What No Spend September is and how to know if you should participate [Video]

Victoria Szafarski currently has $10,000 in credit card debt. 

The New Yorker’s outstanding balance peaked at $25,000 last year, before she took on a second job as a waitress for a few months. The extra cash Szafarski brought in helped her make headway paying down the debt and increase her savings.

“I felt very isolated, I felt embarrassed, I felt like a failure,” said Szafarski, 27. 

More from Personal Finance:How to know if your college kid actually needs ‘dorm insurance’She made up to $110,000 a year as a nanny for the ultra-rich‘Recession pop’ is in: How music hits on economic trends

Her next tactic to reduce the balance: participate in “No Spend September,” a social media trend that involves a full month of cutting nonessential purchases. The #nospendchallenge hashtag on TikTok has more than 18,300 posts as of Sept. 16.

“‘No Spend September’ is a great way to check back with yourself,” said Szafarski, who is chronicling her attempt …