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The Spender's Guide to Debt-Free Living: How a Spending Fast Helped Me Get from Broke to Badass in Record Time
Popular blogger Anna Newell Jones of AndThenWeSaved.com delivers this self-help manifesto that reveals how a "spending fast" will help you get on the road to living debt-free.
In 2009, young photographer Anna Newell Jones was rapidly suffocating under the weight of too much debt. An inveterate “spender,” she was in way over her head, to the tune of almost $24,000. She knew her debt was only going to get worse if she didn’t take action, but she didn’t know where to look for help. On a whim, Anna decided to go on a spending fast—an idea she heard in passing but knew little about. Creating her own method, she learned what worked and what didn’t and wrote about it on her blog, AndThenWeSaved.com. Amazingly, Anna was able to eliminate all $23,605.10 of her debt in only 15 months! She was interviewed in Forbes, Self, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, and the Chicago Tribune.
Anna’s journey inspired people and showed them that they too could change the way they dealt with their own money woes. The Spender’s Guide To Debt-Free Living takes readers through a detailed step-by-step plan on how to do a Spending Fast and get out of debt,
Creating a personalized Debt-Free Life Pledge. Understanding where your money is going when you’re in debt, and where it will come from to pay it off. Learning why putting money into a savings account before (or while) paying off debt may not be the best idea for you. Finding additional income sources and generating side gigs. Re-integrating spending into your life once you’re out of debt, so that you stay out of debt.Filled with do-it-yourself ideas, insight from experts, and tons of motivational tips and real-life practical advice, The Spender’s Guide to Debt-Free Living proves that you don’t have to win the lottery or get a new job to change your life.
In 2009, young photographer Anna Newell Jones was rapidly suffocating under the weight of too much debt. An inveterate “spender,” she was in way over her head, to the tune of almost $24,000. She knew her debt was only going to get worse if she didn’t take action, but she didn’t know where to look for help. On a whim, Anna decided to go on a spending fast—an idea she heard in passing but knew little about. Creating her own method, she learned what worked and what didn’t and wrote about it on her blog, AndThenWeSaved.com. Amazingly, Anna was able to eliminate all $23,605.10 of her debt in only 15 months! She was interviewed in Forbes, Self, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, and the Chicago Tribune.
Anna’s journey inspired people and showed them that they too could change the way they dealt with their own money woes. The Spender’s Guide To Debt-Free Living takes readers through a detailed step-by-step plan on how to do a Spending Fast and get out of debt,
Creating a personalized Debt-Free Life Pledge. Understanding where your money is going when you’re in debt, and where it will come from to pay it off. Learning why putting money into a savings account before (or while) paying off debt may not be the best idea for you. Finding additional income sources and generating side gigs. Re-integrating spending into your life once you’re out of debt, so that you stay out of debt.Filled with do-it-yourself ideas, insight from experts, and tons of motivational tips and real-life practical advice, The Spender’s Guide to Debt-Free Living proves that you don’t have to win the lottery or get a new job to change your life.
231 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 26, 2016
417 people are currently reading
1650 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
May 4, 2016
As a twenty-something with student loan debt and a yes-I've-heard-everything-there-is-to-hear-about-budgets attitude, this book was a refreshing and convicting read.
THE GOOD:
The plan as a whole, even though most people probably won't go to the extreme of completely needs-only spending as she did. It involves researching one's debts and assets so that the "if I ignore it, it isn't a problem" excuse no longer applies. We then create a debt hit list, prioritizing those with high interest and/or emotional weight.
As for spending, we separate expenses into needs and wants. I particularly like how she explains needs as "essential expenses paid each month, as well as expenses that contribute to your functioning as a whole, healthy human". This means that if you have a passion (photography in her case), cutting it out entirely is not realistic as your mental well-being isn't frivolous. The acknowledgement that certain things are necessary for our lives to be fulfilling beyond rent and food was much appreciated.
I loved the examples of silly things she'd spent money on. These both made me laugh and gave me pangs of "oh man, I've totally done that". She understands that the urge to spend and to justify spending is real, even though we see it's ridiculous when we read it back (figurines, fans, extra cords...).
She makes clear points about how spending is creating needs in the moment instead of letting actual needs arise, that spending to live "easier" (read: conveniently) cost us more in the end, and mostly how little things are the key to both getting into and out of debt.
THE BAD:
There are points where she mentions how your friends/family will be upset if you turn down invitation after invitation because you aren't spending money. She tries to give a few tips (making gifts instead of buying, bartering), but for the most part she just reiterates that you need to let them know you're committed. That is all well and good, but there will be situations in which spending a little is required to connect and build our relationships. It seemed a little naive to expect all friends/family occasions etc to yield to your no-money demands.
In addition, there are a few chapters in the latter half of the book that just weren't very helpful. The idea of a side-hustle got a lot of explanation, although it just isn't feasible for most people - especially if they don't have a creative/artistic talent as the author does. She also went very in-depth on holding yard sales, being minimal, and cutting even spending on necessities to a minimum. While these are interesting, again, the goals of living with less/purging/being frugal are very different than that of reducing spending... and I don't imagine many of us struggling to limit spending find the prospect of further cutbacks motivating.
VERDICT: Overall I found this book very helpful and easy to read/understand. It felt like she was speaking to me honestly and not to some aspirational person who wouldn't have spending problems in the first place. I came out of it feeling like there were strategies I could implement and excited to have a new focus on repairing my relationship with spending/money.
THE GOOD:
The plan as a whole, even though most people probably won't go to the extreme of completely needs-only spending as she did. It involves researching one's debts and assets so that the "if I ignore it, it isn't a problem" excuse no longer applies. We then create a debt hit list, prioritizing those with high interest and/or emotional weight.
As for spending, we separate expenses into needs and wants. I particularly like how she explains needs as "essential expenses paid each month, as well as expenses that contribute to your functioning as a whole, healthy human". This means that if you have a passion (photography in her case), cutting it out entirely is not realistic as your mental well-being isn't frivolous. The acknowledgement that certain things are necessary for our lives to be fulfilling beyond rent and food was much appreciated.
I loved the examples of silly things she'd spent money on. These both made me laugh and gave me pangs of "oh man, I've totally done that". She understands that the urge to spend and to justify spending is real, even though we see it's ridiculous when we read it back (figurines, fans, extra cords...).
She makes clear points about how spending is creating needs in the moment instead of letting actual needs arise, that spending to live "easier" (read: conveniently) cost us more in the end, and mostly how little things are the key to both getting into and out of debt.
THE BAD:
There are points where she mentions how your friends/family will be upset if you turn down invitation after invitation because you aren't spending money. She tries to give a few tips (making gifts instead of buying, bartering), but for the most part she just reiterates that you need to let them know you're committed. That is all well and good, but there will be situations in which spending a little is required to connect and build our relationships. It seemed a little naive to expect all friends/family occasions etc to yield to your no-money demands.
In addition, there are a few chapters in the latter half of the book that just weren't very helpful. The idea of a side-hustle got a lot of explanation, although it just isn't feasible for most people - especially if they don't have a creative/artistic talent as the author does. She also went very in-depth on holding yard sales, being minimal, and cutting even spending on necessities to a minimum. While these are interesting, again, the goals of living with less/purging/being frugal are very different than that of reducing spending... and I don't imagine many of us struggling to limit spending find the prospect of further cutbacks motivating.
VERDICT: Overall I found this book very helpful and easy to read/understand. It felt like she was speaking to me honestly and not to some aspirational person who wouldn't have spending problems in the first place. I came out of it feeling like there were strategies I could implement and excited to have a new focus on repairing my relationship with spending/money.
October 20, 2016
Impractical advice for reasonable living. As a business manager, I believe her feast or famine perspective is exactly the kind of unhealthy thought pattern which gets people into serious debt in the first place. Also, the catastrophizing around student loans (income based repayment, guys. There's very little stress there now.) and no-interest family loans alongside minimal credit debt (seriously, she had $20k total debt the "majority of which was student loans") makes me believe that this author was enormously successful at marketing and starting an engaging blog instead of imparting valuable advice for people who are seriously in debt. She also gives advice which is actually against recommendation by legitimate financial advisors. I read a lot of financial self-help books to recommend to clients and I absolutely would not recommend this one to people struggling under mountains of debt. Maybe if they had a few small credit cards and needed to reevaluate their spending habits. Only then.
January 2, 2018
Quick review for a quick read. I really enjoyed Anna Newell Jones's "The Spender's Guide to Debt-Free Living". It was a combination of her personal story paired alongside financial advice for the reader in the realm of personal finance/debt management. The way she writes the book is personable and encourages sticking to a habitual commitment, though it also focuses on involving others in holding a person to their commitment to be on a spending fast/getting their finances in order (which may or may not work for the reader who peruses this, but I thought it was a worthwhile inclusion considering what I've learned about habit-building and having personal accountability within group settings. Though my background has to do with behavioral change for fitness routines, so it's a horse of a different color, but there are similar principles for building healthy habits. :P )
I've picked up a lot of personal finance guides in the past year (2017) for the purposes of researching financial management and specific topics in the realm of personal finance. This book covered a lot of bases - from the different types of debt (loans, student debt, credit cards, etc.) to developing a wants/needs list, to developing commitments and staying motivated. It's a good book for its respective topic and I would definitely add it to my own personal finance library. Another library read, but this time from my county library.
Overall score: 4/5 stars.
I've picked up a lot of personal finance guides in the past year (2017) for the purposes of researching financial management and specific topics in the realm of personal finance. This book covered a lot of bases - from the different types of debt (loans, student debt, credit cards, etc.) to developing a wants/needs list, to developing commitments and staying motivated. It's a good book for its respective topic and I would definitely add it to my own personal finance library. Another library read, but this time from my county library.
Overall score: 4/5 stars.
April 8, 2019
I wanted to like this book I really did, but it was just too.... high school. Although there were a couple pearls of wisdom, it was written as if by some ditsy cheerleader.
Imagine this... High School teacher asks class, "What would you tell someone who wanted to get out of debt?" and calls on the author...
Ditsy cheerleader in a valley girl accent as she twirls her hair, "Well ya know. I would say you gotta stop spending money! I know there is sooo much fabulous stuff out there! And I love to shop! Its like uh my favorite thing! Just, you know figure out what like, you NEED NEED and only buy that! Well what you NEED NEED and only stuff that you just cant live without, like your favorite hobby! And then we can do crafts!" BAM! That's 75% of the book. Basic Bitch meets Care bear.
There is no real budget making. It starts off strong with looking at where your money has been going but then you just dump everything in a "needs vs wants" piles? Don't get me wrong Evaluating your spending is huge, but there was no real budgeting after that. It is unrealistic that you only pay for your needs and then say no to everything except your favorite hobby. And everyone around you will get on board with the fact that you are literally planning to spend no money except whatever it costs to make them crafts?
Its like she is out of touch. She has this huge epiphany on a plane that her (gasp! omg!) 20K debt mostly student loans is out of hand and (BIGGER GASP!) she just cant buy whatever shiny thing she finds because she is bored. Her "solutions" are basically barter your services with everyone you know for everything. Which is great except people who are swimming in debt and trying to get out, don't have time for such nonsense, because we are on our way to our next shift and don't have time to bake someone a cake, or mow the neighbors lawn every week lol
One last thought. The back of the book has 151 things to do instead of spend money. Admittedly I only flipped threw and read a couple at random, but one stuck out for me. Find all the pens and markers in the house and see if they still write and throw away the ones that don't work. What? This chick has got waaaaay too much time on her hands, clearly! Cleaning out the pen drawer is not helping get anyone out of debt.
Imagine this... High School teacher asks class, "What would you tell someone who wanted to get out of debt?" and calls on the author...
Ditsy cheerleader in a valley girl accent as she twirls her hair, "Well ya know. I would say you gotta stop spending money! I know there is sooo much fabulous stuff out there! And I love to shop! Its like uh my favorite thing! Just, you know figure out what like, you NEED NEED and only buy that! Well what you NEED NEED and only stuff that you just cant live without, like your favorite hobby! And then we can do crafts!" BAM! That's 75% of the book. Basic Bitch meets Care bear.
There is no real budget making. It starts off strong with looking at where your money has been going but then you just dump everything in a "needs vs wants" piles? Don't get me wrong Evaluating your spending is huge, but there was no real budgeting after that. It is unrealistic that you only pay for your needs and then say no to everything except your favorite hobby. And everyone around you will get on board with the fact that you are literally planning to spend no money except whatever it costs to make them crafts?
Its like she is out of touch. She has this huge epiphany on a plane that her (gasp! omg!) 20K debt mostly student loans is out of hand and (BIGGER GASP!) she just cant buy whatever shiny thing she finds because she is bored. Her "solutions" are basically barter your services with everyone you know for everything. Which is great except people who are swimming in debt and trying to get out, don't have time for such nonsense, because we are on our way to our next shift and don't have time to bake someone a cake, or mow the neighbors lawn every week lol
One last thought. The back of the book has 151 things to do instead of spend money. Admittedly I only flipped threw and read a couple at random, but one stuck out for me. Find all the pens and markers in the house and see if they still write and throw away the ones that don't work. What? This chick has got waaaaay too much time on her hands, clearly! Cleaning out the pen drawer is not helping get anyone out of debt.
July 19, 2018
I wish I could give this book 3.5 stars. What I really like about it is that the author actually *gets* natural spenders. So many books about frugality are written by, ahem, naturally frugal (and maybe uptight and judgmental? just sayin') people. I don't need to read those books, I already know I need to get a grip on my spending! (Similar gripe: Books about voluntary simplicity written by people who were clearly neat-freak minimalists to begin with.) What I would like are tips about how to shift my habits to be more frugal without going into total budget rebellion (because deprivation is lame, decision-fatigue is real, and it's freaking hard to change habits!). This book came closer to that than others I've read, and I appreciate that.
Although the author's recommended year-long "needs only" spending is probably too severe for most people, I found myself really inspired to try it for a month and implement her tips. She is very honest about hard the fast was for her, and most revealingly, how hard it was for her to move from total spending fast to a spending diet, basically, a normal budget. If I had one complaint, it's that I was left wishing there were more tips aimed at behavior/habit change and changing your frame of mind, but this was still a step in the right direction!
Although the author's recommended year-long "needs only" spending is probably too severe for most people, I found myself really inspired to try it for a month and implement her tips. She is very honest about hard the fast was for her, and most revealingly, how hard it was for her to move from total spending fast to a spending diet, basically, a normal budget. If I had one complaint, it's that I was left wishing there were more tips aimed at behavior/habit change and changing your frame of mind, but this was still a step in the right direction!
June 24, 2018
IF you have a fairly strong understanding of how home finances work, BUT you still find yourself living outside your means, AND you've been meaning to get on top of it, but it was Christmas, and then you got married, and then you had to attend your best friend's destination wedding, and there's been a big giant cloud of student debt following you since 2008, then this is the book for you. Anna Newell Jones is a great cheerleader and if you truly are ready to tighten that belt and turn your spending boat around she's got some great motivational tips and practical advice.
However, if you don't have a firm grasp on how debts work, or how to balance your accounts - maybe your young and don't have much experience - you're going to want to supplement this book with more detailed information. This author is a great personality, but she is (as she is the first to admit) not a financial professional. She goes into some detail, but the nitty gritty stuff is outside the scope of this book.
However, if you don't have a firm grasp on how debts work, or how to balance your accounts - maybe your young and don't have much experience - you're going to want to supplement this book with more detailed information. This author is a great personality, but she is (as she is the first to admit) not a financial professional. She goes into some detail, but the nitty gritty stuff is outside the scope of this book.
February 18, 2019
The writing style of this book is appealing - not judgmental or condescending. I didn’t relate to a lot of it because I am not much of a spender (except on books!). It is very all or nothing, which could work for some people, but I feel like that type of mentality will go right back to overspending. Some practical tips, though.
July 28, 2023
I was beyond happy with the content of this book—it’s personal and beyond beneficial for someone who is looking for applicable strategies to save and end overspending. It’s a play by play of how to actually pay down debt when it seems impossible with current circumstances.
January 8, 2017
I read this for motivation really, not as a how-to. It did inspire me to stop wanting all of the things, so mission accomplished. A quick, good read.
February 10, 2017
I really needed and liked this book, the only reason I took off a star was because quite a few of the websites listed in the book don't exist anymore. It's only a year old and already outdated!
January 10, 2020
I am not the target audience for this book. I stumbled upon this author from her interview she did with the Girl’s Guide to Law School. I have a soft spot for personal finance stories and learning how people pay down super fast. However, this author’s spending habits that got her into debt read like the character in Confessions of a Shopaholic. Some of her ideas were intriguing, but the lengths she went to in her spending fast seem a little extreme. Perhaps when I am faced with the reality of law school debt, I’ll feel differently about some of her tactics, although I don’t imagine I’ll ever reuse dental floss. I’m glad it worked for her, and that she was able to knock out her debt and change her spending habits. If you too are a shopaholic, then this book is for you. If not, then you may not get that much out of it.
November 11, 2019
This book tackled the subject of saving & frugality in a fun, modern and upbeat way that other similar books have not been able to pull off. I know because I like being frugal and saving money and have read many books on the subject. The first few chapters were a lot to take in and seem impossible but once the author starts breaking things down and how she stayed motivated, the book was much easier to follow. Also I listened to this book and it was fun & entertaining to listen to! Listening to her book was just like talking to a friend and she kept things practical and down to earth!
October 7, 2017
Still not 100% why I picked this up as i'm not the target audience (i'm not currently in debt).
The cover was bright, it was on the new book stand at the library.
Anyway this did have some good tips about spending on needs vs wants and resisting the urge to spend ridiculous amounts of money on things you will never use.
The cover was bright, it was on the new book stand at the library.
Anyway this did have some good tips about spending on needs vs wants and resisting the urge to spend ridiculous amounts of money on things you will never use.
January 3, 2024
Not that I plan to do a year long spending fast but helped reframe thoughts and ideas on how to make extra money, declutter, and save more by choosing alternative activities or really evaluating what you already have and what your wants and needs can truly be. Even if just for a short season.
January 3, 2021
I found the book to be very inspirational. The author provides the reader with a clear and practical approach to saving money and getting out of debt in record time.
December 22, 2022
I'm doing this in 2023, officially for 6 months, but I'm honestly hoping to do it for the whole year... I can't freakin wait. I'll update this review when I'm done!
May 27, 2017
I liked her sound advice and her ability to talk about both her successes and failures.
September 7, 2018
A helpful book to read when considering your finances and looking for ways to save some extra money.
March 28, 2025
The Spender's Guide to Debt-Free Living: How a Spending Fast Helped Me Get from Broke to Badass in Record Time by Anna Newell Jones (2016)
v+229-page Kindle Ebook
Genre: Nonfiction, Personal Finance
Featuring: Lists, Introduction: Can a Spender Really Live Debt-Free?, AndThenWeSaved.com, Spending Fast, Spending Diet, “Let’s Do This!” Lists, And I Kept Buying Even After the Money Was Gone - Overspending, From Spender to Saver, Living More Honestly by Breaking Spending Habits, Spending High, Getting Started: “Today Is the Day I Decide to Become Debt-Free”, Set a Time Frame for Your Spending Fast, Why Going Public with Your Goals Works, The Get Out of Debt Pledge, How Much Do I Really Owe?, Debt Hit List, Reverse Budget, The Wants and Needs List, Constructing the Debt Hit List and Executing the Payback Plan, Mastering Needs-Only Spending, Attack the Debt, Adjust to Your New Life, and Take It a Step Further, (Semi- and Completely) Shameless Frugal Ways to Save Even More Money, Generating Additional Income: Finding New Gigs, Turning Stuff You Don’t Want into Cash, The Social Side of the Spending Fast, Good-bye, Spending Fast; Hello, Spending Diet!; 151 Things to Do Instead of Spending Money, References: Works Cited, Index
Rating as a movie: PG-15 for adult language
Books and Authors mentioned: Robert Kiyosaki, Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey, The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo, Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner by David Bach
Memorable Quotes: I wrote this book because I’m a regular person, just like you. I’m not a personal finance legend like Robert Kiyosaki, Suze Orman, or Dave Ramsey. I didn’t go to school to study finance or economics, and I don’t have an MBA. I’m a woman who spent recklessly and got into a lot of debt, and I went through a ton of pain as a result of it. It turns out that the answer for me was a Spending Fast. By making that one big decision to start the Spending Fast, I in effect also made a ton of little decisions. Even though that decision required sacrifice and hard work, it also made my life a whole lot easier. The Spending Fast enabled me to get out of debt very, very quickly, after years of feeling like it would be completely impossible. This book is about how I did it, but it’s also about what I learned along the way. The changes I made, the realizations I had, and how I turned these realizations into a brand-new, healthy relationship with money. At the end of each chapter you’ll find a list of things you can do as you’re reading along to help you throughout the process. These “Let’s Do This!” lists show you the actions I took at each stage of the Spending Fast. They’re bite-sized steps that you can take to become debt-free just like I did with the Spending Fast.
I didn’t even consider saving one cent until I was 100 percent debt-free. When I tried to save in the past I would put money into my savings, and then slowly but surely it would dwindle. Before I knew it, that chunk of money had somehow fizzled away, and I was left with nothing to show for it. Saving money is a good thing to do—I get that. When I started the Spending Fast I made a choice to get out of debt as soon as I possibly could. I wanted to put every extra penny that I didn’t spend on necessities right toward my debt, so that it would be gone ASAP. Many professional financial planners advocate paying down your debt and saving at the same time. While I’m not saying that’s a bad thing to do, I knew it was not the right approach for me. What worked in my life was: get outta debt hella fast, and then switch my focus to saving big.
When you tell everyone about your new frugal way of life, be excited about it! No one wants to see their friend or family member suffer, so if you have an attitude of “Life sucks! This is going to be terrible,” they’ll take your lead and go negative themselves. Doing a Spending Fast is hard and it’s definitely not a snap-your-fingers magic lottery ticket, so your excitement can be tempered with a dose of reality, but showing a lot of enthusiasm when you explain it to your family and friends will go very far in terms of getting your loved ones on board.
To get a completely honest, objective view of how you spend money, you’ll need to pull the last three months of your bank and credit card statements. Online or paper, whichever you prefer, but if you choose the online version, print them out. Many personal finance experts advise people to start tracking their spending when they decide to get out of debt, but there’s absolutely no reason to delay the process when you already have all the information available to you. Plus, it’s entirely possible that you might subconsciously—or actually, consciously—skew your spending to make your habits seem more favorable than they really are once you start tracking your money. What we’re looking for are your unskewed, unabridged, undoctored spending habits. We need to see you in your natural habitat, like a honey badger out in nature. What do you buy when no one is looking? Are you buying jeans in every wash, fingerless gloves, rounds of drinks for all your friends, or too many screen-printed T-shirts? We need to know. We’re going to see what your inner Spender has been doing with your money over these past three months, and we’re going to do this by making a Reverse Budget: a detailed document listing all of your purchases in that time frame. This process will help narrow down where your money is going and will reveal patterns and problem areas.
Not being able to differentiate between wants and needs is one of the biggest reasons people aren’t able to direct more money toward paying down their debt. It’s the biggest reason I didn’t put money toward my debt, and it’s why I was completely convinced there was just no extra money available to do so. It’s easy to find things you want, and if you’re confusing Wants with Needs (knowingly or not), you can easily keep spending money you don’t have forever.
Empty Pantry Syndrome occurs when you have no staples on hand and have no ideas about what to make for dinner, so you call your closest take-out joint.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🛍💳📆🏦🏧
My thoughts: 🔖Page 67 of 229 [23 pages into] Chapter 4 How Much Do I Really Owe? - (right at) - Let’s Talk About All This So-Called “Good Debt”- This is so good and a fast read. It's like talking with a friend; the advice is solid, nothing new, but broken down well.
This was very good but there were a few points I strongly disagree with. First, you should have savings, or you're setting yourself up to use debt for an emergency. Secondly, you never empty your accounts to zero; I don't care if you're getting paid the next day. Accidents can happen, you should have a cushion in every account where $500 or $50 is equivalent to $0 for that account so you're never at risk for overdrafting be Verizon charged you twice in one month or whatever. There is no way I'm going to be married and paying for my own movie ticket and vacation or skipping because I don't have the money, so my spouse goes without me. Mooching isn't a thing in marriage. Finally, I wouldn’t see a college student for therapy. Pretty much everything else was spot on and very helpful. The one thing I felt was missing was that she never said how her husband impacted her budget. She stated that they kept money separate and she had to miss out on outings and even vacations because of it, but she started this fast shortly after getting married and even getting a roommate would impact your finances but she didn't bring it up. She went from being a singleton before this fast to a family of 4 near the end, but she didn't explain how she navigated the fast while expanding her family. She does eventually share an account with her spouse.
Recommend to others: Yes. Especially if you're a shopaholic.
v+229-page Kindle Ebook
Genre: Nonfiction, Personal Finance
Featuring: Lists, Introduction: Can a Spender Really Live Debt-Free?, AndThenWeSaved.com, Spending Fast, Spending Diet, “Let’s Do This!” Lists, And I Kept Buying Even After the Money Was Gone - Overspending, From Spender to Saver, Living More Honestly by Breaking Spending Habits, Spending High, Getting Started: “Today Is the Day I Decide to Become Debt-Free”, Set a Time Frame for Your Spending Fast, Why Going Public with Your Goals Works, The Get Out of Debt Pledge, How Much Do I Really Owe?, Debt Hit List, Reverse Budget, The Wants and Needs List, Constructing the Debt Hit List and Executing the Payback Plan, Mastering Needs-Only Spending, Attack the Debt, Adjust to Your New Life, and Take It a Step Further, (Semi- and Completely) Shameless Frugal Ways to Save Even More Money, Generating Additional Income: Finding New Gigs, Turning Stuff You Don’t Want into Cash, The Social Side of the Spending Fast, Good-bye, Spending Fast; Hello, Spending Diet!; 151 Things to Do Instead of Spending Money, References: Works Cited, Index
Rating as a movie: PG-15 for adult language
Books and Authors mentioned: Robert Kiyosaki, Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey, The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo, Smart Couples Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future for You and Your Partner by David Bach
Memorable Quotes: I wrote this book because I’m a regular person, just like you. I’m not a personal finance legend like Robert Kiyosaki, Suze Orman, or Dave Ramsey. I didn’t go to school to study finance or economics, and I don’t have an MBA. I’m a woman who spent recklessly and got into a lot of debt, and I went through a ton of pain as a result of it. It turns out that the answer for me was a Spending Fast. By making that one big decision to start the Spending Fast, I in effect also made a ton of little decisions. Even though that decision required sacrifice and hard work, it also made my life a whole lot easier. The Spending Fast enabled me to get out of debt very, very quickly, after years of feeling like it would be completely impossible. This book is about how I did it, but it’s also about what I learned along the way. The changes I made, the realizations I had, and how I turned these realizations into a brand-new, healthy relationship with money. At the end of each chapter you’ll find a list of things you can do as you’re reading along to help you throughout the process. These “Let’s Do This!” lists show you the actions I took at each stage of the Spending Fast. They’re bite-sized steps that you can take to become debt-free just like I did with the Spending Fast.
I didn’t even consider saving one cent until I was 100 percent debt-free. When I tried to save in the past I would put money into my savings, and then slowly but surely it would dwindle. Before I knew it, that chunk of money had somehow fizzled away, and I was left with nothing to show for it. Saving money is a good thing to do—I get that. When I started the Spending Fast I made a choice to get out of debt as soon as I possibly could. I wanted to put every extra penny that I didn’t spend on necessities right toward my debt, so that it would be gone ASAP. Many professional financial planners advocate paying down your debt and saving at the same time. While I’m not saying that’s a bad thing to do, I knew it was not the right approach for me. What worked in my life was: get outta debt hella fast, and then switch my focus to saving big.
When you tell everyone about your new frugal way of life, be excited about it! No one wants to see their friend or family member suffer, so if you have an attitude of “Life sucks! This is going to be terrible,” they’ll take your lead and go negative themselves. Doing a Spending Fast is hard and it’s definitely not a snap-your-fingers magic lottery ticket, so your excitement can be tempered with a dose of reality, but showing a lot of enthusiasm when you explain it to your family and friends will go very far in terms of getting your loved ones on board.
To get a completely honest, objective view of how you spend money, you’ll need to pull the last three months of your bank and credit card statements. Online or paper, whichever you prefer, but if you choose the online version, print them out. Many personal finance experts advise people to start tracking their spending when they decide to get out of debt, but there’s absolutely no reason to delay the process when you already have all the information available to you. Plus, it’s entirely possible that you might subconsciously—or actually, consciously—skew your spending to make your habits seem more favorable than they really are once you start tracking your money. What we’re looking for are your unskewed, unabridged, undoctored spending habits. We need to see you in your natural habitat, like a honey badger out in nature. What do you buy when no one is looking? Are you buying jeans in every wash, fingerless gloves, rounds of drinks for all your friends, or too many screen-printed T-shirts? We need to know. We’re going to see what your inner Spender has been doing with your money over these past three months, and we’re going to do this by making a Reverse Budget: a detailed document listing all of your purchases in that time frame. This process will help narrow down where your money is going and will reveal patterns and problem areas.
Not being able to differentiate between wants and needs is one of the biggest reasons people aren’t able to direct more money toward paying down their debt. It’s the biggest reason I didn’t put money toward my debt, and it’s why I was completely convinced there was just no extra money available to do so. It’s easy to find things you want, and if you’re confusing Wants with Needs (knowingly or not), you can easily keep spending money you don’t have forever.
Empty Pantry Syndrome occurs when you have no staples on hand and have no ideas about what to make for dinner, so you call your closest take-out joint.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🛍💳📆🏦🏧
My thoughts: 🔖Page 67 of 229 [23 pages into] Chapter 4 How Much Do I Really Owe? - (right at) - Let’s Talk About All This So-Called “Good Debt”- This is so good and a fast read. It's like talking with a friend; the advice is solid, nothing new, but broken down well.
This was very good but there were a few points I strongly disagree with. First, you should have savings, or you're setting yourself up to use debt for an emergency. Secondly, you never empty your accounts to zero; I don't care if you're getting paid the next day. Accidents can happen, you should have a cushion in every account where $500 or $50 is equivalent to $0 for that account so you're never at risk for overdrafting be Verizon charged you twice in one month or whatever. There is no way I'm going to be married and paying for my own movie ticket and vacation or skipping because I don't have the money, so my spouse goes without me. Mooching isn't a thing in marriage. Finally, I wouldn’t see a college student for therapy. Pretty much everything else was spot on and very helpful. The one thing I felt was missing was that she never said how her husband impacted her budget. She stated that they kept money separate and she had to miss out on outings and even vacations because of it, but she started this fast shortly after getting married and even getting a roommate would impact your finances but she didn't bring it up. She went from being a singleton before this fast to a family of 4 near the end, but she didn't explain how she navigated the fast while expanding her family. She does eventually share an account with her spouse.
Recommend to others: Yes. Especially if you're a shopaholic.
July 24, 2018
Anna Jones is also a popular blogger on the site andthenwesaved.com , she is not Dave Ramsey though she has read his book nor is she David Bach. She is however a woman who finally realized she had a problem with her spending, she couldn't buy just what she needed she always went overboard or thought spending when something was on sale meant you had a bargain even if you didn't need the item.
We follow her on her self imposed spending diet, her trials, mistakes and victories. She offers up some well taken advice, but the dumpster diving or combining everyone elses uneaten food for later may be pushing the limits.
She tells her story simply and with humor, this was a fun read, entertaining as well as informative.
We follow her on her self imposed spending diet, her trials, mistakes and victories. She offers up some well taken advice, but the dumpster diving or combining everyone elses uneaten food for later may be pushing the limits.
She tells her story simply and with humor, this was a fun read, entertaining as well as informative.
November 30, 2016
What made me most happy about this book is that it reinforced for me a lot of the things I've already been doing while at the same time providing a bit of a surge of encouragement to increase my efforts with a few new ideas. If you've allowed the evil of debt into your life, this is a great place to start pushing it out.
July 26, 2018
I enjoyed reading about the author’s journey through financial freedom, but it was difficult to relate as my debt is not a result of being a “spender”. Much of the advice provided I have already heard from Dave Ramsey and other financial gurus. However, this would be a great book for someone that is just getting started on their financial freedom journey.
May 12, 2016
Helpful for those that actually want to do a spending freeze. Chock full of good information, just not for me at this point in my life.
July 20, 2023
There's no way in hell I will ever write a check. Like from a checkbook.
Tuesday's illustrations were cute. Read Ramit instead
Tuesday's illustrations were cute. Read Ramit instead
April 6, 2018
I really enjoyed this audiobook. I totally ate it up. It has a ton of great information and is actually relatable. I even bought a copy in print. In a short while I’ll be starting my spending fast!
May 15, 2016
We've already been debt-free but I still liked some little tid-bits in this. Good reminder.
July 21, 2022
I can imagine someone getting a lot of use out of this but for me it was strictly motivational in the sense that it's good to hear about someone else who successfully got out of debt—and so can you.
As for the methodology, it's a little silly. Anyone who has ever sat down and honestly looked over their finances has had these ideas before: Stop buying frivolous things. Stop eating out. Prioritize debt repayment over wasting money. The only difference is that the author has crystallized the attitude in a year-long experiment called the "spending fast", a term you may be sick of by the end of the book.
That's not to say it's wrong. Again she's just given a rigid set of rules and a name to the sort of ideas any self serious debtor has entertained, and that's the difference between her and her audience: that she took these "I know I need to" ideas and acted on them. In that way, she can be encouraging. But there's nothing remarkable or really novel about her approach. It's no different than any other motivational presenter selling the victory of one who did to people who, so far, have been unable to do. There's nothing wrong with preaching the gospel of "no, really, just do it and rip the band-aid off" but so too is there nothing surprising here.
Maybe that's the point though? If you're spending $15 on a book about getting out of debt (maybe putting it on a credit card? Better yet, borrow from a library!), then you already *know* what you need to do. There is no new information here that you couldn't have gotten from r/PersonalFinance, Credit Karma, or NerdWallet. What you're buying (or borrowing) from this author is only an eight hour (and heavily padded) reminder that you cannot get out of debt by simply wishing to be out of debt: you must sacrifice. You must have a *plan* to sacrifice and you must commit to it or it will not work.
I found this book encouraging as I said, but unremarkable, and ultimately tiresome. I wouldn't recommend it over, say, the websites and subreddit I recommend above. You can't wish your way out of debt. You can only be humble and committed enough to accept that you spent past your means—maybe years' worth of income past your means—and as a result you will have to sacrifice that same quantity (more, with interest) of money and the time and labor it takes to generate it, in order to make up for it and get back in the black.
The most important thing to know when considering this debt conquering strategy or any other is that you have made *a* mistake. But your situation now isn't a mistake. You aren't living in an ongoing mistake. The overspending was a real thing you did and the debt is a real burden you now carry. But you are living in the ongoing opportunity to correct it. And you can either begin to correct it, and keep correcting it, or you can keep digging the hole deeper.
Those are your two options. Maybe you need an extreme way to do that and if that's the case this book may help you. I didn't find it any more useful than sitting down with a notebook and a pencil, and writing down all my debts, all my bills, all my income, all my interest rates, and a variety of scenarios for the time and amounts it will take to pay things off. Choose your sacrifices, make your payoff calendar, make peace with your decisions, and tell yourself it'll be better when you've done your penance.
As for the methodology, it's a little silly. Anyone who has ever sat down and honestly looked over their finances has had these ideas before: Stop buying frivolous things. Stop eating out. Prioritize debt repayment over wasting money. The only difference is that the author has crystallized the attitude in a year-long experiment called the "spending fast", a term you may be sick of by the end of the book.
That's not to say it's wrong. Again she's just given a rigid set of rules and a name to the sort of ideas any self serious debtor has entertained, and that's the difference between her and her audience: that she took these "I know I need to" ideas and acted on them. In that way, she can be encouraging. But there's nothing remarkable or really novel about her approach. It's no different than any other motivational presenter selling the victory of one who did to people who, so far, have been unable to do. There's nothing wrong with preaching the gospel of "no, really, just do it and rip the band-aid off" but so too is there nothing surprising here.
Maybe that's the point though? If you're spending $15 on a book about getting out of debt (maybe putting it on a credit card? Better yet, borrow from a library!), then you already *know* what you need to do. There is no new information here that you couldn't have gotten from r/PersonalFinance, Credit Karma, or NerdWallet. What you're buying (or borrowing) from this author is only an eight hour (and heavily padded) reminder that you cannot get out of debt by simply wishing to be out of debt: you must sacrifice. You must have a *plan* to sacrifice and you must commit to it or it will not work.
I found this book encouraging as I said, but unremarkable, and ultimately tiresome. I wouldn't recommend it over, say, the websites and subreddit I recommend above. You can't wish your way out of debt. You can only be humble and committed enough to accept that you spent past your means—maybe years' worth of income past your means—and as a result you will have to sacrifice that same quantity (more, with interest) of money and the time and labor it takes to generate it, in order to make up for it and get back in the black.
The most important thing to know when considering this debt conquering strategy or any other is that you have made *a* mistake. But your situation now isn't a mistake. You aren't living in an ongoing mistake. The overspending was a real thing you did and the debt is a real burden you now carry. But you are living in the ongoing opportunity to correct it. And you can either begin to correct it, and keep correcting it, or you can keep digging the hole deeper.
Those are your two options. Maybe you need an extreme way to do that and if that's the case this book may help you. I didn't find it any more useful than sitting down with a notebook and a pencil, and writing down all my debts, all my bills, all my income, all my interest rates, and a variety of scenarios for the time and amounts it will take to pay things off. Choose your sacrifices, make your payoff calendar, make peace with your decisions, and tell yourself it'll be better when you've done your penance.
October 30, 2016
Not long ago, I sat down and had a chat with the financial advisor we have access to through work. I’ve always been wary of financial advisors because they oftentimes give advice based on what will make them money but because ours has a fiduciary responsibility, I decided to see what he had to say. The conversation was a bit worrisome because although I’m on the right track with regard to retirement, I’m also well-versed in the changing retirement landscape and know that today’s money won’t go as far as it will later. So while I’m doing all of the right things, I left thinking that I could be doing more to secure a better financial future.
Also not that long ago, I listened to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, and it started me on a path of being better about my stuff. So in my quest to do better, overall, particularly after that harrowing conversation about my financial future, The Spender’s Guide to Debt-Free Living: How a Spending Fast Helped Me Get from Broke to Badass in Record Time by Anna Newell was a logical next listen. The book is part memoir and part how-to and chronicles how Newell went from being in $24,000 in debt to not having any. Now, I had double open hip surgeries in undergrad and went to a private grad school, not to mention some credit card debt, a car payment, and a nasty habit of spending money on useless items (which I’m better at after Kondo’s book), so I assumed there was no way Newell could encompass the entire spectrum of debt that people have. I was, of course, wrong.
Newell is the founder of AndThenWeSaved.com, a savvy website helping those who want to get out of debt to do just that. It’s very interactive and her followers can garner support from other followers by joining the Facebook group and pledging themselves to get out of debt. She also keeps a running tally on her site of the debt people have paid off, in part, from following her advice.
Her advice is actually quite simple – go on a spending fast. Whether it’s one month or one year (but the longer the better), don’t buy anything unless you need it. That means downgrading or cancelling cable, giving up the pumpkin spice lattes, and skipping dinners out. Of course, not everyone in your life will be onboard with this new habit, so she spends a good bit of time explaining how you can explain it to others – and it all makes sense! Whether it’s how to get out of those awkward social events where everyone splits the check evenly when you only had a salad or how to explain to your coworkers why you can’t go out to lunch every Friday, Newell has an answer at the ready. She also avoids giving specifics for what qualifies as a want or a need, acknowledging that what is a want for some is a need for others (like books and a personal trainer).
So if you, like me, are looking to save money but feel that it’s too hard or that you have to give up too much, then you should definitely give this book a listen or a read. Because she also gives advice for ongoing maintenance (the spending diet), you may hear from me again about this in a year when I start phase 2.
Originally reviewed at The Book Wheel.
Also not that long ago, I listened to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, and it started me on a path of being better about my stuff. So in my quest to do better, overall, particularly after that harrowing conversation about my financial future, The Spender’s Guide to Debt-Free Living: How a Spending Fast Helped Me Get from Broke to Badass in Record Time by Anna Newell was a logical next listen. The book is part memoir and part how-to and chronicles how Newell went from being in $24,000 in debt to not having any. Now, I had double open hip surgeries in undergrad and went to a private grad school, not to mention some credit card debt, a car payment, and a nasty habit of spending money on useless items (which I’m better at after Kondo’s book), so I assumed there was no way Newell could encompass the entire spectrum of debt that people have. I was, of course, wrong.
Newell is the founder of AndThenWeSaved.com, a savvy website helping those who want to get out of debt to do just that. It’s very interactive and her followers can garner support from other followers by joining the Facebook group and pledging themselves to get out of debt. She also keeps a running tally on her site of the debt people have paid off, in part, from following her advice.
Her advice is actually quite simple – go on a spending fast. Whether it’s one month or one year (but the longer the better), don’t buy anything unless you need it. That means downgrading or cancelling cable, giving up the pumpkin spice lattes, and skipping dinners out. Of course, not everyone in your life will be onboard with this new habit, so she spends a good bit of time explaining how you can explain it to others – and it all makes sense! Whether it’s how to get out of those awkward social events where everyone splits the check evenly when you only had a salad or how to explain to your coworkers why you can’t go out to lunch every Friday, Newell has an answer at the ready. She also avoids giving specifics for what qualifies as a want or a need, acknowledging that what is a want for some is a need for others (like books and a personal trainer).
So if you, like me, are looking to save money but feel that it’s too hard or that you have to give up too much, then you should definitely give this book a listen or a read. Because she also gives advice for ongoing maintenance (the spending diet), you may hear from me again about this in a year when I start phase 2.
Originally reviewed at The Book Wheel.
January 11, 2018
I'm giving it 2 stars instead of 1 for the helpful tips on how to lower your expenses, save money, encouragement to have side-hustles, etc. Those sections are really the only reason I wanted to read this book, so I was frustrated to see about 25% of the entire book was devoted to practicality. This is geared toward "shopaholic" personality types, and if that is you, then you may find it more beneficial since the majority of the book is geared toward the psychology and spirituality behind materialistic spending habits.
A major frustration I had was how the author says she finds budgets boring and tedious and avoids discussing them for the only reason that they sound...scary, I guess? But during the Fast, she devotes a chapter to how you should create a Needs & Wants list of expenses and stick to the Needs only...which is called a (albeit, tight) budget. And even at the end of her year-long "Spending Fast" (spoiler alert?), she discovers she needs to live the rest of her life on a "Spending Diet" system to help her stick to the values she learned during the Fast, which is, again, called a budget. I don't think the author understands that personal budgets can be flexible (especially if you're using a tool like Mint.com), and that it's okay to adjust your budget as you move through life; some examples being one month may be purposefully tighter than others to reach a goal, or if you overspend in one category then decrease a different category, etc. A budget will help you stay away from bad behaviors (because you'll see you're off budget), and it will encourage you to stick with good behaviors (because it can be adapted over time to show what you're historically capable of saving).
I affirm the conclusions this book draws as it discusses the idolatry and vanity of materialism, but I guess I found the book to be unfulfilling since it repeatedly says the goal of being debt-free is to be "autonomous" and to pursue whatever makes you happy once you have the money to do so... but at the same time it preaches against materialism and how buying things won't make you happy. Though I admit, my critique could be made for probably any self-help financial book on the market...
Overall, I knew this book was not for me from the beginning, but I hoped to at least mine some good practical tips out of it. I found myself only frustrated.
A major frustration I had was how the author says she finds budgets boring and tedious and avoids discussing them for the only reason that they sound...scary, I guess? But during the Fast, she devotes a chapter to how you should create a Needs & Wants list of expenses and stick to the Needs only...which is called a (albeit, tight) budget. And even at the end of her year-long "Spending Fast" (spoiler alert?), she discovers she needs to live the rest of her life on a "Spending Diet" system to help her stick to the values she learned during the Fast, which is, again, called a budget. I don't think the author understands that personal budgets can be flexible (especially if you're using a tool like Mint.com), and that it's okay to adjust your budget as you move through life; some examples being one month may be purposefully tighter than others to reach a goal, or if you overspend in one category then decrease a different category, etc. A budget will help you stay away from bad behaviors (because you'll see you're off budget), and it will encourage you to stick with good behaviors (because it can be adapted over time to show what you're historically capable of saving).
I affirm the conclusions this book draws as it discusses the idolatry and vanity of materialism, but I guess I found the book to be unfulfilling since it repeatedly says the goal of being debt-free is to be "autonomous" and to pursue whatever makes you happy once you have the money to do so... but at the same time it preaches against materialism and how buying things won't make you happy. Though I admit, my critique could be made for probably any self-help financial book on the market...
Overall, I knew this book was not for me from the beginning, but I hoped to at least mine some good practical tips out of it. I found myself only frustrated.
January 8, 2020
Anna Newell Jones, creator of the And Then We Saved website, knew that her debt was out of control. She managed to get out of nearly $24,000 worth of debt in 15 months on a salary of $33,000. Her solution? To go on a spending fast.
The spending fast is simple: only buy what you absolutely need, and then try to save money on your needs so you can pay off your debt.
This book is targeted at female millennials, so I thought I could learn a thing or two from the book since I have student debt. I don't consider myself a big spender, so a lot of the advice in this book did not directly apply to me. However, there are always areas that can be improved and I appreciated the advice I picked up along the way.
I liked that the author wasn't condescending. She explains the techniques that she tried before her spending fast and why none of those things ultimately worked for her. At the end of each chapter, there is a to-do list to get the process started. The book is filled with resources to make the process better, like the best place to get your credit report and what to do if there is a discrepancy. She also includes tips on how to sell items you no longer want, ways to spend less money on needs, and things you can do instead of spending money.
I had some problems with this book, however. A lot of the advice comes from a place of privilege. Also, a spending fast is extreme and can absolutely impact your relationships. Toward the end of the book, she discusses transitioning from the Spending Fast to a Spending Diet, and I think a "Spending Diet" is far healthier. Deprivation can cause people to overindulge after it's over and end up right back where they started (which was also addressed in the book).
Will I be going on my own spending fast? No.
Will I reassess some of my habits to be less wasteful? Yes.
The spending fast is simple: only buy what you absolutely need, and then try to save money on your needs so you can pay off your debt.
This book is targeted at female millennials, so I thought I could learn a thing or two from the book since I have student debt. I don't consider myself a big spender, so a lot of the advice in this book did not directly apply to me. However, there are always areas that can be improved and I appreciated the advice I picked up along the way.
I liked that the author wasn't condescending. She explains the techniques that she tried before her spending fast and why none of those things ultimately worked for her. At the end of each chapter, there is a to-do list to get the process started. The book is filled with resources to make the process better, like the best place to get your credit report and what to do if there is a discrepancy. She also includes tips on how to sell items you no longer want, ways to spend less money on needs, and things you can do instead of spending money.
I had some problems with this book, however. A lot of the advice comes from a place of privilege. Also, a spending fast is extreme and can absolutely impact your relationships. Toward the end of the book, she discusses transitioning from the Spending Fast to a Spending Diet, and I think a "Spending Diet" is far healthier. Deprivation can cause people to overindulge after it's over and end up right back where they started (which was also addressed in the book).
Will I be going on my own spending fast? No.
Will I reassess some of my habits to be less wasteful? Yes.
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