Buy nothing in 2025 challenge (or minimal purchasing!) - anyone want to join in!

[LuminousStar]

Hello! In the vein of the decluttering threads I've been thinking about doing a challenge where I buy as little as possible in 2025.

I realise buying "nothing" is impossible, especially as a parent. But as my life is endlessly complicated by clutter and junk and taking care of objects, as well as money (or a lack of) so I am going to try to buy as little unnecessary stuff as humanly possible in the coming year. Not to mention all the clutter sitting around making me feel guilty because I haven't used it / read it / sorted it! So I wondered if stopping the junk coming in as much as possible might change my mindset!

Instead what I will do is write down anything I am tempted to buy and hold out instead. If something becomes absolutely necessary I will allow it. But there are often other ways around problems that I am often inclined to ignore (mend, home made solutions etc) I will have to rely on more.

Obviously groceries and essentials are allowed, as are non-physical items or treats (holidays, events, e-books, subscriptions within reason). But I figure that even my grocery shopping could do with a bit of pruning! And if I need something that makes life infinitely easier, of course I will buy it.

And at the end of the year I am perhaps planning a little treat if I manage to do a good job - maybe a budget for some new clothes or something.

Would anyone like to join in?

@Floopdifloo yes I know the feeling about using rewards 😂I do like the idea of it not being an impulse purchase and waiting a bit for it.

I bought a cross trainer a year or two ago and never bloody used it (it made my legs too wide as the pedals were too wide!!) - had to give it away in the end. I think that's the main danger with these sort of purchases TBH - they take up space and are a pain to get rid of if you don't use it. So I guess as long as you know you will use it that is the main thing...!

I'm trying to get a big batch of work done with a reward at the moment - a lovely couple of days at a nice hotel. It is literally something I NEVER do so I think sometimes incentives do work - I just have to push this mega project out of the door and then I deserve it!! That said I've not bought anything on amazon or online so far this year bar a couple of essentials some weeks ago, so I think I am doing pretty well.

@Floopdifloo Well done on the promotion; have you used an exercise bike regularly before; can you trial it at a gym for a month or two to see how much you would actualy use it, while doing your research on price, you might pick up one in march almost new from someone;'s failed New Year fitness drive! as I heard the most common use of home exercise bikes is to hang clothes on that have been worn once but not dirty enough to wash but don't want to put back in wardrobe.

if you have been living on previous wage and have no debts why not increase your fun money a little each month and then save the rest, instead of just lifestyle creep just be intentional on exactly how your extra £££ are going to be spent, it's fine to decide to add some to entertainement budget or o put half aside for a better holiday but just don't let it get somehow absorbed into supermarket shop for laundry soap!!

Hi, I’ve been doing well with no spends. Still taking lunch to work. As I’m now full time I go straight home at 5 where I used to call to a shop and pick stuff up. I did cave on Saturday and called to m n s as I was craving some nice cheese! I spent £27 on food but that’s ok. Otherwise we’ve been sticking with our regular weekly shop and not needed to supplement it so far as we have our meals planned and ready to go. Not had my first promotion wage yet so have to wait till next month when it will be back paid.
I’ve booked a uk holiday for April so that’s something to look forward to and obviously permitted spends.
The weather being crap makes it easier to stay at home rather than mooching round the shops so we’ll see as the year goes on. I’m trying not use language like ‘I deserve a treat’ as I find that a bit dangerous for me. I’m just reminding myself I don’t need more stuff and keeping my list of things I might like for later in the year once I’ve reached my target.
Good luck everyone, you are doing so well. Thanks to @LuminousStar for keeping this going and others for updating as it’s keeping me motivated. 😍

Had one of unexpected spends yesterday. Got caught out later than expected so ended up buying lunch, and car parking was expensive. Annoying.

Also nearly caved when I saw Tony Hadley tickets on sale. Fortunately, the nearest venue is Royal Albert Hall, which is a more expensive venue, so above my price range. Disappointed and relieved at the time - disappointed not to go, but relieved at not spending the money also.

thank you @Albusmum good to hear you are still staying on track! I know what you mean about "deserving a treat". I think we all deserve the occasional one but being mindful is so important. I'm trying! I did buy a couple of Lidl bits this week - a cheap top for my pyjamas and a box for washing powder to go in. Ok slightly unnecessary but also slightly necessary! And a load of clothes moths stuff off Amazon - need to get rid of the blighters! Lightbulbs also, and rechargeable batteries. All boring but mostly necessary.

I need to buy a new phone at some point soon but they are so damn expensive (for the one I want). I considered cheaper but it's for work and needs to have a decent camera so it's not that optional. Might consider other ways to achieve it like a camera and tripod though if that is cheaper - or even hiring one!? might just have to bite the bullet though.

@Snowmanscarf well done for staying strong on Tony Hadley! I've been searching for free events and super cheap ones. If anyone is interested you can go to Shakespeare's Globe in London and stand for a play for just a tenner (and £5 for kids)! I bought some Macbeth tickets for Easter time as it is a nice low cost thing to do with my kid (I bought tickets to a child friendly production which are not as long so hopefully ok for standing!) - and also the Tate Modern is right next door and free so we are hoping for a cheap and fun day out.

@LuminousStar It’s also worth looking on Groupon and wowcher for discounts. Sometines they have (smaller) festivals greatly reduced last minute.

@Snowmanscarf that is a good idea thank you!

I haven't posted for a while.

So I decided that this year I wanted the house to stay cluttered free, save my money towards things I really do need or for experiences, and to generally stop buying tat.

It's actually proving harder than I thought. I decided I'd keep a list of anything I want and anything I buy. If I want something I thought I'd give it a week or so and then decide if I really do still want it.

I bought some large storage chests which are actually going to good use at home. There are quite a few other random things going on the list. Pyjamas, a dress, a sweatshirt, a lamp. All things that I definitely do not need.

On their own the items are cheap but soon add up. It's quite hard resisting and it's not even the end of Jan.

@Anotheremmaemma , I've been in since mid December and also finding it really hard. I don't think I quite realised what I was spending just on bits and pieces.
I've been sending myself links to things and the urge goes.
The no spend days are definitely working for me though, especially mid week.
I've managed to totally cut out Amazon and I've not put a single thing on my credit card. But I've had to be really disciplined about it !

@coolcahuna well done, sounds like you’re doing great!

Had to buy petrol today, a little annoyed because I was hoping to stretch it into February but never mind! 😂

Tomorrow should just have council tax going out, so my totals for January are:
No spend days: 17
Necessary spend days: 9
Allowed spend days: 8

Doesn’t total 31 because on some days I had both necessary and allowed spends.

Pretty pleased with that, looking forward to seeing if I can beat it in February!

@coolcahuna That's great! I've only done one Amazon order this year so far, for boring stuff like batteries and lightbulbs, so it's progress vs last year when it would be several a month likely. Not missing waiting in for all the deliveries....😂

I know what you mean about it being hard some days. I think even if we can only make a 30% improvement then that is progress! But I think some people will manage even more than that. I would say I have been about 60% better overall but as it's January it's been much easier to resist the lure of the shops! The real test will be spring and summer!

How is everyone doing? I made some progress on my project but not quite enough. But continuing to declutter and looking forward to a no-spend weekend!

Having found out that my water bills are going to rise by almost 50% in April (!!) I'm trying to think of ways to cut water usage ahead of time. Each month it seems the cost of everything goes up so I will have to make more reductions somewhere.

Hope you are all having a good no-spend Friday so far! We have a quiet couple of days ahead so hopefully won't end up spending a load of cash.

So January wasn’t perfect, but I’ve definitely managed to save much more than I normally do which was helped by the fact that I didn’t go mad in December either. Onwards and upwards, really want to keep this going for February too!

Glad I’ve not renewed my Next delivery pass. I quite fancy something new (had one of those weeks), and it means I can’t buy anything.

Rather a fucking SPENDY day with having to pay out £1100 for replacing a lead pipe under our path that has been leaking and which the water company said they'd repaired, but had not (had more than one leak apparently!).

Talking to someone last week we could have waited for a repair. Then waited to try and get on their free lead replacement scheme. But we were going to go ahead as anyway as we were concerned about damage that the leak might be doing while we waited.

But when they rang back the other day and I told them we were getting it fixed, we were told that there IS money available after all if you are replacing a leaking lead pipe and we can get back £1k of our money.

A £100 spend is a lot more palatable than £1100! Bring on the refund.

Also booked the summer holiday so paid out for that + insurance etc so def now aiming for as many no-spend days as poss this month.

We're getting paid early in Feb cos they are moving all the servers in the finance dept, so it's going to be like Christmas then Jan all over again!

@LuminousStar if you really have to cut water consumption dramaticlly, collect cold water from shower in a bucket while water warms up, can be used to flush toilet; water plants etc, get a sort of balloon thing to go in cistern of toilet so uses less water
only run dishwasher full
don't wash things that are not dirty / smelly ie just being worn for a few hours ( especially if not next to skin like skirts or cardigans); kids are notorious for flinging things in direction of laundry bin rather than putting away and again make sure there is a full load

@DrMadelineMaxwell just put pay that arrives early straight into your savings account and only move to current account on 1st of march you can set up the payment for it to go back well in advance ( on the day you move it ) so you don't forget and so avoid temptation to spend any of it in advance

Good plan. Will do.

@LuminousStar thankyou, yes I agree , any improvement is improvement and I'm definitely going to continue. Summer could be harder as there is more going out, popping out for drinks etc! But I don't really like summer clothes, I love winter stuff so that part will probably be easier.

I've deleted all the apps and unsusctibed from all emails.

No Vinted or Amazon for the whole of January 💪🏻

I've bought a raincoat for £30 but I don't feel guilty as I live in the north west 😂 and I've not been wasting endless £5 on Vinted.

Jan wasn't too bad. I did end up buying some stuff out of budget.

I did a mini makeover in our bathrooms. They are old and need a complete refurb but it's on hold for the next 2yrs. We've lived here for 3 yrs and the bathrooms have always been terrible but I'd had enough and did a mini refresh and they look and feel much nicer. New memory foam bath mat, replaced the ancient toilet seat that had been painted white a number of times 🤢, new laundry baskets, glass soap dispensers, bathroom bins etc. I spent around £80 and it's transformed the bathrooms.

My other unbudgeted expense was oils for my face, got completely suckered in from a tik token video with jojoba oil, castor oil, frankincense resin oil, gua sha and face taping to reduce wrinkles. My skin has been terrible with hormonal acne recently so I've been desperate to try anything that would improve it. So far, so good.

This is amazing and my biggest weakness as well ! I bought one thing on amazon that my son needed and one thing on vinted which was a direct replacement for something I lost. I've sold a few things on vinted and transferred the ballance immediately so I don't spend it ! I was properly addicted to Vinted.