I’ve already written about life after Low Buy, so we know by now that it didn’t always work out as I wanted it to. Though I spent more money than I hoped I would, I mostly stuck to my wishlist and didn’t escalate. However, there is room for improvement.
Now being early July, the first half of 2021 is already over. At the risk of sounding like my grandma, time seems to just fly by the older I get. Another thing that seems to fly around, not landing where it should — my savings account — is money. I got rather careless about my budgeting, probably because I felt I didn’t buy that much (I honestly did not). Thing is, of course, I’m still spending more than I did last year. This means that, OF COURSE, I’m not saving as much as I did last year.
I intend to change that.
So many books, so little time…
Looking through my expenses in the last few months, it’s clear that the main thing I spent money on is books. I always find something new and interesting to read, and I enjoy splurging on books because I know this will always be a good investment. Any book nerds out there will understand my bookish good intentions, I guess.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, I rearranged my bookshelves — don’t ask me why it took me THAT long (4,5 years) to finally optimize my book shrine. Getting a better overview of what I have, I realized that there were tons of hidden gems I had simply forgotten about because I hadn’t seen them in years. The old notion of ‘reading my shelves,’ rediscovering what I already have, came to my mind again. Loving the idea, I’m also realistic enough to know that I don’t want to not buy any new books for half several months.
Despite that, I plan on focusing more on the wonderful books I already have and mainly buying new ones off my wish list. This will help save me money, preventing impulse book purchases. It will also bring me closer to my goal of reading more of the books I own instead of constantly adding new ones to my shelves. Cherishing what I have and more consciously choosing what I want is a concept I already follow regarding my closet (most of the time) and it may be a good idea for my shelves as well.
Let’s do…a Low Buy Light (of sorts)
Following my meanderings, you may have guessed what comes next: me doing another Low Buy, at least sort of. While last year my primary goal was to ‘reprogram’ my weary mind, this time my major incentive is to save additional money to reach my savings goal at the end of the year.
Why it’s called a ‘Low Buy Light’, you may ask? Well, mainly because I will allow myself well-considered purchases like items I put on my wishlist and/or have wanted for some time. Before buying something I will ask myself some useful questions like “will it still be useful in five years”, “does it work with the things I already own” and, most importantly, “can I use something I already got or make it myself instead”? In doing so, I stay true to the main idea of a Low Buy while also being lenient when it comes to things I want to purchase for good reasons.
Why again? Why now?
These are legitimate questions to ask someone who continues to state how easy the transition from Low Buy into Go Buy (what you want) is again and again.
As stated before, one huge incentive is saving more money. Another reason is that I really enjoyed my Low Buy year and the simplifications it brought. Not even entering certain shops because I knew I wasn’t ‘allowed’ to buy anything there; seeing something and putting it on my wishlist instead of buying it on impulse; putting much thought into my actual purchases, thereby appreciating them more. That felt fantastic — I didn’t even mind the restrictions, and that’s not how I usually roll.
Who knows, maybe one day I don’t call this a ‘Low Buy’ anymore, but just a way of life, a way of conscious consumption in a world that feigns constant growth, and therefore constant consumerism is the only way to live.
Anyway, let’s start again (though actually, I’ve already started on July 1st, it just took me some days to finish this post). Looking forward to saving tons of time, energy, and a bit of money 🙂