to buy the item you are hankering after.
The key point about imposing this rule is to get better at your money decision making.
You can’t improve if you are going into debt for something that is clearly a want (and not a need).
Other money posts you might like to read:
12 Things You Should Never Pay For
10 Ways For How To Manage Money Better
Tips To Succeed With Your Plan
It can be hard to implement this impulse spending rule for everything you had previously just bought there and then.
However you can help yourself to control shopping urges and improve your ability to stick with it by adopting some of these ideas:
1. Don’t write down the items.
If you can’t remember it after 30 days then it wasn’t a true want or need was it?
I know this is the opposite of advice above but can definitely work for those of us who are somewhat memory-challenged!
2. Shop online.
Fill your basket with what you would usually buy then click X in the top corner, shut down your browser and walk away.
3. Put the item on your birthday or Christmas list.
You get to have the item you really want and someone else has the pleasure of giving it to you.
4. Don’t take cash or cards out with you.
That way you have to return home anyway and you can’t impulse buy.
5. Use the library.
If you are wanting to buy books, take a picture of it and check it out of the library.
How can I save $500 in 30 days?
$500 in 30 days sounds perfectly doable, albeit quite an aggressive savings target. You start by creating a daily savings plan. Then apply the 30-day rule to all your spending decisions for one month.
Think about it, don’t buy anything you would not usually think twice about.
- Coffees
- A meal out
- Lunch out
- A night out
- A new accessory
Over a month pressing pause on all of this spending could net you $500. Read my post on how to make 300 dollars fast for loads more fast money making ideas.
How can I save $1000 fast?
Saving $1000 is in theory just double the $500 above. But if you want it faster than 2 months, you’ve got to be even more aggressive and perhaps use more extreme ways to save money.
Making a little extra money on the side would speed things up. You could try asking for extra shifts at work, find a 2nd job, do a few surveys in the evening.
Surveys won’t make you thousands but you can easily rack up $50 or more while sat on your sofa. Here are a few survey companies you can try:
Kashkick Survey Junkie Reward Survey
These posts on savings challenges might be useful to you too:
How To Save 10K in A Year, And Some!
10 of the Best 52 Week Money Challenges For You
The 30 Day Rule to save money successfully
So there you have it, the answer to what is the 30 day rule?
It’s a strategy to curb impulse spending, learn how to save money and increase your savings habit.
Saving money just got that bit easier.
For more money saving tips and advice why not check out these posts:
How To Spend Less Money (And Save) – 6 Easy Tricks
33 Ways You Are Wasting Money [And How To Stop Right Now]
How To Survive, Thrive And Save Money On A Tight Budget
Grab your copy of the Money Saving Mini Bundle to start saving more money
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Last Updated on 4th December 2021 by Emma
