Happy new year y’all! We made it! 2020 was a lot of things (most of which were not so great), but it was also my first ever no buy year. Way back in January I set out some rules for my no spend challenge and embarked on a year without shopping. Today I’m sharing an overview of my 2020 no buy experience including all the highs, lows and satisfying figures.
Let’s do it!
What I Learned During my No Buy Year
When I decided to take on this challenge, I thought I might come out the other end with an overwhelming desire to give away all my earthly possessions and move into a van (flower crown optional). That turned out not to be the case, but a year without shopping has definitely changed my perspective about ‘stuff’ and what really makes me happy.
It turns out that suff does me me happy! The twist is, the less of it I have, the happier it makes me. I know, that sounds insane, right?
But take bath bombs for example. When every bath time was accompanied by a bath bomb, I enjoyed my soak in the tub. But when a using bath bomb became a once in a blue moon experience, that little ball of bubbles became an enormous source of excitement. I savoured every second of it and really got my money’s worth.
Same with clothes. I gave up buying clothes in 2020, which was fine because my wardrobe is full to bursting anyway. But by the time my birthday rolled around in September, I realised I had a distinct lack of warm clothes for my new life in the UK. I got two new jumpers for my birthday and squealed with joy. I never would have gotten the same enjoyment from those jumpers if I’d been buying every pretty top that caught my eye all year.
So I guess the main thing I learned during my 2020 no buy was that I can glean joy from material possessions (yep, I guess I’m a capitalist sellout), but only from very specific things. Buying for the sake of buying might make me happy for 0.3 seconds, but actually thinking through my purchases and buying things as I require them makes me far happier in the long run. I appreciate things more when I buy less.
And sure, that might sound like an obvious cliche, but that realisation has changed the way I’ll shop for the rest of my life.
No Buy Year Savings
Now let’s get into the good stuff!
I kept a record of all my spending during 2021 and I was able to break it down into broad categories to see where my money was spent during the course of the year. I was then able to work out how much additional money I saved this year compared to other years, just by implementing a no spend challenge.
Yeah, I’m a spreadsheet nerd.
So here’s the breakdown of what I spent in 2020:
And I was able to save an additional £1141.41 this year on top of my regular savings. Not too shabby, eh?
What I Used Up
My main goal throughout my 2020 no buy was to use up the stuff I already had. I was on the verge of being buried alive by my excessive cosmetics products and enough was enough.
So throughout the year I kept track of all the products I used up as well as the total value of all those products. Again, I’m a spreadsheet nerd. It is what it is.
Below you can see the breakdown of the what I used up during 2020:
The total value of all the cosmetics I used up in 2020 was £938.67!
Not only that, but I only spent £176.59 all year replacing cosmetics products as I ran out of them, which means I used up £762.08 worth of products that were already lying around the house!
Over £700 of beauty products were just chilling in a drawer, not being used!
And that, my friends, is the power of a no buy year.
Are you ready to start a no-buy year, but have no idea where to start? Check out my no-buy year ebook that’s designed to guide you through the entire process.
No Buy Year 2021?
So here’s the big question – will I be doing another no buy year in 2021?
The answer is kind of yes and kind of no.
I’ve decided that there are certain no spend rules that I want to take forward with me into 2021 (and the rest of my life). However, at times I found my no buy year to be a little too restrictive. So this year I’m going to embark on a low buy year. I’ll still be managing my money with caution and focussing on using up what I have, but my rules for the year are going to be a little more flexible. It seems like the best way forward for me.
If you’re interested in starting a no buy year then I definitely recommend it! It might sound extreme/difficult/downright crazy, but it’s totally doable. And if you’re looking for tips and support, go ahead and join our no buy year Facebook group. We’d love to have you on board.
