Could your family survive a month of no spending? That is exactly what one family did and they ended up saving $2000 in the process. Sure it was a challenge – especially when they would have normally called in a plumber for an issue in the house (that was solved with Dawn dish detergent and boiling water) – but the entire experience ended up being a positive one. The full story is worth a read.

I know that I could not go to that extreme, cold-turkey, but just like you make little changes in your diet (giving up soda, as I did a year ago), making little changes in your family’s spending habits can have big returns over time.