r/nobuy

I’d like to try setting some rules/rewards for myself to stop consuming so much. I’m thinking about only allowing myself to purchase ONE thing if I consistently go to the gym for 2 weeks 3 days a week.

My body has changed over the past 2 years and I’m finding that clothing and even shoes don’t fit like they used to. I could use these changes as an excuse to buy a whole new wardrobe, but that makes me so anxious that I’ll have an expensive 2026-era wardrobe for years to come. I don’t want to buy my clothes and shoes all at once, but I understand that I will need some replacements soon.

The gym isn’t to change my body in any way, I just realized that if I want to still be walking when I’m 85 I need to lift heavy things!

Anyway, posting this to ask if anyone has done/is doing something similar, and how to manage lowbuy/ nobuy when half your clothes don’t fit anymore. Thanks!

The biggest problem I have why I can't stop buying is because of the regret that I feel. While yes, I have the same experience as many other people who impulsively buy stuff-- having the regret that comes afterwards, the questions as to what I would even use the thing I bought for, the thoughts of where else that money could have gone to that is more useful than what I spent it for initially-- something else happens to me when I try to stop myself from buying. That is an even heavier feeling of regret, especially when I see that the product I stopped myself from buying is sold out. I keep thinking that I should have just bought it.

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.

My mom was a hoarder and passed away leaving me a home filled with so much stuff. A good portion of it is crafting supplies and she also inherited items from 3 other estates she dragged home and filled the garage and basement with. Going through all this and donating, tossing, re-homing before I even get the garage cleared out enough to set up for a garage sale has been back breaking and expensive with getting rid of it all as junk haulers and such cost a fortune these days. A lot of the supplies are not useable/damaged because they were improperly stored. I don't ever want to leave someone with this task or the expense of clearing out things. As a matter of fact, after I'm done clearing out all her junk, I am going to continue on with downsizing what I own as I realize how little I actually need. It's bad enough clearing out your own stuff but it is even worse when you have to clear out a ton of junk that someone else built up. My mom was 100 years old so imagine a lifetime of hoarding stuff and how much she left behind. I see so much stuff that still has the price tag on it and how much money she spend on items that were never used just sitting in boxes. If you ever want the cure and wakeup call, go clean out a hoarder home. She at least wasn't the kind of hoarder with garbage and things like that but the basement was like a tetris game of boxes filled with mostly crafting supplies, crafting magazines and things like that.

It certainly makes me thing twice before buying anything!

Hello,

I own the Kindle Paperwhite 3 7th gen from 2015. I bought it brand new and sealed 3 years ago, someone had it because of Amazon warehouse clearance or something like that. It was impossible to login to Amazon (which is great actually), it refuses to work with WiFi (only works with hotspot from my phone for some reason, so I treat it as useless). I performed a jailbreak on it so it has KoReader installed, that allows me to invert screen colors for example, which is really important since I read at night. KoReader gives me a lot of options that make reading experience comfortable (I have no comparison to other devices). It can be slow sometimes but it’s not a dealbreaker honestly. I wish it had warm light.

Because I use it a lot I recently started looking at what Is currently available on the market. I have a fomo because all those different devices have newer software, hardware etc etc (you know how it goes). Looking at it rationally though it really makes no sense to buy a new reader if the old one works, but still when I hear about all those ’great options and additions’ I help but think that I have some old device that is perfectly usable, It does what it needs to do which is allow me to read books. Only justification is that it don’t have the warm light but it’s not enough.

Please help me rationalize, it’s especially hard because I read a lot.

To help get out of my consumer mindset (I fell of the wagon hard in March) I’ve been watching YouTube videos at work all day about living with only what you need and how to stop spending. Any recommendations from this great community would be so appreciated

A year and a half ago, I really got into body care. I used to buy so many soaps, shower gels, lotions, lipglosses and body AND hair oils to the point where I had it for the whole neighbourhood. It all started because I always had a very basic hygiene routine and I started getting those GRWM posts on social media where they used a ton od products. I shared shower gels with my mom and I barely used lotion (which lead to dry skin, so that's also one of the factors how all of this started). I legit used to starve myself in school so I can collect my lunch money just to buy some overpriced lotion. I stopped buying new things back in april, I gifted my leftover cosmetics to my partners younger sisters and I gave away the new cosmetics that I have been hoarding to my friends birthdays. I decided to leave 1 shower, 2 lotions and 1 body oil to myself. People truly are correct when they say ''the less, the better'' because my skin isn't flaky dry anymore!! I am so happy and proud of myself! I can actually spend money on better things and I don't need to starve myself anymore!

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 wandered onto the shopping addiction subreddit at 3 am last night. I know I need to stop shopping. My weak spot is beauty: perfume, nails, makeup. I watch social media about it all, I am easily influenced, and I go out online and find it. I tell myself that it’s not so bad because I’m getting it second hand on a resale site (usually the makeup I want will be an older item that’s been out for years but I still want to try it).

I am also coming off a medication right now that makes any adrenaline way more impactful. I’m almost done with coming off it and it’ll be a while until things even out, but I was probably up so late last night because of my shopping high earlier. And I’m ashamed, even if it’s second hand beautiful stuff at a bargain.

I’m encouraged that I actually already really like videos about reduced consumption with beauty. “Shop my stash”, “project pan”, “no buy year”. These are some of my favorite social media videos. I need a no buy year. Or two. Or three. I'm already changing my social media consumption: I skip the showing off of new products and move forward to the "how to use what you've already got in your own beautiful similar way" tutorials. My mode is now fully embracing education and mastery of my existing product library... which is... vast. 🫣

My next hyper fixation needs to be using and enjoying what I have without seeking more. Easy peasy, right? 🫠 I came clean to my husband that I have a TON of second hand makeup coming, but I am legitimately planning on a no-buy extended period. Getting cozy with the parameters of what I've got. Let's do this.

I think I’ve found my people. 💕

I'm looking for personal finance books about spending problems, specifically overspending. Can anyone recommend some books about spending too much money and overspending problems? Thanks in advance!