Tag Archives: low buy year

“Any fool can make a rule …”

Posted in Life and all, low buy by

Before deciding to start my Low Buy 2020 Challenge I went on YouTube and watched videos by Hannah Louise Poston, Christina from style apotheca, Signe from useless_dk, and Hailey Evans, amongst others, for inspiration and to get an idea of what I actually want to do – low buy, no buy, a whole year, just a few months?
Thanks to Signe I realized early on that a complete No Buy year would very probably set me up for failure because in the end I wouldn’t be allowed to buy a single book for a whole year (yeah, I know, I’m such a drama llama when it comes to books …). That’s why I granted myself the luxury of a 50 Euro book budget every month. My main objective is to rediscover my bookshelves and read what I have – so best case scenario would be to save additional 50 Euros every month – yet if I absolutely HAVE to get a certain book (maybe even for professional reasons) I can buy it without breaking the rules of my Low Buy challenge feeling like a total loser.

bookshelves with books and plants

Another thing that became clear early on was that I needed set up some rules for myself if I wanted to suceed in not buying anything I don’t need. I’m a grown-ass woman and intellectually capable of grasping the basic idea of a ‘low buy challenge’ BUT the issue may get a bit more complicated over time and I know I have to give myself some guidelines to follow so I won’t start bullshitting myself … Thus, I did some research and voilà – THE rules! 🙂

My Low Buy 2020 rules:

1) I will not buy any new clothes, bags, backpacks, or shoes. Nothing. I got enough stuff to get me through more than just a year and I will make use of it.

2) I will keep track of my spending to keep my eyes on the prize, i.e., see how much money I save by not buying shit I don’t need. I will do so by tracking my expenses in my bullet journal because apps simply don’t do the trick for me.

3) I will buy replacements WHEN NEEDED. This includes groceries, medical items, skin care products and toiletries, household goods, stationary/office supplies, plants (as stated before I might have killed one of our green friends …), fabric and wool. BUT: I will buy this only WHEN NEEDED. I will not accumulate a collection of notebooks, deodorants, or candles as long as I got enough of it and don’t need one specific item. I will use up (or discard) what I own before buying anything new.

4) I can sew or knit something new if I want to BUT (again) I will use the fabric and wool I have at home before buying anything new. Only then am I allowed to buy materials for one new item per month. In doing so I want to train my patience by actually making something myself – which takes much longer than simply buying it – and also create a sort of appreciation for clothing in general. Garments don’t grow on racks, they are made by someone and it takes time and workmanship to create a piece of clothing. So why not take a step back and do it myself – I got the equipment but lack skills and patience, so this promises to bring lots of fun.

5) I will only have two take-outs per month at the max.

6) I have a book budget of 50 Euros per month. Since book shopping has never been a problem in the first place, I want this one thing to continue ‘as usual’. However, I will not spend more than 50 Euros – if something is too expensive, it has to wait. So I have to think hard about which books I really want and which ones I put on my wishlist. 

7) I will buy gifts for others or spend money on shared experiences. This includes vacations, lunch/dinner/coffee dates, and trips to a museum, the zoo or the like. Since I’m not a huge socializer to begin with, it’s not like this is something that happen three times a week. Usually I have a fortnightly lunch date with a good friend of mine as well as the occasional coffee date with friends or family. I couldn’t afford vacations for several years not only for monetary reasons but also because of mental health issues. That’s why I don’t want to cut back on traveling for this Low Buy challenge in general, nevertheless I will focus on the experience and not on the shopping opportunities when up and away. In the end it’s not like I’m flying across the globe every few weeks …

8) No IKEA, no mugs, no home decor and the like.

9) No video games. I will use what I have.

10) Whenever I see an item I want to have I put it on my wish list. Having and (pretty much) curating a wish list will give me an understanding of the things I WANT compared to what I actually NEED. It will also give me the certainty that even though I may not be able to buy it now it will not be forgotten and can be bought in a few months/weeks time.

My main incentive is to save some money. I was good at saving money when I had none – it’s time to get back into that spirit. Because the only thing worth spending money on is time for yourself … at least to me. 🙂

  

I need a break … My Low Buy Year for Beginners

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LOw Buy1stpost1

Christmas is NOT my time of the year. And this year was no exception. It’s stressful, most people are highly irritable, and it seems to be all about shopping, shopping, shopping. Bigger, better, more exclusive. Not that I’m any better just because I don’t do Christmas – there’s still Black Friday and any other day to shop ’til I drop.  And slowly but steady it’s getting too much.

I need break. Offline AND online. First and second hand.

I’m not a shopaholic in any traditional understanding (I only buy what I can afford and more often than not even have some money left to put aside) BUT I sure as hell have established a nice little retail therapy routine within the last year that is neither healthy nor desireable. Therefore I want to give it up again before it becomes alarming and consolidates its full habitual strength (I’m an ex-smoker, I know what I’m talking about). In the end it’s not only a waste of precious lifetime but also money and more often than not I end up discarding or re-selling the stuff I bought because I already have more than enough.
For several weeks now it feels like I’ve reached a sort of climax and need a nice clean cut to head in a new direction. While looking for some inspiration regarding possible new directions I came upon some very inspiring YouTube videos (which I will share with you in another post). As a result – and because I appreciate the overly dramatic symbolism of a well thought out New Year’s resolution – I decided that as of January 1st, 2020 I will embark on my own Low Buy Challenge for the next 365 days. And to create a feeling of responsibility towards myself and others, I will add a #lowbuy category here on this blog to write about it along the way. Hopefully.

 

No Buy? No, Low Buy

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Contrary to others who start a NO BUY journey, I prefer to call mine a LOW BUY year, even though I plan on not buying any shit I just want but don’t need. To make this easier and more structured – YES I tried a few low buys before and it went not that great – I will set up some rules which I will explain in my next post (as well as the exceptions to it, i.e. my monthly book budget). Main thing is that I will not buy anything new except replacements and things I really NEED and not only WANT. Apart from groceries I will replace the following items/categories only when needed: 

  • – Medicine
  • – Beauty/skin care products
  • – Stationery / office supplies
  • – Plants (there is a slight chance that I killed our bamboo – if that’s that case we definitely need another plant in its place, no matter if low buy or not …)
  • – Fabric and wool

As you can see I did not mention clothes, shoes or backpacks/bags. That’s because I do have plenty of these and there won’t be much need to replace an item (except for a pair of black sneakers and a leather jacket, but I may find these items even before 2020). Instead of shopping for clothing, I plan on sewing (knitting) more. Since I’m no experienced seamstress it will take me longer until I ‘get’ something new but I appreciate items I’ve made myself much more because of all the time and work I invested – though I often make a stupid mistake along the way and the result looks like something most people wouldn’t even use as a cleaning rag. Well, it’s called “challenge” for a reason.

Nevertheless, with some inspiration and support from the low buy and minimalism community on YouTube, Instagram and all over the web I will navigate through rough waters while discarding old habits. In the spirit of Signe Hansen’s (useless.dk) hashtag #2020wehaveplenty let me tell you that I do indeed have plenty and intend to make good use of it for the coming year.

Well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Let’s see what will happen – next year. 

P.S.: Of course I will continue to write about books – after all I hope to read much more once I stop wasting my time…so bear with me while I try some new things and rediscover my bookshelves 🙂