No buy or low buy 2023

[TheOGCCL]

Starting a new thread for the new year. I really must do better. Pretty sure I am in need of nothing after my 2022 spending spree.

Ironically I think this board sets me off a bit.

I’m better with a blanket no spend but how dull. Still thinking about my ‘rules’, eg set a budget or an item limit.

I need to avoid the sales as many mistakes happen there.

All welcome who want to cut down for environmental or ethical or financial reasons, or simply the satisfaction of buying second hand, or the ease of getting dressed when you have less stuff.

I can recommend Lauren Bravo’s book How To Break Up With Fast Fashion.

Its a bit like eating meat, if we all collectively did it a bit less, the world would be a better place.

I bought a thin cotton night dress which was on my wish list; I also impulse bought a dress from Vinted which I regretted almost immediately, and when it arrived it was a disappointment. I relisted it and sold it for the same price, so no great loss, apart from the postage fees. Lesson learned to work off the wishlist and not get distracted!

I have also added a light-coloured pair of linen/cotton shorts on my wishlist (as the old ones are almost worn through at the crotch) as well as some loose, wide-leg cotton trousers as my current ones are quite thick and too hot. I seem to wear through my bottoms fast, probably because I don't have as big a selection of them compared to tops. I might do a trip to Uniqlo/COS for some later in the month.

Thanks for the reminder about Vinted - I have a mountain of stuff to upload but I feel like autumn and winter stuff sells better for me so I somehow forget about listing summer clothes. I’ll get them up this afternoon as things definitely sell best on Fridays and Saturdays, and hope for another clear-out!

Switching my summer wardrobe showed me a few gaps, so I’ve added a long sleeved linen top (Joseph, £9 from eBay!), a pair of soft cotton shorts and some cream wide leg Levis.

One thing about buying almost exclusively second hand is that I now can’t quite believe the shop-price of new clothes and find myself stuck in a weird dilemma. I have a hankering for a pair of soft poplin cotton PJs from the Toast sale, so might treat myself. I don’t need-need them but they are lovely. Do I like the £70 PJs enough or is that too much to spend? I will likely have them for the next 3-5 years, so cost per wear will be great. I can afford it, but is it a good use of the money? So my brain turns over and over… and by the time I decide they will probably be sold out!

I finally visited my drawers and have put Winter woollens, coats etc away in those shrink bags, so I can see better see the ‘wood for the trees’. I’ve set some stuff aside for charity and photographed (just one so far) a dress to sell. The amount of clothes I have is really quite depressing. Selling things I like, but never get to wear because I just reach for other items more. Worse is selling perfectly nice clothes that still have the labels on, not because they are wrong for me, but just again because I have to much. 😡😔😢

Annie I was watching something on YouTube last night said when we get rid of things we wasted money on it activates the pain area of our brains, which is why decluttering is so hard, but if you can do it the pain of it helps you to stop overconsumption. It's working on me anyway. I'm still shopping but not as frequently and I'm putting back two thirds of what's in my basket before I make the purchase

@IndianSummer78 (love your name 🙂) I stopped my over-consumption at the beginning of the year. I would now only buy underwear, swimwear and vest tops if and when needed. Every other thing I will make for myself now (found a love of sewing). As for knitwear, I have plenty and won’t be needing any more for years.

Thanks Annie I hope I can stop my overconsumption soon too. Gives me hope that you've managed it

Declaring a purchase. I was you to wait until next month but feared they would have gone out of stock by then. Bought three things instead of the ten in my basket 🙂

@IndianSummer78 we can’t be perfect over-night and that is so much less!

I'm still doing pretty well.

Largely because I can't find what I want to fill the couple of gaps in my wardrobe, and I'm not just buying any old thing to compensate.

Over consumption is a big part of why Im doing this.

I'm doing Project 333 again and you don't need many outfits for that.

I will need skincare at some point, and I know what I want, but I'll use what I've got until it's gone first.

You're all doing so well. I love reading this thread even when I don't have anything to add.

I'm doing ok too.
No new buys here apart from returning one thing from May & swopping for something else. I've recouped over £100.00 on eBay to help pay for my over consumption last month ☺️
One thing I have paid for is clothes alterations this month. I have several items that are too long & I have to roll up the waistband. Plus trousers that I don't feel right in, as they're just a tad too long.
A white linen Fat Face dress from Tk Maxx that didn't look right belted, so I've asked for the belt to be attached as a section at the back to a slightly ruched dress. I've been hankering after a Kaftan dress, but it's sold out in my size now which is probably a good thing as I need to wear the dresses I've got already.
It's a work in progress to stop myself buying lots of new things. The only thing stopping me is lack of funds & my profligate ways of the past! I have so many tagged clothes I've never worn. Plus It's painfully slow selling them on eBay!

I've bought some chub rub shorts for the summer but resisted getting new holiday clothes, I've had a good look in my wardrobe and I have plenty of suitable shorts and dresses, no need to buy anything new.

I have bought a couple of hats, a bucket hat and a visor, I have severe light sensitivity and have to wear hats and sunglasses when its sunny out, trying to find a combo that doesn't look like I'm trying to hide from police.

The Next skirt I bought last month I have now taken the labels off and worn, and I'm really pleased with it. It was definitely a "want" rather than "need", but I thought long and hard. It will work all year round.

I have bought some skincare and a brow product, but that's essential in my view. I am very disciplined in finishing one product before starting another, so unless my skin really hates something there's no wastage. My old brow gel was so dry it was giving me lumpy eyebrows.

The only thing now on my "want" list is a new pair of white jeans. I have two pairs, both from the charity shop, which are now uncomfortably tight. Who knew that denim could shrink?? 😉 Am keeping my eyes open for a replacement pair....I did make about £25 on eBay at the weekend to compensate. Or maybe I'll just manage without.

Checking in as the end of June and half way through the year approaches.

I’m not being quite as low buy as I want but it’s way better than last year. I’ve spent about half as much. I’ve got a new outfit for a wedding at a cost of about £45. Twice I’ve walked out of queues in shops.

Many clothes are not very good quality and uninspiring. Maybe it’s just me the retailers have lost their spell over but even promotional emails about new ins and sales are failing to interest me. They are expensive too, and rising. A pair of Gap jeans I bought in April are £15 more expensive now. In a way I’m glad I spent so much in 2022 as suddenly it’s like an investment. The problem with uncontrolled spending though is inevitably there are a few bad buys. I estimate about 20% of what I spent last year was a mistake.

The interest rate situation is making me question exactly what I’m spending money on. In the past I’d be like oh this top is only a tenner, now I’m like well that’s a tenner less available for my mortgage.

I much prefer summer dressing so I don’t feel as if there are issues to solve, we’ll see what happens come A/W. However I’m guessing winter clothes are going to be even more expensive so it will be a matter of choosing wisely and less.

I had a bit of a charity shop rampage, only spent £15 got 2 skirts and 3 tops.

I bought a few things in June, and felt a bit disappointed with myself until I broke down what I bought and realised that my purchases were at least thoughtful and considered. What I got this month:

A pair of havaianas at the airport; that was technically last month, but the credit card bill came through this month so... They were a replacement for a pair I have lost somewhere, and are almost identical to what I had (£29)

A replacement baseball cap for one I lost on a trip and felt really annoyed about. (£5 at H&M sale)

Bought and immediately sold something I bought on Vinted. It was an impulse buy and really I shouldn't have bought it (lost £2 in fees)

A pack of trainer socks from Uniqlo - this is v needed as I only had 2 pairs of trainer socks left (£12.99)

Nightcream to replace one I had run out of (£45)

cotton nightdress from JL - was on my wishlist and have worn solidly since I got it (£28)

2 lightweight, short-sleeve shirts, a yellow one from French connection (£34) and a black one from H&M (£15.99) These are not strictly replacements, but I have sold several viscose/polyester tops on Vinted, and these are both lighter-than-feather cotton, so I'm pretty pleased with the swaps

So total was £171.98; I made £64 on Vinted this month so adjusted that is £107.98

I also did a year-on-year comparison cause I love a good excel sheet, and I've spent £441.50 less this first half of the year than the first half of 2022 so that's good

Now 3 months no clothes/shoes bought, nothing since 23rd March, I've done 1/4 of a year.

Bedroom refurb is also complete and I've promised DH we will not buy anything else for it. Realise new bed and other bedroom decor items was absolutely not no buy, but it was long overdue. We've put a lot of effort into painting it and carefully considering decor so hopefully it will all last for a long time and won't need any more money spent.

Now aiming to do a no buy other than essentials for the house for the rest of the year along with clothes/shoes.

I've had a fairly spendy month but it's been carefully considered and a lot less impulsive than I used to be. Feels like progress. I won't be buying anything else in June now. I'm feeling more confident of reaching my goal of stopping shopping by December

my low buy target was 12 items for the year max, technically underwear, tights and replacement of anything that breaks or tears doesn't count
so far
1 re soling birkenstocks £20
2 long sleeved olive green jersey top £6 in sale
3 M&S wide leg jeans £35
4 Mint Velvet top jumper from vinted £15
5 Summer cotton dress £45
total £121
but will need a new warm winter smart coat and a pair of winter shoes and would love a dark red cord winter dress
feel Ihave done quite well

Little more than half way through the year so far I've spent £570 -- items have been more considered and worn more definite spent less than I would have.

I've bought a few more things but they have all been considered

Sandals (two pairs) £100
Summer dress £55
Summer dress (ebay) £12
Jacket (ebay) £22
Summer Dress (ebay) £20
Hoodie £30
Shawl £80
Personalised shawl - £120
Total £440

I thought a bit harder before making purchases. The sandals were to replace ones that were worn out and the shawls are for working from home and will last for years. If they save me from putting the heating on they will earn their keep once the weather turns for the autumn.

I should have said - those purchases are for the year so far. My hope is that I can lose weight before the autumn and slim back into clothes in the wardrobe, otherwise I'm going to have to buy a lot more!

Declaring today's purchases. A cardigan, tank top, 7 vests, pyjamas, t-shirt

This month, I bought a second-hand gold clutch for a hen do and wedding later this summer, which I'll re-donate afterwards since I'm more of a silver person in general.

I've also decided to buy (but not yet bought) a navy blue linen blend shirt dress that I know I'll wear a lot. I didn't need it, but I've been donating / recycling some of my clothes, including dresses (which I do wear a lot) so I don't feel too guilty. 😅 I think it's the third item that I've bought new this year and I've massively reduced what is coming in from charity shops, too, so feeling quite pleased overall. Hard to believe we're (just) past the 6 month mark of the year. Where does the time go?

End of the month so checking in. I think I've done v well in July. DC needed some clothes as we've had a growth spurt and all their t-shirts are now crop tops. I bought one new, but got the rest of the tops and trousers second-hand which I'm very pleased about- they were about £1-1,50 each and great condition. I also got an autumn coat for a fiver.

For myself, I had to buy a swimsuit. I left my good one at our holiday hotel in May and my older one is just totally done - the elastic is stretched out. So I had to panic-buy one for our trip, so that's 30€. But all in all, an excellent month. Would have been brilliant if I hadn't lost the swimsuit.

I was feeling so virtuous thinking that I haven't spent any money for weeks. Then I realised I've spent nearly £100 on Boody padded bralettes from Secret Sales. I needed comfortable breathable bras for my tropical holiday & my first order was so brilliant, I ended up buying several different colours. I also bought a Poetry denim blue knitted jacket in the sales that I've had my eye on for a while. So the total for 2 months is £180. I've earned over £100 from eBay sales this month. So my £40 a month expenditure is still standing.
I still have loads of clothes left. I bought a large suitcase & I've probably worn half of them over 2 weeks. Partially because of the rotten UK weather, I've not been used to wearing dresses this year & linen pants, jeans & muslin shirts have been my default position this summer.
I've only just started to feel happy wearing dresses the last few days.
So I'm wearing old favourites in cotton/linen that I've had for years with a couple of new Zara ones.

I had birthday money and spent it on a dress which I wore to a party last night. Got lots of compliments so it was a good purchase 😊
Also bought new underwear but I don't count that. Need a new mascara soon.