How hard is it, really?

I was searching for something on the blog when I came across something I posted in 2012: “Take the challenge: ONE WEEK without spending!!” (I’ll pause for a moment for you to hop over and read that post.)

I’d forgotten about that entry, and with chuckles I read it out loud to Don before speculating how long it had been since I’d spent any money. Let’s see, today is Tuesday, and I was in Coeur d’Alene for errands last Monday, so that’s a week without spending any money. Ta da!

To us, going weeks (that’s plural) without spending is just par for the course. After all, we’re rural and we work at home, so it’s not hard. But I began to wonder how difficult it is for others. A quick Google search later and I came across this 2009 article: “The agony of seven days without spending.”

Agony??!!

And that was just one article. I came across another, and another, and another – all relating the difficulties of not spending money for anywhere from a day to a week to a month.

I read all these testimonies on the hardships of avoiding take-out food and restaurants, of resisting the latest lipstick color or on-sale sweater, of the eternal demands from parking meters and toll roads.

And I wondered: Are we really so unusual that not spending is no biggee? I don’t mean to sound sanctimonious or snotty, I’m really curious. Apparently these “spending fasts” don’t include regular bills such as electricity or mortgage, but instead focus on discretionary spending and everyday money drains.

How do others feel about this? Is not spending money for a set period — say, a week — easy or difficult?