The year is officially half over and what is usually a dreaded feeling as the year is coming to a close, isn’t one of anxiety but of relief. There’s a lot that I’ve learned along the way in the past six months of this self imposed shopping ban challenge (read the full no-buy rules here).
It took me awhile to put together these thoughts, so join me in reflecting – everything from the good, the bad and the ugly! Here’s what it’s like to stop shopping for 6-months!
6-month of no buy lessons:
A habit named desire: While some months have been better than others, conspicuous consumption is unfortunately a deep rooted part of our society that is particular difficult to detach yourself from. As the seasons change or as newer gen tech is released, for many, it can take a lot of self control to say ‘I have enough and don’t need more‘.
In doing this, I’ve realized I’m one of those people. Simply as the seasons change, I get the urge to shop for a few pieces to update my closet. While I do practice a capsule wardrobe, the want to add something more (even though I have more than enough is there). The feeling may not last long but it’s the fact that is continually comes back that bring on guilt. The bright side of this is, that I’m extremely picky so my remedy has been to add items to a wishlist and to go back a few days or weeks later and delete things as they no longer suit me.
Lesson learnt: It’s ok to be tempted to shop, don’t feel guilty. Be intentional and thoughtful before you make any future purchases.
Managing Inventory: A benefit of tracking every replacement item I’ve bought (beauty products in particular as you can see in my monthly updates) is that I’m now better able to see how long a product lasts. As I’ve been documenting my journey, I can see that in February I purchased a replacement eye cream, and that it’s taken me 4 months to use up. This has been a really enjoyable part of the challenge for me (I love any excuse to use excel or to make a budget!). I’d love to do a tally at the end of the year to see how much exactly my beauty routine cost me!
Gifts beware: As I’ve hinted to my pickiness above, many of my friends and family are aware of my no-buy. If there’s an occassion to buy a gift, I’ll ask for experiences or something that I need (or even a want, it’s a gift afterall, #noshame). But it’s important not to find too many loopholes and request too many ‘gifts’.
Get inspired: I’ve had my fair share of ups and down and if you’re feeling in a rut, nothing will work better as a pick me up then engaging with someone that is doing or has done a no-buy. My favorite no-buy series on Youtube is from Hannah Louise Poston – this video in particular was great. This is just one story of many, so look for inspiration from where you can!
Self-control: While this no-buy has been great for my problem spending areas – there are other categories admittedly I need to get better at. I mean, if you’re saving $200/month on not shopping but just overspending on your groceries or going out, then all those hard efforts are negated. Groceries is a particular area we need to get better at, slowly making some progress there!
Finding creative replacements for products I’ve used up, instead of going out and buying new for many things has given me immense satisfaction. Taking the time to evaluate before just running out and purchasing. Is this a product I’ve loved and is essential to keep? Do I have something that I can substitute to push this purchase just a little longer?
Don’t cheat on yourself: You can be your own worst enemy in this. Yes, the reality is there is no no-buy police, so no one will know if you bought something. It’s up to you to be honest with yourself (or with your readers in my case!). This self-imposed ban is exactly that ‘self-imposed’. In many ways it is a privilege to be able to take on such a financially minded challenge. It is a reality that many people live day to day with only being able to spend on the necessities. Recognize this privilege and do it for yourself. There’s a reason you’ve been pushed to challenge yourself, the reason likely being whether you have the money or not, you may be a reckless spender.
Know your why: Always remember your goal. My no-buy goal is more travel, what would yours be? Times are bound to get tough and temptation will come in it’s many different forms. My most recent has been the no-buy exception – replacements. Any time I have a bottle of something close to empty, I’ll know that that means I’m close to being able to purchase a replacement. But be careful how crazy you go and how quick you pull the trigger to purchase. Keep your ‘why’ in mind, even if you can buy it or make the exception to buy it.
Lesson: Occasions to spend while always come up, it’s simply inevitable. Ultimately, it’s up to you to prioritize where your money goes. Always think of the opportunity cost; my go-to is travel experiences, so I think ‘what would I rather’:
- Get a new t-shirt or buy a gyro on one of my favorite Greek islands?
- Grab another dinner out or cross off one of my Egypt bucketlist experiences?
Monthly Spending Recap
If you can imagine I’m still using that broken highlighter – it’s never ending! The good thing is I’ve found a sample from a Sephora birthday gift from last year that I’ll start using once this is used up.
Eye cream $70: As I’m gearing up to enter a new decade, when I have considering replacing some products I’ve been looking to get some more heavy duty ones. The eye cream I had bought earlier in the year was ok, but I didn’t real feel like it was very effective, hence the increased price of this one.
No-Buy Travel Fund Balance: $1191.69
The contributions from this month are coming from the $1001.39 that’s in the post from last month as well as:
- +$170 from the No-Buy (the estimated monthly amount I’m no longer spending on my No-Buy items)
- +$20 from the sale of some clothing at my local consignment shop
These last six months have flown by! I’m amazed at how much you can accomplish in such a span of time. Don’t underestimate what a challenge like this can do for you!
Have you considered a no-spend before? How do you think it could impact your way of spending?
Moving forward I’m not going to continue posting monthly but instead quarterly updates for the remainder of the year – let’s do this!
Monthly Spending Updates:
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