Anna Newell Jones is just finishing hers. She went a year without any of the above to pay off debt.
"I just decided I had to do something about it. I was sick of it," she said. "Something drastic had to be done. I decided to do a year-long spending fast."
Newell Jones also decided to blog about it on her blog, 'And then she saved.' She only spent money on necessities. Only on the "needs" as she calls them, not the "wants."
The 31 year-old freelance photographer also became crafty. She's making her Christmas gifts this year.
She's also found a way to supplement her income, all to pay her debt. Anna's been selling "zombie portraits" and custom onesies on-line.
"Just anything I can think of to make a buck, I guess, and get this debt paid off," she said. "I'm just really, really ready to get it paid off. Once I started paying it off, I got some momentum with it, and it's just been such a good feeling to get it paid off."
Anna also started doing and talking about what many consider taboo: re-gifting.
"This is my re-gift bag that I'm very ashamed to show," she said.
This is a big departure from what she used to do.
"I though 'I love people and they love me and you know what, I'm going to show them by buying them things,'" she said.
The year-long spending fast hasn't been easy.
"Probably missing out on eating out," she said. "I definitely miss the clothes."
Her husband Aaron Jones had this to say: "This is gonna suck."
But the object of her angst is now gone.
"I eliminated all my consumer debt. I paid off my parents," she said.
In all, Newell Jones paid off about $13,000 in debt and made a good dent in her college loans as well.
The year is almost over though and as soon as it is, Newell Jones is going to go shopping.
"On January 1, I'm going to go buy a pair of boots. I have them picked out," she said.
The girl can hold out for only so long, before finally buying something she wants and doesn't really need.
(KUSA-TV © 2010 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)