Is anyone doing a no / low buy 2022?

[SarahJessicaParker1]

I'm going to try it.

Would love ideas of other people's rules!

I'm in for this.

No new smart work stuff - assuming we go back into the office, it will only be for part of the week and I have loads of work stuff.
No underwear or socks - I need to wear some stuff out, I have loads.
Any new clothes need to be non fast fashion - if I really have to buy something.
I've tried putting faded clothes into some Dylon dye, to great results, so many things will get at least another year of wear.
I'm reducing plastic (can't quite go zero waste but trying!) so that will naturally reduce purchases of toiletries, junk food, paper towels etc.
I've got rid of all subscriptions.
I've asked my hairdresser to transition my hair to a lower maintenance regime- this regular touching up of the roots is so time consuming and expensive. My hair cut now is every 3 months so if I could figure out a way to keep the grey at bay inbetween...

I am keeping my hair and nail appointments.

However, I'm having a keratin treatment on my hair next week, which apparently should mean I don't need to have it cut as often, so hopefully that will be a reduced spend in the longterm.

Nails are every month or so. They look grotty if I don't get them done and I do need them to look nice for work.

I stopped buying things I didn't need when I started to aim for FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) Then I embraced Minimalism. I don't mean I have a sparse house, instead everything I own serves a function, is needed, or brings me joy. Once I got my head around spending money on pointless items, means I have to work longer and retire later, combined with the time and effort it takes to buy, maintain and dispose of unnecessary items, then not buying stuff became easy.

A spending diary really helps, because you are accountable for every penny, and have to spend consciously. I'll add I'm not a tight wad, I'm generous and I spend money, but channelled to where its really important.

There's some good financial independence bloggers out there and the book "Your Money or Your Life" is very good.

Oh thanks for the book recommendation!

I do have an Excel spreadsheet with all my monthly expenses. Started last pay check! Hope that will help keep me accountable.

Yes, all welcome grumpy

Oh I have a hair appt on Thursday that I'm cancelling, not as part of a no buy buy because I'm trying to grow out my pixie and it's at a length just now which doesn't too too awful when styled. Am planning to go around March time maybe, aiming for mid length bob!

I don't buy much anyway. I already have an ongoing rule that 6 new items of clothing per year is my limit. 2022 will be my 4th year of it. I do buy in charity shop in addition to that, but it helps me to appreciate my purchases and choose carefully rather than on a whim.

Hi, I’d like to join in. I don’t have many rules yet, I’m still thinking about it. Maybe:
Rule 1/ no clothes buying for at least 6 months
I shouldn’t need to buy any clothes for myself this year at all but my son will need some new clothes late summer/early autumn time.

My rule so far is to not buy anything made in China (even from a charity shop!) - rules out so much!

I really am going to try and embrace minimalism too and follow lots of the points above - so thank you for starting this thread!

I tend to do this in January every year but I don’t think I could commit to a whole year.

I really want to buy some new activewear now but will give it till February.

I'd like to join too. My New Years resolutions are all "less is more". Weigh less, lower blood sugar and lower debt so this fits perfectly.

Joining - no new clothes for me (I have kids who are still growing so obviously they still need clothes) is my goal.

Exception being replacing hiking boots when mine wear out (probably summer/ autumn) and potentially another pair of motorcycle jeans if I ride my bike to work as much as I plan to (will easily save the price of the jeans on fuel by not taking the car, bike is many multiple times cheaper to fuel).

I have a book on Swedish death cleaning and decluttering physically and organising my affairs is a priority, despite the fact I'm not planning to die 😱 I want to feel free of clutter and that everything is in order.

I lost weight in 2020-2021 and went overboard buying clothes and definitely have everything I need now, most of it less than a year old, but still get tempted to buy things. Clothes are definitely my weakness atm and I need to break the habit.

I definitely need to do this. I’m going to start by focusing on clothes in January. No new clothes, and anything I buy secondhand has to be entirely funded by money I’ve made selling things I no longer wear.

I’ll also track my spending in January - hopefully this should tell me what I need to focus on in February.

It's interesting to see what some people feel are essentials (no judgement!). For me, having my hair cut and coloured is non negotiable, but I couldn't care less about my nails.

I can easily say no taxis/Ubers but it wouldn't make any difference as its at least 2 years since I got a taxi anywhere ( we live rurally, return taxi into nearest town is £50 minimum).

I eat out with friends a couple of times a month and am now prepared to give up my social life for a year. I know the theatre isn't an essential but I've only been twice since Covid hit, and I've really missed it.

So I will set a budget for meals out and also for theatre tickets and make sure we stick to it. We also have an expensive holiday lined up this year (postponed twice from 2020) and will need to spend some money on that.

Hehe "essential" would be a bit of a strong word, but I work in high end hospitality and it doesn't look nice if I serve people food and my hands don't look nice. Actually hair cut could be forgone as I have to wear my hair up for work anyway!

I'm also really looking forward to going to the theatre! We had a show cancelled recently, so I have some vouchers from that refund to use. Also have tickets for another show in Feb! Can't swear I won't book more by 2023, but I may try and go for bargain seats.

I’m going for a “make it worth it” approach to low spend. We seem to spend a fortune on nothing- just supermarket stuff, odds and ends, and I would rather see something decent for our money. We have 2 lots of theatre tickets booked already, and plan on doing the bathroom, it absolutely needs replacing. But, I’m going dry, limiting takeaways to one or two a month, going to concentrate on sleep, well bring and self care but as free or cheap as possible. Only buying clothes as needed, which I do anyway. I will keep all hair appointments the same, I might even upgrade, as it’s my one and only thing just for me.
Shopping- Aldi when possible, cut down as much as I can on how much I buy and how often I go. Revisit TV and phone packages etc to reduce them.
Just basically feel more in control of what I want to save and spend on instead of handing my card over all the time.

Yes, I like the "make it worth it" approach too.

I'm planning the same with groceries. Will try to get as much as possible from Aldi. It does work out a lot cheaper. I don't like meat from there, but I am trying to cut back on that anyway.

I'd love a minimalist home and wardrobe, but I think it would take years to get there. Will see how it goes this year

My resolutions/rules:

• No clothes unless significant weight loss, also no clothes for DC (I love finding clothes for them on Ebay, Charity online shops or Fb marketplace) unless they really need them eg grow

• no plastic water bottles: I keep forgetting to take a bottle on walks and outings and keep buying plastic bottles 😬awful I KNOW

-1 takeaway per month max, we currently have 1 per week

-no cosmetics, make-up, creams or similar. still have a ton to use up.

-no junk food/chocolate bars from shops or petrol stations

-no more magazine subscriptions (had 4 at some point last year, often don’t get round to reading them for weeks and weeks)

Allowed:
Kindle books
Occasional take away coffee (my guilty pleasure)
Very occasionally a massage or facial - no more manicures (can do them myself)

This is such an inspiring thread!

I found during lockdown that I save a fortune simply by not frittering away cash on coffees, lunches, days out etc.

So here’s my list:

1. No takeaway coffees
2. Meal plan and make packed lunches.
3. Cycle to work ( saves time and gives exercise too)
4. No new books until I’ve read the ones I have. Visit the library instead.
5. No new clothes until summer.
6. No expensive days out in January. It playpark and country walks instead.

I found (depending where you live of course) NT and RHS memberships really worth it for us. You visit new places/parks and playgrounds and it motivates me to do more walks and day trips. But take a picnic, coffees and lunch is usually very overpriced.

We live rurally and both DH and I wfh so we never get takeout lunches or coffee. So can't save on those.

My real spending is clothes and books, but we (OK, just me!) spend money on unnecessary stuff for the house. In the last week I have bought a set of new mugs (nothing wrong with the old ones, just bored of them) and some new shot glasses. I also spent £300 before Christmas on a beautiful vase from an art gallery - completely unnecessary but rather wonderful. It's those sort of "impulse" purchases that I need to stop.

I'm thinking of no online shopping because it's too easy and I know I keep things that are "OK" but that I wouldn't have bought if I'd seen them in a shop.

The trouble is our local town centre has lost all the big name stores and the nearest out of town shopping cente is going the same way with limited choice. (Obviously all as a result of the above).

I have decided on my rules. Looking at my outgoings my biggest money wasters are take away coffees and dinners, buying lunches when on placement (student nurse) and random Amazon orders.

I really want to save money this year and will come up with a figure to aim for.

This year I will:

1. Not buy any coffees out unless it's a meet up with a friend or "date" with DP.

1. No take away dinners apart from birthdays if that's the birthday person's choice and when on holiday.

1. Stick to a max food budget of £50 a week. Meal plan to achieve this.

1. Bring my own lunches and snacks to placement.

1. No clothes for me unless something is really worn out and needs replaced. The DC will have a clothes budget but I will also only buy clothes for them if they need them rather than me liking the look of them.

1. Join the library for books.

1. No new unnecessary subscriptions.

1. Don't order anything off Amazon unless it's an essential item I would have otherwise bought somewhere else.

Basically the only things I will spend money on are the absolute necessities and I will keep track of all outgoings.

I also want to earn some extra money by doing some bank/agency shifts.

Today I have spend £40.30 on a Tesco order. Yesterday I spent nothing.

Good rules @MandUs

I also like how you're noting your spending. I haven't spent anything the past two days I donr think...but I did buy a tonne of groceries on NYE, so that's why

I did this a few years ago for a whole year. Worked really well. I unsubscribed from all emails. No clothes unless absolutely necessary (e.g. went on a school trip and climbed a mountain and needed a thermal layer). No make up apart from direct replacements if necessary.

Nothing else. I bought very little it was great.

Lockdown really helped me get on top of my money...I spent much less sogot myself out of my overdraft. Doing much better now but would like to build up some savings. I regularly try to have days where I spend nothing. I need new clothes or I could try to lose weight and get into my extensive wardrobe of smaller clothes which would be much better financially and looks/health wise!