2026 No Buy

[Eatingmusselsfromashell]

I am planning a strict 2026 clothes no buy. I’ve tried in the past but the maximum I achieved was 3 months or so.
I’m sick of the cycle of seeing/ wanting / buying. I want to couple my No Buy with some other habit changes. I would like to limit screen time to one hour a day (except when listening to podcasts/ books and language learning). This is the year to brush up my Spanish and German for trips later in the year. I am annoyed at the hours of life I have wasted scrolling online sites.
I’ve tidied wardrobe in preparation and am ebaying / charity shopping anything which isn’t currently working for me.
Anyone else want to join me for moral support?

well, dammit. I think I bragged too soon!😬
Just spent £20 on Vinted. It was a jumper dress that Ive spent over a year trying to find in my size......its def a 'sorry, not sorry' situation!😂

A "White Stuff" top I have been after since last year , it was in M&S but only online . WS website too but I couldn't find in my size .

Cotton/Viscose blend

I bought several essential items today - a drinking cup for the baby (she lost the previous one and we couldn’t find it), some cosmetics for older DC who ran out of face wash and moisturizer, and a brow pencil for myself - the old one was used up.

No clothes 💪💪💪

I decluttered a couple of items and gave them to charity. That included a candle which was a gift for Christmas I received (since getting a dog, I do not use them).

I’m finding it so liberating not having to think about being around for deliveries.

Still here. Just checking in to say I’m finding the strategies and solidarity really helpful. No buying so far this year and feeling good for if.

Just checked my bank transactions for January and only non-food/cleaning product purchases were a haircut and new school shoes for DS and PE trainers for DD. I did book a £25 spa treatment for my birthday present to myself. Other than that, no additional spending! I can’t believe it!

Could definitely work on fewer supermarket trips.

And YY to the lack of stress waiting on deliveries. Only received the trainers as a kindly neighbour brought the parcel round. Royal Mail had delivered to wrong road and wrong number!!

Still decluttering slowly too.

February’s challenge will be sticking to a menu plan and food/household items budget.

And think how lovely it will be when you get a delivery of something that you really want.

@DecemberGloom will join you on decluttering and meal planning.

I am also aiming to stop doomscrolling on my phone in the night and early hours so will be keeping my phone out of the bedroom in Feb.

I’ve bought clothes. I’m disappointed in myself. The usual triggers (at least for me)
a) it’s in the sale - bargain! Well actually expensive but I would not have bought it at full price
b) They remind me of sunny days and holidays not dearly grey January skies
I feel disappointed in myself for not being able to commit properly to the challenge. Can’t say that my phone use has gone down significantly either.

I went to Bangkok a couple of years ago. There's a market there of western second hand clothes. Most of our clothing ends up in landfill rather than being recycled. 80% of the clothing given to charity shops also ends up in landfill. That's a lot of plastic and other resources etc going into the land storing up a lot of future problems.

I'm only saying this as it might help. We all fall off the wagon at some point!

@DecemberGloom - ooh, like idea of a monthly challenge to keep things interesting. Feb is going to be along same lines as yours - I'm going to run down food cupboards and freezer which means meal planning and will set a tight food budget just for Feb. I'm also going to set a Kindle books £10 limit. That should cover any 'wishlist' book reductions but cut back on random purchases.

I'm not finding it hard to resist clothes and beauty buying at the moment.

Purchase of much needed underwear on the 3rd Jan, nothing other than food/bills since.

Holiday in April. Any new clothes will come from Vinted sales cash.

Despite falling off the wagon twice (bought a scarf and a pair of trousers) I managed to fully pay off my credit card and used the opportunity of red days on the stock market after Davos to invest some money. Not much because I don’t have much but the feeling of having a small surplus at the end of the month is great.

I haven’t bought anything in the sales. I am tempted but there are so many sales and offers around that the sheer volume of consumerism is both discouraging and overwhelming.

Phone out of bedroom in Feb sounds like a good target for me too - definitely links to buying too.

I've managed to stick to my low monthly budget for clothes and toiletries and I've found it hard to be honest with the temptation of the sales! I'm using up old products rather than buy new, delving deep to shop my wardrobe. I love winter clothes more than summer, sucker for a coat. Sending links to friends for accountability!

Been doing some other things to break spending habits - Got some books on amazon prime for free, swapping some clothes with a friend, parking a bit further for free and walking into town, eating at home etc. It's the whole thing for me to just spend less.

We're eating from the freezer at the minute so I can defrost them @Paetina

I bought some candle wicks (£3) and have melted the remnants of all my candles and made two new ones in old jars.

Looking forward to my Pelegrims quarterly box at the end of the month though.

Rather a large purchase today of a new phone as my old one had been hanging on for dear life for the last year and has finally given up the ghost (probably not helped by all the scrolling!). Definitely in the need category though.

It's been baby steps for me this month I think. Some small wobbles but paid off the Christmas debts and have been able to book a couple of breaks and events which is definitely what I want to do more of this year.

Had an hour round the shops today and was not inspired by the sea of polyester...realised I don't actually need anything.

In doing OK, I did use a gift card to buy a nightshirt after having a clear out and getting rid of four very old washed out ones, I’ve also replaced a top that didn’t fit with the same one in a different size from Vinted. I’m happy with January so far, this weekend I went to a huge shopping centre, walked around, had a look, picked up a long sleeved white T-shirt in Uniqlo and then put it back and left.

This is a huge achievement for me, I know everyone on here has different rules for their no/low buy, usually January would see me buying all sorts of stuff, clothes shoes and jewellery, so replacing two items is miles away from where I would usually be. Non essential spending this month has been very low, a successful first month, although we do still have a few days left of January to get through.

Not a good week. Purchased a silk dress from Vinted and a short sleeve jumper and cardigan set (on sale) to replace my spring work wardrobe after losing a lot of weight. On the bright side, I have been reading more and scrolling less!

I'd like to join, please. I've been trying not to buy things since the beginning of the year but so far I'm not doing very well. I have ADHD and really struggle with shopping addiction. I think it's about seeking novelty and a dopamine hit and also hyper focussing on certain obsessions and feeling the need to shop for them. My current obsessions are false eyelashes of all things and also reformer pilates and "needing" supplies for both of these things (when I know rationally I already have everything I need). But today it's those gripper socks from Sweaty Betty that looks so much more comfortable than the ones I already have. But they're £25 for two pairs of socks and I do not need them!!!!

I also recently went through an expensive obsession with upgrading my wardrobe to natural fibers and while I'm pleased with what I've acquired it's more than enough now. Oh, and I've had an ongoing skincare obsession but I think I finally have my routine right now.

What I have done well is decluttering and giving things to charity or selling on Vinted. I've earned over £200 on Vinted this month alone. I just need to not then spend those earnings on Vinted but it's hard because every time I log in to check my sales I start browsing things to buy! I don't even need to check my sales as I get emails so I know it's just an excuse.

One thing I have done well is ask chatgpt for help not buying. Now if I'm feeling tempted I upload a photo or description of what I'm thinking of buying and it tells me exactly why I don't need it. I have managed to avoid many purchases that way - just not all of them. And I really, really don't need anything at all!

Give the socks a miss - they are very thin and the grip is no better than cheap ones from Amazon, I learned the hard way, in fact mine already have a hole in one pair. Total waste of money.

Thanks to the poster above that mentioned the spending tracker - I have got the App and will start to track everything from Feb, I think it will be a very useful tool.

@whowhatwerewolf it's difficult, but I'm avoiding Vinted like the plague. I've kind of analysed my clothes spending along with value per wear and surprisingly my spreadsheet from part of last year told me it was the online ordering that was problematic. I often didn't love what I'd bought because it didn't fit quite right, or the colour was off, or just didn't quite suit me. So if I do buy it's going to have to be in person and so far I've succumbed to one item this year and I can live with that.

Have you thought about keeping a spreadsheet? It's quite revealing!

Could anyone recommend a good, reasonably priced moisturiser please? I will need to buy one in February so am budgeting for that. I already use a separate SPF daily so don’t need that, but if it has anti ageing properties that would be great!

I currently use The Ordinary which I am quite happy with, but any suggestions welcome!

Thank you so much. @Johaanah you have deinfluenced me from buying those socks and I truly appreciate it.

A spreadsheet sounds like a very good idea @PrincessofWells - I think I will start one. I need to do something - our Evri delivery driver (who fancies himself a bit of a comedian) told DH last week that I'm his best customer having taken over from someone else two streets over!