How I’m coping with the temptation to shop and what I’ve learned so far
Welcome back to my blog, where I share my journey of undertaking a No Buy Year, a personal challenge to avoid buying any non-essential items for a year. I started this challenge on January 1st, 2024, and I’m now five months in. Well done, self! In this post, I’m going to update you on how I’m doing, what challenges I’ve faced, and what benefits I’ve gained from this experience.
Overall, I’m doing pretty well with this whole no-buying-stuff challenge. I’m really, really proud of myself that I have lasted this long! I haven’t bought anything that’s not on my approved list of essentials. This month was a little bit easier than last month. I’ve also been tracking my spending and saving habits, and I’m happy to report that I am doing good saving, which is a huge improvement from my previous years of overspending and ignoring finances. It’s that simple (but hard) concept of spending less than you earn.
I did buy something this month, which was allowed as per my No Buy rules. My dishwasher broke. A dishwasher is an essential item for me because I have a lovely but messy family, and I cook (and fail) a lot, and washing dishes by hand would take up WAY too much time. When I ordered the replacement dishwasher, my conversation with the salesman went like this:
- “I am desperate. I need a dishwasher immediately.”
- “I can have one delivered tomorrow.”
- “Can I have a discount?” (I didn’t really care about a discount; it’s just second nature for me to ask.)
- “Sure. I can take off X amount of dollars off.”
- “Brilliant. Here are my payment details. I am super excited. Thank you.”
Then I hung up the phone and realized that I didn’t even bother to check the dimensions of my new dishwasher. It came the next day and it fit in my kitchen (JUST!). I have been loving the dulcet tones of dishes being washed, not by my own hands. I now realize that the appliance I love most in my house is my dishwasher. Big love heart!
Benefits
I think the big change for me in the month of May with the No Buy Year was keeping my big-picture overall goals in perspective. One of our goals is to pay off the mortgage. That’s a more long-term goal, but the more we save now, the less interest we pay overall. I’m enjoying being able to slowly contribute towards that goal, especially when that the gut-wrenching feeling happened of ‘oh no, interest rates are going up again!’
I have come to the conclusion that I much prefer to own fewer clothes that are good quality and that I feel fabulous in, rather than owning lots of clothes that I feel ‘meh’ about wearing. No more fast fashion for me in the future.
Reflection
As I reflect on these past five months, I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned and the progress I’ve made. The No Buy Year has not only improved my financial health (it kind of feels like I have gone on a diet) but also helped me appreciate the value of mindful spending and quality over quantity. I’m excited to continue this journey and see how much more I can achieve by the end of the year. Clap!