Why I Changed My Low-Buy Rules
I went on a “low-buy” in December of last year. Allegedly. I should rephrase and say I was supposed to go on a low buy in December of last year. It didn’t really work out. I think I wasn’t very honest with myself about not shopping in December in the middle of all the holiday sales. One thing I have learned and that this low-buy journey is re-iterating is that we have to be honest with ourselves about our own habits and patterns. And so I called December a wash and went back to the drawing board.
I recently started watching Hannah Louis Poston’s channel on YouTube where she talks about her year long no-buy in 2018 and how she structured her shopping and spending habits in 2019. She did a video about should you go on a low buy or a no buy and she talked about how low-buys can sometimes be harder than no-buys for people. I find this to be the case. I’ve been on a month long no-buy and while it was tough I did far better at it then I did when I was on a low-buy. She also gave suggestions about how no-buys don’t have to be a year long exercise. You can do months on and months off. And that is basically what I have decided to do going forward in 2020. My rules for my low-buy/no-buy going forward one month low buy and one month no-buy.
What I can’t buy during a no buy month:
New makeup or skincare
Clothing
Home Goods
What I can buy during a no buy month:
Experiences (i.e, dinner with friends, concert & theater tickets)
Replacements for items I have run out of (i.e, cleanser, toothpaste and other daily toiletries)
*Example: I recently ran out of my cleansing balm that I use to remove my makeup every night and needed to replace my Differin which I use for breakouts. This is allowed as they are items that I use daily and that I will naturally run out of.
January
January is a no-buy month. As stated above I have re-purchased a few daily items which is allowed under the rules. I haven’t purchased any “new” items.
February
Will be a “low-buy” month. Meaning I can purchase 5 items. These items can be anything I like: makeup, clothing and home goods. I had originally had my low-buy purchase number at 3 but decided to allow myself two additional items since I will be doing no buy months. It actually works out to be fewer items than if I had kept each month designated as a low buy month. Again, I want to make sure that I am creating guidelines that are realistic and attainable for me. If you are doing a low-buy your numbers may be smaller or larger. It’s subjective to your lifestyle.
March
March will be a no buy month.
And so on for the rest of the year. I will re-asses at the 6 month mark and see how I am doing. I may decide to decrease the number of items I’m allowed to purchase during a low-buy month or add extra no-buy months. My two main goals with this is to bring in fewer items as well as watch my spending. This new format allows me to not feel like I am depriving myself (which is usually when I go off the rails) but also having a cool off period where I am taking the money I would be spending and putting it towards other things, like eating out at great restaurants and going to more theater and concerts. I want to have more “experiences” as opposed to new “things” in 2020. This is something I really started concentrating on in 2019 and I want to take it a step further this year.
Are you on a low-buy or no-buy this year? Have you done one in the past? How did it go?
