Low-Buy Year

 

Good afternoon, all. I hope your year is off to a good start. Personally, it took the whole month of January to get the year off its feet and now things are moving right along. While writing this post, I am sipping on some ginger peach tea, one of my faves. It's also quite warm out and I have my window open, letting in a gentle breeze. My one cat is laying next to me, so I'm enjoying her company as well.

I've been a shopaholic. I would give myself any chance and any reason to buy myself something, usually high end. I thought spoiling myself would make myself happy, but it got to the point that it was hurting me. I was, and still am, drowning in stuff. There was a fine line between making myself happy and spending too much. I don't know how to prioritize and budget, and I found myself constantly being in the position of needing emergency funds or not realizing that an upcoming bill was sooner than I thought. In the moment, the item I bought made me happy, but almost two seconds out of the store made me regret my decision because I knew I would have needed the money for something important. 

So, this year, I am trying something different. I haven't heard of a low-buy year before, but it basically is a budget where you're aware of what you have and what you need. I am telling myself that I don't need clothes, or the newest trend, or the deal. I shopped at a store recently because I had a gift card and when I left, they gave me a coupon that read if I spend $50, they would take off $20, and that sounds like an awesome deal. But, I would have to spend $30 on something I don't need. It's important to tell myself that last part because otherwise I would focus on the deal and buy myself something that I don't have room for, nor do I need any of what the store offers. Also, I was a huge sucker for trends. Especially the minimalist trend where all the electronics are the same brand and color, same with the clothes and furniture, but then I feel like I am pressured to buy all new items. 

To stay with my intention of having a low-buy year, I am staying off social media to avoid any new trends. I am also changing my thought process, like with the deal I mentioned and coupons. It helps to visualize my belongings so I don't duplicate anything and to remind myself that I already have what I need. It's also important to know what I do need so that when I go out to replace that one I don't buy other things. I almost slipped up when I was buying skin care, but I put the serum down because I already had one at home, even though it was a different brand and one I wanted to try. I'm proud of myself, but I also don't want to be too strict because that can be damaging. It's better to be calm and patient, because I am training myself to think in a different way than I have been for years. I am bound to slip up and that's okay. 

Besides being excited to keep a certain amount in my bank account (and to hopefully watch it rise from there), having a low-buy year equates to minimalism because the idea is to buy only what you need when you need it. I can't give a definite report in any changes yet because the year had just started, but I can say that I have been sticking to the plan of buying only when I need to replace something and the drive to buy has diminished quite a bit. I will give an update in a few months, to check back in and see how my low-buy year is going. I hope this has inspired you to try a low-buy year. Thank you for reading <3