For the last few years I have argued with God. Well, actually, God and I have a healthy history of arguing. But there is one aspect of our finances that we have differed on for years. I keep telling God we need more money (“telling” by asking for new jobs and pay raises) and God keeps telling me to spend less (I have given you all you need, use it more wisely). “But what can we cut out?” I complain, a little scared of what the answer might be.

Honestly, this is how the idea for the No Spend Challenge was conceived, but it took a few years for God to get me on board and for me to figure out the logistics. I started with the goal of creating more space in our finances, more margin, more wiggle-room. While I still think it would be easier if God just dropped a million dollars in my lap, I have finally resigned myself to doing God’s idea instead.

Although I have been slow to come around to accepting the challenge, I can say without hesitation that I am very excited to see what God has in store. Like fasting, stopping our spending has the effect of creating space in our lives. I have been surprised to discover that the No Spend Challenge creates space beyond the financial sphere.

1. Space for gratitude. Thoreau said, “I make myself rich by making my wants few.” By letting go of the “stuff” that fills our wants, we are becoming more grateful for the things we already have. I am realizing how much we don’t need!

2. Space for creativity. In the absence of spending, we are exercising our creativity to give gifts and find solutions to everyday challenges in new ways that cost money. The emphasis is on being creatively resourceful rather than making purchases.

3. Space for engagement. We are beginning to engage in different ways as a family (“We can’t rent a movie, so let’s read a book together instead.”) and with others.

4. Space for experiences. Instead of filling our time with shopping and more stuff, we are looking for meaningful experiences to share. This isn’t to say we never did this before, we are just turning our full attention that way.

5. Space for meaning. We could not see how entrenched we are in materialism until we stopped making “materials” an option and made room for meaningful interaction to take center stage.

6. Space for communication. Henri Nouwen explains in The Way of the Heart that we must speak out of silence; otherwise our words are just noise. Stopping our spending has created a type of financial silence so that each purchase, even for necessities, invites more communication about what is important to us and how we want to use our financial resources in the future.

7. Space for savings. Proverbs 21:20 says, “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has” (NIV). While we have a savings account, and there is even some money in it, we have set some pretty aggressive financial goals for the next five years, and stopping our spending will help us reach them.