I've been just tracking the past 2 months and the results are really bad... but I am kinda lost on where to start!

I spend so much that isn't life or death necessary but it's hard to say what counts as necessary. I generally do some kind of "could I go without this?" But...I could go without bandages, without a Christmas gift that fits a loved one, without replacement cleaning supplies (not like I was cleaning up much anyhow), without that art supply that I strictly want to replace the one I had that was stolen, without gas in my car that I need to fill since I drive places besides work, home, and errands.

And food...Food and outings are my biggest spends. But outings were my biggest source of joy. I got out of my home, new experiences and appreciation for others and whatnot. I have reduced them, and while it's not a direct cause, I do feel awful. Food is very complex, but suffice to say, I basically have eating disorder bananza, and both cooking and eating out cause lots of shame or anxiety. If I successfully cut out most my unneeded eating out, I would probably not being eating much at all, to be honest.

So what would I put in my low buy beyond maybe books?

Most low/no buyers in this sub seem to have a better grasp on what needs cutting. I feel very stuck and very shameful in my spending. It's a lot of little things here and there... maybe I need better tracking? That's a load in itself...just getting into the habit of recording things has become a struggle for me.

Verdict? Is there any hope for me with this?

Hey No Buy-ers,

I want to be in my no buy era. I’m a visual person and find satisfaction from a color chart or something. When I was paying off my student loan debt I had a debt pay off tracker I would color in everytime I made a payment. Has anyone created anything like it for a no buy year? I’m sure Etsy has something but that would kill my no buy vibe.

I know this is a nobuy sub.

But I wonder even with nobuy value - if folks have found $150-200 mounting a TV on a wall to be a good decision.

Thanks!

I’ve always liked to shop and ever since I had a job of my own I’ve enjoyed shopping. And when I look back at all the money I could have saved, well I try not to think about that or I’ll get too depressed. In the last couple of months I’ve noticed my spending habits getting a lot worse. I don’t know why, maybe it’s been starting a new job and realising that I won’t be moving out in the next three years I’ve felt far less motivated to save and way more stressed. I’ve started shopping on my credit card which before was unthinkable to me. I’ve found myself this black Friday looking for things to want. It doesn’t matter the category either. I used to think my problem was clothes and makeup, but I found myself down a cookbook rabbit hole having ordered maybe 8 (justifying two of them as gifts). I’ve found myself cancelling online orders I’ve made impulsively. Do I just have poor impulse control? An addictive personality? Whenever I find a new interest I find myself immediately rushing to shop. When I first learned to crochet, I became obsessed with buying all colours of yarn (with no specific projects in mind). When I decided I wanted to get back into reading I bough a bunch of physical and ebooks (I have only read a few). I’m noticing it more and more, and my family never fail to comment on all the parcels I have coming (which is more than fair). I need to make a change but I’m scared to fail.

As a start I’ve unfollowed/muted a bunch of influencers (whether fashion or fibre artist or fitness) on Instagram that I found encouraged me to covet and shop. I’ve installed an app to block shopping websites on my phone and put a time limit on Instagram (only 5 chances a day to open the app for 10 minutes at a time). I need to carve out some proper no-buy rules for next year but I really do think I want to challenge myself to one next year. I need to save and I need to break these habits (Like buying for the fantasy self, buying tools for hobbies I never engage with). I’m thinking one of my rules should be I can only buy non-essentials at physical stores? Shopping on my phone is a big issue for me and even when I’m not actively spending money I’m always browsing. I’m wasting so much time. I recently met some people and they had so much to say, so much personality. I feel so empty in that regard. Like I have nothing meaningful to say. When people ask what did you do on the weekend, I want to say I baked banana bread and read this new interesting book, not that I spent over 5 hours on my phone online browsing.

When did you realise your shopping was becoming problem and do you have any tips for starting a no-buy that you'll stick to? 

Hi Everyone,

I want to attempt a no/low buy year for 2025 and wanted to see if anyone had any tips or things you learned from your own no buy years? I have already created a list of essentials, low buy items, and prohibited purchases. Next year will be a transitional period for me, where I graduate from my master’s program and look for a job, so I need to save as much as possible.

I don’t think it will be difficult for me to stop buying clothes/skincare/makeup. I already have everything I need. What I find the most difficult is not going out with friends for food and coffee. I don’t do it much, but I make a student salary so I don’t have much to work with in the first place.

Would love to hear what helped you through this process and what you learned!

For those who don't know, "Amazon Vine is an invitation-only program that allows trusted Amazon reviewers to order and review new and pre-release products for free."

We have to claim and review a certain amount of products each year to stay active in the program. It's a privilege to be in the program and it's helped me out a lot, but I don't know how to balance my desire to not buy things anymore with keeping up with the program.

I get a lot of things that I pass on to charity after testing/reviewing (I'm a foster parent and the stuff I get has helped so many kids and families since it's free). It doesn't cost me anything so it doesn't impact my savings goal (it can actually help me make money because after I've had the item for 6 months, I can sell it). I don't really have a problem with shopping, so I don't think it'll trigger me to stop my no buy lifestyle outside of Vine.

But we all know Amazon isn't the best company and I hate that it's just more stuff that'll be in a landfill in a few years. I used to get things that I'd never really use after testing them but just got them because they were free and I wanted to check it out. My goal is to not do that anymore and just get stuff I'd normally buy or things I know the charity I support would need. What advice do you have??

Hi everyone!

The year is almost over so wanted to do a quick recap and list my 2025 goals.

I noticed starting the low buy this year, I got better with not spending as much but I do think I have room to continue to improve.

Sad to say the last 2 months did get me. Black friday sales; videogames on sale, board games d/t stress, & a new pair of hiking shoes. I did also buy some new clothes because costco and old navy were enticing.

Good news; I spent significantly less on Amazon than last year (maybe a few hundred vs the 4k), I reduced my gaming spending, and bought way less books.

I also paid of my NZ trip which was fantastic, and have a good budget to go for Norway in a few weeks.

My 2025 goals roughly;

1. No more books. I will be leaning more heavily on libby. I can go to the library if I want to read physical.
2. I will stop buying games at full price. I'll wait a bit for good sales. (Except for any Pokémon game that comes out, and another game I already paid off on pre-order.) I also want to focus on my huge backlog of games anyway.
3. Eat out even less. I want to rely more on cooking except for dates with the bf. This isn't breaking the bank tho since I do eat mostly at home anyway.
4. ABSOLUTELY NO NEW CLOTHING (minus underwear I may need.)
5. Save 20k. Not sure how I'll do this yet. Work all the overtime I can probably?
6. Save for Iceland, and a trip for my bfs birthday.
7. I can spend on experiences within reason. Weekend trip to hike? Sure. But then I don't need a massage for a few months to save up.
8. Stick to budget.

Once the end of the year comes, I will also be going a donation again of clothes and shoes. I have 1 pair of hiking shoes I can return that hurt my feet, which is why I bought a new pair to begin with.

Good luck to everyone in the new year!!

Last month was a huge spending month. I went on a vacation over Thanksgiving week, bought a $700 keyboard (piano) (which I love with all my heart), and over $500 in clothing (super rare for me but trying to build up my winter closet).

I never spend this much in a month. I have a budgeting spreadsheet but I can never stick to my budget. I'm a college student who doesn't work too much (and hours are being cut in January) but I have a decent amount of savings and no debt/loan payments. I'm fortunate to have cheap rent ($500/month) and split grocery cost with my partner where it's a fixed $250/month for my contribution. Bills typically run ~$100/month.

Since I have money in savings, I typically don't think twice about going over budget. I don't know why I can't just stick to one.

I'm trying to do a no buy month for December. I'm making Christmas gifts all homemade this year with clay and paint that I already have. I also want to do a low buy year next year but I feel like I don't have a ton of time to prepare.

Any tips for a low buy year/how to stick to a budget? Really desperate for help right now so thank you in advanced!

Couple weeks ago, I blew 70 bucks on junk I didn’t need at Target, some Christmas stuff I got to brighten my room for the season I guess. Stupidly, I bought a mini Christmas tree and ornaments. I have two cats, one is a kitten. I put it out for five minutes today and it was knocked over with a really cute ornament blown to bits.

It was the dumbest purchase ever. I’m so sick of buying shit and not thinking about it, blowing my money on crap, spending a paycheck in a single day. I’ve decided to do a no buy month for December. Only the necessary things to live (which is not a whole lot because I live with my family.) Gas, cat food/litter, that’s essentially everything. The rest is just wants. I really want to do this for myself and my financial health. I am feeling so down about myself right now.

This is my first no-buy ever because for the longest time I had been a minimalist, never even hearing about sales, only buying needs and rarely wants. Recently I got into a bad habit of window shopping online which slowly led to buying more wants that aren’t needs. These past couple of months have been rough on my credit card, and while I didn’t get into debt, it has impacted my ability to save. So I’m going on a no-buy month to reset my spending habits back to healthier levels. Here are my rules:

• No clothes, none. I have enough
• No makeup or skin care unless I’m replacing an item I use daily. I’m not replacing items I don’t use daily even if they run out
• No new books, I’m shopping my existing library which is full of books I haven’t gotten to
• Uber Eats or eating out only once a week. This one is going to be tough as I order food 5 times a week
• No household items or furniture unless I’m replacing something critical (like a lightbulb or appliance)
• No limit on getting coffee out since one of my favorite activities in the cold months is working at a cafe

Let me know what else you think I should consider to stick yo my no-buy month

There's this perfume that I've wanted for years. At a certain point I forgot the name or the brand of the perfume but I still clearly remember its smell.

Today I went into the farmacy and lo and behold, they had the perfume! I checked Amazon and of course the perfume was much cheaper there, so I kept the tab open, thinking I'd maybe order it after I finish work. By the end of the day, the perfume's price had gone up by 1€.

My first reaction was "I need to get this before the price goes up even higher!" But then a second thought hit me that maybe this is exactly what Amazon wants me to do. They want me to think the price won't ever be this low again so that I buy this item now. This isn't even the first time I've seen the price of an Amazon item go up in a matter of hours, so there's definitely a pattern. And my third thought was "no way I'll be tricked like this". Truth be told I don't need this perfume. I've been wanting this perfume for 7 yrs or so, I now know which brand it is, they're still making it after all these years, I can buy at another time (and I'm pretty sure I'll buy it eventually). I'm not going to buy it now just because Amazon wants to have my money NOW.

This goes for other types of advertising like "will you miss out on this great discount" or "one more day before your offer expires!" or "black Friday deals end today!" Yes I will miss out on your amazing discount because you don't tell me what to do!

I just absolutely hate feeling that these companies are manipulating me, trying to trick me into buying THEIR stuff because they want MY money...makes me feel like a kid, with my mom telling me what to eat and what to dress and when to go to bed... except that they're not doing it for MY own good!

To all the Amazon's of the world... I'm a grown woman and you don't tell me what to do!

What do yall do for fun? Especially in the winter?

I was so good for 4 to 5 months and lost all control on the black friday sale. I wanted to buy few necessities and bought a whole bunch. Starting my no buy year again and this time early by a month

Reason for no buy: Mental peace and clutter free home.

My plan:

1. No new clothes. I have a specific number of clothes I'm comfortable having at any time. I have 7 more than the set number which is enough to get me through the year. I'll be a bridesmaid this year and I'm allowed to shop only for that dress.

2. Skincare is my weakness and I have enough backup to cover next 2 to 3 years. So no new products for 2025 however viral it goes. Will shop my stash and mix it up every month to fake the sense of shopping and planning to post in project pan subreddit to motivate me to finish the products.

3. Makeup. I have enough to last me a year. I only put makeup on my eyes ( eyebrow and eyeliner) on regular basis. So not going to be tempted by other products which will remain unused and gather dust

4. Groceries. Only the basics. No fancy sauces/spreads. No fancy "healthy" stuff. If I'm in the mood for a different cuisine, I'll go to restaurant and eat.

5. Eating out/ordering in. I eat out a lot. I have different friend circles also it doesn't help my husband is a foodie too. Reduce it to once a week. Eat only at the restaurant and no ordering in.

6. No shoes, bags or accessories.

7. No stationery. I buy lot of stationery like planners/notebooks hoping to be organized. But nothing helped me more than notes app on my phone

8. No home decor. I live in old style house. Whatever I buy it's still going to look dated. My goal for 2025 is to keep it clean and cluttered. Not to fill it with decor and organizers.

9. Hanging out with friends. I usually meet them at malls/restaurants which is so tough during no buy. So planning to change hangout spots. Looking for suggestions.

Noting my no buy plan to be clear. Am I missing anything? Is anything still vague. I mostly stick to my plan but during sale, my brain tries to find loopholes to convince me to buy something.

Christmas can get expensive and that can be hard on a no buy when you don't want gift giving to hurt your finances. Obviously you can try for secret santas where you only buy for one person or regift (carefully). But sometimes gifts are unavoidable.

Here are some no buy (or low buy) gift ideas. How do you handle holiday gifts during a no buy?

https://preview.redd.it/of2ixnwg1h4e1.png?width=1584&format=png&auto=webp&s=2d35241c9c84463f1b5d9a6ac34302a4cac4a8d5

• Make a batch of cookies and put in a mason jar or holiday themed box (you don't even have to make them, mix all the dry ingredients with a recipe attached or even do hot chocolate mix in a cute jar).
• You can also do this with dry soup ingredients which is great for when people want a warm meal during the holidays.
• Frozen homemade meals are not 100% no buy, but can be done very affordably and are great to throw in the freezer during the busy holiday season
• Babysitting coupons for those in your family with little ones so they can have a night out while you watch their little ones
• A coupon for a day out with a loved one. You could do picnics, movie nights etc that they can cash in whenever.
• Make a playlist of songs that mean something to you and the giftee and send it with some photos of you both

You can also check buy nothing groups in your area. My local one has had some great finds lately as people clear out storage in a guest room ahead of people visiting for the holidays

For those of you who successfully completed a no-buy year, did you return to a normal amount of shopping the following year? Or did you continue shopping minimally if at all?

I finished my no-buy a couple of months ago, and because I found it so easy and rewarding, I thought that I was going to keep it up without effort. But instead, I’ve made more purchases in the past couple of months than I did my entire no-buy year! I have felt buyer’s remorse almost instantly. Most were thrifted at vintage markets, so I can’t return them. But I’ve bought wine glasses, a book, a hat I haven’t worn, home decor, and an item for my cat that was completely unnecessary.

For now, I’ve decided to start up a no-buy again in January, but allow myself to buy low-cost and second hand items until then. Maybe my year of self restraint and discipline resulted in the pendulum swinging in the exact opposite direction? Maybe a bit of temporary indulgence will set me up for a successful 2025 no-buy? We shall see.

I only have two presents left to buy - one for my mum and one for my brother. I know how much these will cost £25) and then that’s it. I won’t buy anything else until the 9th of December

I’m declaring it. I will go to work, and then I will strictly go home. I will make a home cooked lunch and then finish my homework. I will then go to the gym, come home and cook dinner. I will then entertain myself with whatever I have at home. And I hope to do this for every day of this week.

I will not go to the mall and browse all the sales and dream of my fantasy self. I will adhere to my no buy rules I have set for myself.

Just wanted to share a fun incidence with you, I casually scrolled through the H&M app on Black Friday and filled the cart with 3 items. One day later, I figured I probably wouldn't keep any of the things because I am usually not satisfied with their quality of clothing, so I went to back to the app to see if I could cancel the order. Then I saw I had never actually placed the order, no payment had been made through PayPal :) so the Nobuy spirits saved me by not processing my order!

I am going to experiment with a total no-buy for online purchases and see if this solves my problem, which is primarily a compulsive online shopping habit, or whether I will start going out to shop in person more. I’m going to try to be generally mindful about that too but not set up rules. My family members are going to bet on how long I can go without online shopping but not tell me their bets so I’ll have to go as long as possible to prove to them that I can do it. I feel excited about this! I waste so much time scrolling online when I could be doing something better with my time and I feel guilty about the dumb stuff I buy that’s bad for the planet and leads to exploitation and suffering. For a long time my thought pattern has been “I just need this ONE thing and then I’ll have everything I need and I won’t need to shop again for a super long time.” But then the next day I’ll think of another ONE thing that I have to buy…

I only spent 3 dollars today on snacks.
I made my own coffee and ate leftovers.
Small improvements...

This month I fell off the wagon a bit. The holidays are always triggering and I always think I want a red lipstick even though I never wear red lipstick. Now that I'm starting to buy gifts for other people, I don't want to spend more money on myself this season. Next month I'll make a year-end post summarizing what i bought and which items I regretted and/or returned but in the meantime here is the usual info:

Empties: Hair serum, bar soap x2, shampoo bar, eye makeup remover, face wash, bath salts, eyeliner, moisturizer

Replacements: Shampoo bar, essential oil, moisturizer, face wash, shave oil, 4-pack bar soap, body oil, body butter

Bought: Greige lipstick, mauve and blue shimmer lip gloss, gummy bear lip balm (gave away since I didn't like the formula), 2 Revlon lipsticks (will return)

Didn’t buy: Brown tinted lip balm, blackberry lip gloss, crimson tinted lip balm, holiday sweater

I gave away an eyeshadow quad to a friend and tossed 2 lip glosses that had already gone off (I just purchased them in May)

(I also spent another £300 on a handbag and some DVDs)

I watched this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqcLDzhCThQ&t=55s&ab_channel=ChristinaMychas and just writing down some of the things I want to change has been really helpful. I want to:

• Help myself realise that just because I want something, I am not entitled to it and sometimes you just have to let things go
• Stop overconsuming (especially on the above things, books, and UberEats - way cheaper to just walk to the pizza place and order)
• Engage in some of my other forgotten hobbies (e.g. making cards, baking) when I am bored/tired

I'm currently living at home rent free so am able to save a lot of money but I am planning on moving out soon and want to really confront my bad habits properly. The last time I was renting I barely saved anything so it'd be nice to change that this time round! I tend to go through phases of buying nothing and then buying everything on the planet so it'll be a difficult year, but I definitely need to take this step.

Working on some rules but I'm going to allow myself to socialise as much as I want, do solo activities (cinema, coffee shops, museums/galleries), and allow myself to save for items I really want etc. and try and curb the areas of my spending that are out of control!

What was that like? Any temptations and success stories? Let’s celebrate!

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, December can be a busy month and there are a lot of "sales" enticing you to buy things you do not need.

Remember that the holidays should be about connecting with people and not necessarily spending money.

Some no buy ideas for a night in with friends of family

​

https://preview.redd.it/i423jqbft84e1.png?width=1125&format=png&auto=webp&s=656ac2e631334dea83c5084c1302581cd7dd9d7b

Get together with your siblings or old friends and watch childhood movies that you loved in holidays of the past. They are probably free on streaming services you already have or even from your local library.

Have a board game marathon (some libraries even loan these out too).

Make handmade ornaments. You can take a hike and find some pine cones to hang. Use old wrapping paper to cover little handmade cardboard boxes with a ribbon to hang them. Even little bundles of cinnamon sticks cut in half and wrapped in scraps of fabric or ribbon (bonus, makes your place smell nice too).

What ideas do you have for a no spend family get together?