Living Car Free - Living CASH free for seven days

It started as a lark and turned into a little n = 1 experiment. Is it possible to exist in urban America without spending any money for one week?

I spent a lot of cash over the Labor Day weekend, and was pretty much broke. On Tuesday I had no time to go to the credit union, or even near any stores that would take my debit card. On Wednesday morning I realized that I had easily gone 24 hours without spending any money, so could I do it for a week?

So far so good. The debit card and the $20 bill I started with are still in my wallet.

One preliminary conclusion from my little experiment: I always thought that the little things I buy make me happy, so I was surprised to discover that, overall, I was no less happy this week than any other week.

It started as a lark and turned into a little n = 1 experiment. Is it possible to exist in urban America without spending any money for one week?



With a tiny bit of advance planning it's easy to go for months and not spend a dime (excluding normal monthly bills). We have gone for 4>6 months and not "spent" any money at all.

You have to learn not to "want" so much.

I doubt I could do it without spending my obligatory $2/day at Starbucks.

But really though, I'm an accountant, and as a result I view it differently. For example, when you eat a sandwich from ingredients that you have at home, you're still spending money. It's the same as a business recording an expense when they use a ream of paper, even though they still have 50 more reams in the closet and haven't bought more paper yet.

In fact, when viewed that way, just about the only thing in the world that's free is riding the bike--unless you want to get technical with depreciation expense or, let's say you religiously change your tires every 2,000 miles, then technically each mile adds a fractional "expenditure" to your "tire expense" account.

I went almost a week with no spending (until yesterday, payday) because I was broke! I had food and coffee in the house so I made do. I had no parking or gasoline to pay for, because my truck has been parked. (I have it back from the wife now, it'll be for sale soon).

I get $40 a week for allowance, currently I am saving it up for something, I have managed to go 3 weeks and only spent $3 of it so far. :D I need a couple of items from the dollar store and couldn't see using the debit card for $3 worth. We have a budget for all the household stuff anything left over from the budget at the end of the month goes in the "vacation/mad money" account. We also have an account where we deposit money every month for expenses that don't occur every month, that one is currently fully funded so the money that would go to that goes into a general savings.

Money management can be fun.

Aaron :)

I went almost a week with no spending (until yesterday, payday) because I was broke!
Been there, done that. I find that not spending money is more fun when you actually have some money to not spend! :)

I don't spend money on much, ever. I buy necessities and food. I've already got everything I need. Actually I've got more than I need. If I were wealthy I would probably not work and travel, but; I don't think I would buy things other than appropriate clothes when needed.

The only things I could consider as splurges are foods that might be considered snacks. My way of thinking is that food, no matter what type, is part of my ordinary living expense. I make most of my meals from basic ingredients.

One thing I'll be spending money on this weekend is wire. I've heard of something called Earthing, or grounding. It is a method of keeping one's body electrically grounded which discharges excess electrons. Doing this gets rid of inflammation and other bad things. I'll be connecting the wire to my bed and other places in my home so that I can keep my body grounded. There are some videos about it on Youtube.com.

Spending money on my health doesn't seem like a splurge but more like an investment.

I have gone weeks without spending any money. I just had plenty of supplies at home.

I doubt I could do it without spending my obligatory $2/day at Starbucks.

Wow.. That's over $700 a year on paper cups!

I rarely go to Starbucks (and always demand a real cup too.. not those paper jobbies). At work, I bring in about $10 worth of coffee a month. About once a quarter I'll spend $20 on some loose tea.

Wow.. That's over $700 a year on paper cups!

I rarely go to Starbucks (and always demand a real cup too.. not those paper jobbies). At work, I bring in about $10 worth of coffee a month. About once a quarter I'll spend $20 on some loose tea.

I'm a real coffee snob. Coffee will be the last luxury/vice I give up. I don't drink a lto of joe, but I buy expensive beans, grind them at home, and use a manul drip system to brew them. Luckily my son bought me a bag o' beans today or I probably would have failed on this cash-free thing. I do go to coffee shops, but not nearly on a daily basis or anything.

Much respect! I haven't gone more than a few days without spending money since I was homeless in the early '90's (it was voluntary, bummed around for a year, lived on a commune for a bit, etc.). Other than that, I guess I'm just another American consumer. I do try to watch where I spend my money and try to keep it in local stores, coffee houses (I keep a stainless coffee cup in my paniers, why use paper?) and resturants, but am not always successful. I have been able to avoid Performance Cycles, though! lol...

I doubt I could do it without spending my obligatory $2/day at Starbucks...


Wow.. That's over $700 a year on paper cups! ...

I enjoy looking at everything in this light, and encourage others to think this way. A seemingly small thing like buying a soda every day at work can sum up to a $500 a year pace. Is that daily soda more dear to you than something you need worth $500? If you had the $500 in your hand, would you plunk it down now for next year's sodas, or would you want something more permanent?

I make coffee and tea at home, and sometimes even drink water(unamerican, I know).

I'm sure I could go a week or more. The only thing I feel I really "need" is the newspaper. I buy it because a subscription would not be delivered before I left for work. If I could subscribe, then any other daily spending I do is minimal and easily avoided.

I love this topic! Have you read the book A Year Without Spending? I read it about 5 years ago and a friend and I decided to give it a try. The only money we spent was to pay bills and buy food. At the end of a year I had put away just short of $16,000 and my friend had saved almost $7,000. We lived in an apartment at the time and did not have home repairs to deal with. She did. The hardest part was coming up with other ideas for gifts and finding fun free things to do with my son(who was 8 at the time). We also bartered for some stuff. In the end, it was a great year and I am so glad we did it. We bought a house 2 years ago and the $16,000 we saved bought us a new roof:)

Living cash-free for many has become a necessity rather than a lifestyle choice. Not that people don't have an income, it's just that their outgoings match or exceed it.

Cycling can be one way of maintaining mobility in a recession while cutting back on expenditure. Ireland has seen an increase in bike shops while some car dealships have gone broke and I foresee an increase in this trend with the recent ending of our car-scrappage scheme.

Now, if only we could figure out a way of living 'debt-free'.

Living cash-free for many has become a necessity rather than a lifestyle choice. Not that people don't have an income, it's just that their outgoings match or exceed it.

Cycling can be one way of maintaining mobility in a recession while cutting back on expenditure. Ireland has seen an increase in bike shops while some car dealships have gone broke and I foresee an increase in this trend with the recent ending of our car-scrappage scheme.

Now, if only we could figure out a way of living 'debt-free'.

It can be done. I suggest this site as a starting point (ttp://debtproofliving.com/). There are others. Some debts like taxes are never going to go away, but there is no reason to be a slave to the credit card/consumer merry-go-round. We make a reasonable income and live below our means, we are also careful spenders, frugal but not cheap. We do take the occasional cruise, or a long vacation (when time permits) to where we want to go. The biggest difference between us and our peers, is that we pay cash for ours, no 18% interest rate credit cards. We do use credit cards, as a tool.

Aaron :)

I'm almost broke. Have about $7 in change and nothing in sight. Haven't spent a dime in days.

I had to improvise on toiletries, since I didn't want to buy any when I ran out.

I used a litle dab of shaving cream as a substitute for hair gel. A guy told me they do that in jail, and it worked pretty well.

I also ran out of deodorant, but I just went without. I'm halfway convinced that deodorant was invented by marketers just to sell a product, and there's no real need for it..

I had to improvise on toiletries, since I didn't want to buy any when I ran out.

I used a litle dab of shaving cream as a substitute for hair gel. A guy told me they do that in jail, and it worked pretty well.

I also ran out of deodorant, but I just went without. I'm halfway convinced that deodorant was invented by marketers just to sell a product, and there's no real need for it..

Really want to see a scam? Read the back of a lot of shampoo bottles..."rinse and repeat" How about that for a quick way to up sales, double the consumption for no real reason. I would really wonder about a product that didn't do what it was supposed to the first time and would need repeated use in the same session :D

Aaron :)

Really want to see a scam? Read the back of a lot of shampoo bottles..."rinse and repeat" How about that for a quick way to up sales, double the consumption for no real reason. I would really wonder about a product that didn't do what it was supposed to the first time and would need repeated use in the same session :D

Aaron :)

True about shampoo. But I always thought that one of the most elegant sentences ever written in the English language was "Lather, rinse, repeat." Three simple verbs, so much action, no redundancy...this is haiku in motion!

:D

You talking about stocking the living quarters,then not spending money? or walking out of the house with my bicycle,no money,then coming back after 7 days.....BIG difference......

The first one's easy,all it takes is money...
The second one,not so easy,it takes a stomach like a billy goat...

or 6 friends......

You talking about stocking the living quarters,then not spending money? or walking out of the house with my bicycle,no money,then coming back after 7 days.....BIG difference......

The first one's easy,all it takes is money...
The second one,not so easy,it takes a stomach like a billy goat...

or 6 friends......

I meant the easy one. I did have a period in my life when I literally had no money or home. It wasn't easy, it wasn't fun, but I'm very glad that I did it.

Been there and didn't relish the experience. I'm not homeless yet,just broke with no income in sight.

I had to improvise on toiletries, since I didn't want to buy any when I ran out.

I used a litle dab of shaving cream as a substitute for hair gel. A guy told me they do that in jail, and it worked pretty well.

I also ran out of deodorant, but I just went without. I'm halfway convinced that deodorant was invented by marketers just to sell a product, and there's no real need for it..

Ride any subway, train, or bus and you will realise that, yes, there is a need...

I had to improvise on toiletries, since I didn't want to buy any when I ran out.

I used a litle dab of shaving cream as a substitute for hair gel.
I also ran out of deodorant, but I just went without.

Shaving cream? My dad wasn't around when I learned to shave. So I've never used shaving cream. I just shave right after showering, blade and hand mirror.

Deodorant? I have it, and I used it for important occasions like job interviews, but day to day? It's too irritating to the skin.

My best tip is that I use shampoo on all the body hair. It cuts the smell in a way that soap doesn't.

My best tip is that I use shampoo on all the body hair. It cuts the smell in a way that soap doesn't.

I'm the opposite--I use body wash on my head hair.

Not that anybody really wants to know that. :o

About needing a job; I've learned that school bus companies are almost always hiring because so many people quit. They train you to get a class B license and you're working in three weeks. The job has a high turnover rate because it is a split shift job with only four to five hours per day. Not many people can do that type of job forever. It will get money in your hands on a regular basis. People with other part time jobs can do this one. Anybody who doesn't need a lot of money to survive can do it too. You just need to be over eighteen years of age without a criminal history or a bad driving history.

I love this topic! Have you read the book A Year Without Spending? I read it about 5 years ago and a friend and I decided to give it a try. The only money we spent was to pay bills and buy food. At the end of a year I had put away just short of $16,000 and my friend had saved almost $7,000. We lived in an apartment at the time and did not have home repairs to deal with. She did. The hardest part was coming up with other ideas for gifts and finding fun free things to do with my son(who was 8 at the time). We also bartered for some stuff. In the end, it was a great year and I am so glad we did it. We bought a house 2 years ago and the $16,000 we saved bought us a new roof:)

I spend about 20K for my house living in a studio for 5 years and saving like crazy. I can't say that I'm good with money since Good food is very important. There is no way you should live on can foods, chips and soda at any price. Eating junk food is cheap but all that sugar, salt and perservatives will cause costly health problems in the future. I know produce is expensive but your health is the most important asset.

Really want to see a scam? Read the back of a lot of shampoo bottles..."rinse and repeat" How about that for a quick way to up sales, double the consumption for no real reason. I would really wonder about a product that didn't do what it was supposed to the first time and would need repeated use in the same session :D

Aaron :)

It's even more devious than you suspect. The more you shampoo your hair, the faster your scalp pumps out oil to replenish what you've washed away, and the more you have to wash it. It's like an addict developing tolerance and upping the dose. I stopped washing my hair several years ago and only rinse it, and I'm doing fine. I can go several days without it looking greasy, and a quick rinse of just water is enough to make it look fresh. It might be harder for a woman, or man with longer hair to wean off shampoo, however. I initially dealt with the greasy look when I first stopped shampooing, by keeping it close to buzzed.

I doubt I could do it without spending my obligatory $2/day at Starbucks.

But really though, I'm an accountant, and as a result I view it differently. For example, when you eat a sandwich from ingredients that you have at home, you're still spending money. It's the same as a business recording an expense when they use a ream of paper, even though they still have 50 more reams in the closet and haven't bought more paper yet.

In fact, when viewed that way, just about the only thing in the world that's free is riding the bike--unless you want to get technical with depreciation expense or, let's say you religiously change your tires every 2,000 miles, then technically each mile adds a fractional "expenditure" to your "tire expense" account.

I think this says it all. I mean, you could have tons of stuff stock piled at home and go a long time without "spending."

I think this says it all. I mean, you could have tons of stuff stock piled at home and go a long time without "spending."

Of course. What we're really talking about here is what they call discretionary spending, or buying stuff you want but don't really need.

For example, I don't really have to pay for any food at all, because of the way our household budget is set up. But even so, I spend a lot of money on food every week that I don't need to spend--things like restauramt meals or snacks, or food for special meals that I like to cook. I also buy other unnecessary things, like books and magazines that are available at the library. Sometimes I buy water on bike rides when I could fill up my bottle at drinking fountains.

I spend about 20K for my house living in a studio for 5 years and saving like crazy. I can't say that I'm good with money since Good food is very important. There is no way you should live on can foods, chips and soda at any price. Eating junk food is cheap but all that sugar, salt and perservatives will cause costly health problems in the future. I know produce is expensive but your health is the most important asset.

What makes you think we ate junk food? I buy 70% of our food locally and the rest comes from the co-op. I said the only thing we spent money on other than our bills was food, not junk food:) We are actually currently trying to find a way to increase the amount of food we buy locally but it is proving to be a challenge to find some items.

I'm in the process of preserving the years harvest. Good Food is cheap if you do it right.

Well, my seven days cashfree was over yesterday. The main lesson learned was that a lot of those impulse purchases do NOTHING to make my life any happier. I'm going to try harder to avoid them. If I want something badly enough to plan for the purchase, it's more likely to make me happy. I'll still get a cappuccino and a muffin from time to time, but not every time I happen to walk past a coffee shop. I'll plan ahead, and bike across town to my favorite coffee shop when I want a capp and a muffin.

With a tiny bit of advance planning it's easy to go for months and not spend a dime (excluding normal monthly bills). We have gone for 4>6 months and not "spent" any money at all.

You have to learn not to "want" so much.

^^^That right there is dead on accurate for many of us.

BTW, it looks like I saved about $50 (net) by not spending for a week. Not bad....

Ever gone backpacking?

I can easily live MONEY free for 27 days a month. I work in camp, so my bed, food and coffee are paid for and nearly impossible to spend money. I have zero expenses, no phone, car, sadly not even a bicycle at the moment. It's my version of simple living, just work, eat and sleep. Most of the time it's actually a good lifestyle if your the right person..... And CHEAP as hell.

It's even more devious than you suspect. The more you shampoo your hair, the faster your scalp pumps out oil to replenish what you've washed away, and the more you have to wash it. It's like an addict developing tolerance and upping the dose. I stopped washing my hair several years ago and only rinse it, and I'm doing fine. I can go several days without it looking greasy, and a quick rinse of just water is enough to make it look fresh. It might be harder for a woman, or man with longer hair to wean off shampoo, however. I initially dealt with the greasy look when I first stopped shampooing, by keeping it close to buzzed.

I did the same not to long ago. I use baking soda followed by vinegar every 2 or 3 days to keep it clean. I used to have horribly oily hair after 1 day, so it's a definite improvement. Cheaper too! 3 dollars covers my hair for almost a year.

Do the 14 weeks in boot camp count? :) I've gone 3 weeks backpacking with no money spent,but I've never really tried while at home.

Living CASH free

Duh. Of course I live cash free. I'm married.