r/nobuy

Hello dear community,

I would describe myself (m/28) as addicted to shopping, and I plan not to buy anything unnecessary for the rest of this year and possibly the entire next year.

My previous attempts failed after 1–2 months, and I do not want that to happen again. That’s why I created this account — to make it through with regular posts and together with all of you.

I’ve already read many books about this topic, and I’m actually a very frugal person.
I would describe myself as a minimalist, and I also have a relatively good overview of my finances.

I don’t own a car,
I don’t have children,
I pay €50 per year for my old Blackberry with a prepaid SIM card,
I have exactly one subscription: YouTube Premium for €17 per month,
no social media (except Reddit and YouTube),
I spend around €250–300 per month on food and hygiene products,
I pay €63 per month for the Germany ticket,
I pay €400 per month for housing in my own apartment/home,
and occasionally I go out to eat with my wife or buy gifts.

Overall, I would estimate my monthly fixed expenses at around €1,000 (more details below).

I currently earn around €4,000 per month, and starting in January 2027 it will be around €5,000.

My problem: Until about two years ago, I never really had money and I come from rather modest circumstances. Since I started earning more than enough money after a long educational journey, I quickly realized that I don’t know how to handle money properly. I own little, buy little, or replace things only occasionally — but when I do buy something, it’s often expensive and impulsive, and somehow I’ve lost my realistic sense of money.

Watches and musical instruments are especially tempting for me, and I usually regret the purchase shortly afterward. Often, these watches are just placeholders for my “dream watch.” I ordered it over a year ago, but I have to wait until December 2026 or possibly even longer, and I simply can’t be patient.

I still have around €11,000 in student loan debt, which I repay with €150 per month, and I’m frustrated that my priorities are so misplaced. I could have paid off this loan several times already in one go, but instead… some amazing deal on a watch, a guitar, or something else suddenly appears, and the money is gone before I even realize it.

My goal is actually to save as much money as possible and become financially independent within the next 13 years (my work contract will expire then, but I will continue receiving my salary for another 5 years afterward). With my otherwise very frugal lifestyle and steadily increasing income, I could save a huge amount of money — but I just can’t consistently set money aside.

My plan: Until December, I don’t want to spend any money on unnecessary stuff and I want to keep my total monthly expenses below €1,000. I also plan to sell a few watches. Any excess money should immediately go into ETFs at the beginning of the month, and I want to pay off my student loan as quickly as possible. I want to learn patience and think about expensive purchases more than once before making them.

In December, I will reach a major milestone in my career, and I hope to finally receive the watch I’ve been waiting for for so long. After buying that watch as a small reward for the discipline beforehand (I know, it sounds a bit contradictory), I want to complete an entire year of No Buy.

From the many books I’ve read about this topic, I learned that it can help to involve other people in these plans, because it creates a bit of accountability and makes it harder to justify bad decisions to yourself.

From now on, I will post a short update in this community every Sunday, where I’ll write about my expenses and possible temptations. If people are interested, I can also include updates about my savings and possible investments.

I wish everyone good luck with their No Buy challenge, and I hope we can support each other.

Not only is having multiple different streaming platforms expensive but watching tv is the least productive thing to do with my time (SAHM). I’d much rather be forced into reading or just getting things done around the house.

Things I would keep is my prime account, and obviously you can watch things on YouTube. That should be enough for any regular person, isn’t it?!

My no-spend goals are focused entirely on shopping because my closet just kept growing. This past year I made some real progress—I only went shopping 6 out of the 12 months instead of my usual 11/12! 😭

For a long time, my biggest trigger was standing in front of my closet, feeling like I had absolutely nothing to wear, and immediately opening a shopping tab to buy something new. It was a wasteful cycle born out of just forgetting what I actually owned and not knowing how to style it.

The summer months are typically the hardest for me, but I’m confident this year will be even better!

How did your no-buy or low-buy go this week?

Share your goals, progress and how your purchasing habits have changed since starting a no buy.

If you 'failed' this week, remember that it is just a stumble in a long journey. If you did well, inspire others and encourage them when they do well or get off track.

I recently bought my first car, and for that I had to buy a few other things too: high-vis vests, a first aid kit, a parking disc, a child seat. Before that, we did everything on foot.

But in the summer, my son starts school, and because he is disabled, I couldn’t send him to the nearest primary school. Instead, I’ll have to drive him every morning. There is a school bus too, but we’ve already been told that because of all the stops and everything, he would be on the road for over an hour in the morning and afternoon. By car, it will take me 15–20 minutes. So I didn’t want to put him through that on top of the adjustment and the long school day.

Of course, a car means extra costs, so I decided to be even more disciplined in all other areas. I really don’t like owning a lot of stuff, and having too many things overwhelms me. However, I’m better at decluttering than at not buying anything new.

And shortly after making this resolution, I think, okay, my child has grown again, he needs new clothes. Basically his entire wardrobe in the next size up, because everything suddenly seems too short. I’m sure I’ll also soon get a list from the school of things I need to buy.

I myself only have two pairs of jeans left and sometimes that’s already inconvenient. I do have a skirt as a backup, but often I just don’t feel like wearing a skirt. Then I think, okay, I’ll buy myself a new pair of jeans now.

And I constantly have the feeling that we need things. I keep deciding not to buy anything, but I never seem to get to that point. There are always new purchases coming up.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I’m sorry for the negativity and self pity, but I’m just really frustrated. 🙈 Walking is my sport an a hobby of mine. I started having pain in my ankle 3 weeks ago. I didn’t fall or anything, just strained my ankle and got bursitis. My doctor said I need to rest and put as little strain on it as possible. It’s getting better, but it’s gonna take another couple of weeks to heal. Can’t do more than 3000 steps a day, so no going out for walks. I can plan little trips like going to the store across the street for groceries every 3 days.

Because I can’t walk too much, I’ve been doing more indoor activities. Mariokart, tending my balcony garden, crafting. My main hobby is crochet. I’ve been doing it for 20 years and do it every day, mostly while watching tv or listening to music. I’m used to always keeping my hands busy. Yesterday, I started having pain in my wrist too. Obviously, this is my body saying it’s becoming too much and I need to rest my wrist too.

I know, the more I rest now, the sooner it’ll be over. I’m just so bored. I live alone and I don’t want to resort to eating out of boredom. Suddenly, shopping feels very tempting. It would certainly give me some dopamine, but I’m fighting the urge. Would love some positivity and encouragement 😇

Really proud of myself for not buying any clothes/shoes/accessories for 3 weeks. I know that’s not even that much time but I was shopping online almost daily. I had also deleted instagram off my phone for the past week and have had TikTok deleted for months. Then two days ago I redownloaded instagram, started scrolling again constantly, then yesterday impulse purchased 3 things on Depop. I feel like I really failed. Social media immediately got to me again and I started comparing myself to everyone. I want to eventually have a healthy relationship with social media because I like seeing what my friends are up to, but I need to be able to break this cycle. I also just want clothes and shopping to take up less of my brain space, and focus on what’s really important to me. How do I shift my mindset?

I keep opening and closing Depop, I feel empty knowing I won’t be receiving any packages in the mail. I didn’t realise how much of a hold online shopping had on me. It’s confronting and scary.

I don’t want to pretend I’m an expert at this by any means. I’m only 14 days into my No Buy Month. I’ve tried these before without making it this far. I don’t want to say it’s been easy, but it has definitely been easier than in the past. Can I tell you what I’ve done differently this time that has actually made it easier?

1. I got off social media. This is the biggest one. I deleted Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. This has made a huge difference and I can now see how much social media was driving my spending. 

2. I’m journaling every morning. I’m working my way through The Artists Way (which has also been helping me get through this) and morning pages are part of that. Not a cute “journaling ecosystem” that’s going to tempt me to want to buy journaling supplies. A brain dump into a normal notebook that I’m going to throw away when it’s full. This is helping me work through my emotions, insecurities, and frustrations instead of trying to fix them with shopping. 

3. I don’t go anywhere that would temp me to shop. No window shopping or just looking around at the mall. I only go to the grocery store when I need to buy food. You will not find me anywhere near a Sephora, Target, mall, or thrift store.

4.  I deleted all shopping apps from my phone. 

5.   I’m putting things I want to buy on a wish list. There have been many things I’ve been tempted to buy, but instead of hitting the checkout now button, I paste a link in my notes titled End of Year Wishlist. Then I journal about why I think I need to buy that item and try to identify the underlying emotional issue that’s driving me. I’ve told myself that if an item is still on my wishlist at the end of the year, I’ll budget and save for it. But I’ve already taken off most of the items I’ve put on it, because I realized I was just trying to fix an insecurity that buying something will never fix.

6.   I’m trying to spend less time online. Getting off social media has helped this tremendously. I’m reading, taking walks, decluttering, journaling…Anything to stay offline which leads to me browsing online shops. When I do find myself picking up my phone to “browse” I come here and read how everyone is doing on their No Buy.

 

I‘ll be honest, of all these things it’s getting off social media and journaling that have made the most difference.

I hope my experience helps someone else.

5 years ago I bought a pair of loafers for a good price but they were so uncomfortable I only wear them around once a year with extra thick socks so they won't hurt my feet. So I thought maybe it's time to get a new better quality pair that I can finally wear as much as I want. I saved enough money to get the shoes but since I'm doing a no buy year I am hesitating. What do you all think?

The release of The Devil Wears Prada 2 reminded me that I never read the book, so I got it from the library. Opening page quote seems perfect for us "Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes"~Henry David Thoreau, 1854. Henry would have loved this sub!

I’ve always struggled to walk past any shop without popping in to buy something small. Eventually, the clutter, the cost, and most importantly the environmental guilt caused me to set myself the goal of a no buy year.

I’m feeling really insecure about my style at the moment, and I’m outgrowing lots of my clothes. I’m considering doing a huge clearout and buying a whole new secondhand wardrobe. I feel like I’ve learnt a lot from this no buy, and maybe 5 ish months is enough?

Any thoughts appreciated

How did your no-buy or low-buy go this week?

Share your goals, progress and how your purchasing habits have changed since starting a no buy.

If you 'failed' this week, remember that it is just a stumble in a long journey. If you did well, inspire others and encourage them when they do well or get off track.

Sorry if this isn't the place for it. I don't know where else to post this. I cancelled two streaming services this month. BIG WIN for me because I've been talking about doing this for over a year.

A few days after I cancelled one of my DVD players broke. Then the Second DVD player broke. I know that Netflix didn't reach it's digital hands into my home to break my DVD players but it makes me want to get out the tin foil. I'm just so incredibly frustrated.

I have been collecting a mix of $1 thrift store DVD and used DVDs from eBay that my family enjoys for a while now in my endeavor to cancel streaming, and now I have to buy new players. I'm going to try my best to fix at least one of them, and I'm thinking about asking a family member if they have a spare. If not I will have to buy one, which I really didn't want to do.

On things I thought weren't bad. Bought a work wardrobe that, when the day of wearing them to work came, didn’t *actually* fit like I swore they did before. Receipt lost at that point.

Put my card down for a restaurant with friends with expectations of being paid back...hasn't happened yet.

Why is it always the shit I either did need or had planned for in a certain way?! It's fucking frustrating.

(And all this on top of an eating disorder which...is a wholly different type of psychological problem than overspending, so I'm dead in the water in that regard until I get fixed.)

So much spent. I'm hurt. Angry. Wasting money.

I’m collapsing under the weight of my terrible decisions and self control. I had to have one of my original rats put to sleep a few weeks ago, which had to go on the credit card, and between that, another £600 vet bill for another pet, I’ve opened the floodgates on my credit.

It’s embarrassing, how much I’ve stuffed things up: luckily I have good credit so I’ve just got a no interest balance transfer card with a long interest free balance transfer period to try to get this sorted out in an affordable way.

I’m selling everything I can - craft supplies (doing a crafter de-stash market tomorrow), I have stuff up on Vinted and I got £50 on marketplace this week.

I stood in my craft room, looking around at the torrent of stuff, and I had a panic attack, feeling so overwhelmed, and just wailed ‘why am I like this’. I will hopefully sell a large amount of stuff tomorrow, and even if I don’t get much for it, every little bit helps. Whatever is not sold will go to a car boot sale in a couple of weeks with anything else I can find

I’ve had so many false starts with no spends. But by god I need this right now. I shouldn’t be this broke, I shouldn’t be this stressed about everything.

Gosh, I'm scared. I've never tried this before and I'm about to make serious plans for my next paycheck. I don't make much anyway and my shopping addiction has reached its peak for me. Other than gardening soil and slug bait, I'm not going to spend a single dollar on things I don't need. I'm hoping I can achieve a no buy year if this works out. I should have never heard of Etsy. 😮‍💨