honestly it’s really helpful to see a no-buy year that didn’t go exactly to plan! it’s really motivating and impressive to see you break your no-buy, but not completely fall off the rails afterwards.
You are perfect and human - your channel helps with my addiction and shame surrounding it. You’re not failing but trying- I didn’t think that it would make sense for me to even try to attempt a no buy anything. Now I feel motivated as I know that the worst thing to happen is that I spend way less than usual ❤
As the saying goes, "fall down seven times, stand up eight"! We're all human, learning, doing our best and trying to improve. You're not a hypocrite because you're acknowledging the contradictions and fully disclosing the information without sugar-coating it. The value in your message is genuine!
You are not a sham. You are human, and you're learning. You seem to be learning more each year and as long as you are trying to find solutions as well as trying them out then you are moving in the right direction. Keep going with your momentum.
Thank you, Alexa, for your transparency and honesty. You are an inspiration for me as I head into my low-buy year. I am looking forward to watching your channel in 2025.🎉
I'm personally not a fan of no-buy years, because it's not a realistic way to live in today's society. So for me, your year was absolutely a success; you were able to truly and deeply look at your consumer behaviour, document it and analyse it. You totally changed the way you view influencer content and how much it influences your purchases. All this while also creating a lovely UA-cam community. In my eyes this year was a huge turning point in your life. I also feel like a no-buy year doesn't make sense for someone like you who's interested in style, social media and culture - I'd just set up some spending limits or rules for next year instead of setting yourself up for a failure by trying to do something unrealistic for your life.
As much as I agree with this comment, I think the " no buy" was a vessel into which she could pour all her efforts and creativity! She maybe needed an impetus to get going on UA-cam? So glad this has worked out so VERY well! Not really a fail at all!
I'm actually not sure still, that I am interested in style, social media and culture in a genuine sense, or what aspects/levels of that interest are intuitive to me! To the dismay of perhaps yourself and realistic-minded people out there, I am going to try another "no buy" 2025 😆 but with additional parameters for "success", so that it's not just "buy nothing unnecessary or FAIL" There's something about the perhaps unattainable idea of a "no buy" that makes it more fun - I recently realized that despite how it might appear on here, and how negatively slanted some of these videos might seem as far as where I'm at internally, this whole endeavour, overthinking included, has actually been quite fun, as far as the pursuit of a seemingly impossible goal.
@@Alexas.nobuyyear I totally think this year was a really awesome trial run and next year you will be successful!!! Because of you I’m doing a low buy year!
Yayyy congratulations on completing the year!! ❤🎉 I am super inspired by your openness and the realness of your channel. I can’t wait to keep watching and seeing what is next!
I am subscribing because of the pure honesty here in this video. None of us is perfect. So many pretend they are. What I saw in this video is vulnerability and openness and honestly and wisdom. Thank you!🙏
I actually wonder if the 2020-21 situation sparked my shopping issues, since that was the year I had the job I made the most money doing (public school teaching) and also had the most formal dress code for, so felt that I needed to buy a bunch of clothes for the job. I did have some very low-income years before that and didn't have as much of an issue NOT spending or trying not to buy things I didn't need. But hopefully 2025 will bring new focus! We'll see how ti goes!
I appreciate your transparency in this process. Recovering from overspending is not an easy linear path. It helps to hear your challenges and struggles in the process because I'm sure others can relate and understand. I'm glad you plan to keep going on this journey.
You're not a sham. You've made a lot of progress that you wouldn't have, if you just carried on as before. And your channel is helpful and inspiring to many people, like me.
The biggest tip I would give that has helped me personally is to have a monthly spending budget. For me personally it is a $50/month “fund”. If there is something I “need” - a pair of shoes to replace worn out ones, a skincare item I’ve used up - then we budget for it separately at the beginning of the month. So I get $50 to spend how I want, and if something I want is more than that, I have to “save” that money. This has saved me so much money, and forces me to think about if I really want to use my budget for it.
Pardon my parasocial feeling of protectiveness but you are so hard on yourself 😩 You educate and inspire us, and look at all that you have learned ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ you make me believe I can change my mindset too
Congratulations on a truly epic accomplishment! So much planning, so much rehearsing, so much reading and editing! Finding the time in a busy life! We have all benefited greatly and look forward to more growth and FUN! Happy 2025! 🎉
I think this is one of the most successful no buys based on the audience you’ve reached and inspired. we’re gearing up for our no buy in 2025 and after watching a lot of year end videos I think we’re adding the “rule of 5” to allow for a little more grace for ourselves. I also look forward to really looking at our budget, staying under 10% is a really great place to cap things off. I wonder how much my favourite things will retain their value when I know what percentage of my annual income they are.
Good video and very honest of you to share! Did a year of low buy and then a year of no buy this year. I think the point isn't necessarily not buying anything which sounds silly but honestly its changing habits around buying. The only thing I would say though is we did the no buy as a family and considered EVERYTHING that came into our home and its finally changed my habits and feels like a way of life tbh. I spent £30 this year on myself thats just replacement shampoo, facewash and moisturiser it didnt even feel that difficult compared to 3 years ago i would spend thousands on stuff! I do feel watching this video that you're still purchasing alot in different areas of your life or for different times of years which isnt a judgement just think thats why you could be finding it harder to break the habits. Everyone is so different though so what ever works for you and I love the fact you share this journey! Xx
Well we haven't had prime for years but still ordered from Amazon this year (just with slow shipping) - but it's a conscious goal to avoid in 2025! Not sure I'll ever convince my husband to fully commit to trying it with me, but I do feel that I'm becoming more successful at not being influenced by his "times of purchase" even for expensive things. He does spend a lot more of his time at work and make a lot more of our income, so I wouldn't actually trade the ability to buy more for having to do his job, so I'll appreciate what I do have! Anyway, I agree that purchasing in different areas and at different times of year wasn't helping in succeeding at my goals, so I do have a more concrete plan for those kinds of things in 2025! We'll see how it goes!
Personally, naming the brands makes things feel more relatable to me tbh, but I get the point of not wanting to influence. I’m enjoying your channel and seeing your journey. Happy new year!
I think how it's going to go, is I'm going to try and de-brandify myself and my own mentalities first, and see how the "mentions of brands" might naturally decrease on here - we'll see!
It would be interesting to hear more about your auto-gift giving approach - it seems you take on this task for the household and it requires a deal of maintenance throughout the year. Essentially, delving into the "grey area" mentioned here. Also, more about what habits or hobbies you will enjoy instead of shopping (for yourself or others) in the New Year. Thanks for making this very necessary space!
Thank you so much for sharing! I've been attempting No Buys for a few years now and I have failed each one. It's refreshing to see someone else also fail in their attempt at making the drastic life change that is a No Buy. It can feel like a failure, but the upside is that each year I am better at detaching myself from wanting superfluous items. I am better at saving. I am better at distinguishing want from need. Progress is progress. Life is one big experiment and we're allowed to try, fail, and get better. Wishing you good luck in the new year!
Thanks for sharing your success and failures of 2024. This is my first No Buy / Low Buy year and I heard another UA-camr say, "Always ask yourself 'Can I live without it?'" when considering acquiring something. I think I'm going to use that myself and hope it will help me "practice the pause" when I'm tempted to buy a thing I really do not need. Happy New Year & Best of luck to all of us in 2025! 🙂
It’s not a sham, it’s a trial period. I don’t know anyone who pulled a no-buy swinging from intense consumerism perfectly. It’s a muscle like any other and needs to be strengthened with time.
We are not mad at you. We appreciate your content! Thanks for sharing and all the best for 2025! And by the way barefoot shoes have helped my health immensely. Not only for the health of my feet. But also for my posture and overall back, hip and knee health. Also you have done 5 nobuy months/lowbuy months. Brava!
I really applaud your honesty. Buying name brand high price items without a full emergency fund and a nice savings would make me not sleep at night and I really hope that you will get there in your process. It's not about perfection or "fails". Combining savings goals with your no buy efforts would probably be a good idea.
Call it a Low Buy !! I'll be doing a 25 in 2025..so allowing 2 items a month + 1 bonus! The 2 doesn't count gifts for others, replacing items and essentials. Goal is not to buy anything but the 2 a month allows a certain amount of flexibility. Best Wishes for 2025 🎉
I like the idea of 2 per month. I think I’d have some months I’d ’save up’ for another month though as I know already I might need some new summer clothes due to losing weight (if all goes to plan with my diet!) but I Am enforcing a ban on many items including new shoes and bags etc which I have lots of to last me
love your efforts and honesty ❤ and appreciate hearing how you relate to your husband’s continued non-no-buy experience. my partner has quite a different mindset from my no/low buy efforts but observing them actually makes me understand my motivations and purpose even more xo
Thank you so much for sharing your journey! I am on a similar journey and you have truly helped me to do better in 2024, to see things how they are and to really reflect on what makes us buy stuff. (for me it is often problem solving with money instead of behaviour change) You are so much more helpful than all of these "fewer nicer things"-channels, which honestly feel more like they focus on "nicer things" nowadays, the "fewer" part is not very present. No shame in "failing", we are never perfect, but always good enough! So glad I stumbled upon your channel, and excited to see what 2025 brings along!
Yes! I felt myself falling into the "fewer nicer things" illusion of really just buying the same or MORE of the "nicer, curated, expensive stuff" 🙈 Here's to continuing the journey out of that place, in 2025!
In the most respectful way possible, I’m getting the sense that you have a lot of guilt/shame about “failing” your year and it’s manifesting in negative self talk and excuses. I don’t think the standard of perfection you have set for yourself in 2024 is realistic. Very very few people (if any) can go from 0% to 100% in one go. To me, it sounds like the progress you’ve made over the past year is worthy of celebration. If your previous spending was truly so bad that you don’t wish to elaborate, then this year has been a massive leap forward in comparison. All this to say, doing better than you did yesterday is not failure-its great, and offering yourself grace and acceptance when you inevitably slip will benefit your mental wellbeing and your overall goals in the long run. Well wishes for your no buy 2025! I will be in the same boat!
For 2025 I'm doing a No Buy year for certain categories where I know I already have what I need: shoes, purses, jewelry, make-up (unless something runs out), exercise equipment or clothing, decor, and kitchen cooking items, dishes or cleaning items.
hi! as James Clear would say, focus on the process not the outcome. A few years ago I was going to attempt a no buy year ( like hlp) but then I realised how unfit I was for a whole marathon.... I first needed to put on my running shoes, stretch, do a bit of walking first, run a few hundred meters, then miles.... I am sure you see the metaphor: one hears about no buy years from people who have shopping addiction: running a marathon before building your muscles is not only very hard, but also does not work very well, and is painful. I ended up, like suggested down below in one of the comments, with a no buy month, on only a few items (clothes) Then I extended it with a few other items ( beauty products). Little by little I ended up observing the when why how I felt like shopping ( boredom, evening ,on line). And I got to know myself too. " Know thyself" is what I gained in the process... not necessarily huge amounts of money even if I did save more. I gained as we say in French my own "mode d'emploi", "instructions for use manual".
Love this! And I DO actually talk about "know thyself" as one of the reasons the "no buy year 2024" was a success, instead of a failure. (Next video, I think). I guess the reason HLP's year was inspiring to me was that it did seem like she was also unfit for the marathon (saying this in a nice/observational way, not judging), but yet she managed to do it anyway. And talked her viewers through all the pain of the year. And so I thought maybe I could do the same. But I will continue learning! And writing new instructions for my use manual!
I don’t see your no-buy year as any kind of failure, you have learnt so much about yourself. I have a goal of tracking my spending in 2025. I would like to know where it goes… 💸
Thank you for your candidness. You have really helped me to be prepared for (inevitable?) mistakes and failures when I embark on my first no/low spend year in 2025. Your honesty and opnness has helped bring my unrealistic optimism back down and consider where the pitfalls are likely to be. This means that I can be better prepared and not throw it all in because of some imperfections and bumps in the journey. I have really enjoyed and appreciated your reflections. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
Thank you for a realistic video. I still think you did great. I watched a video from Uncomplicated Spaces. She is great as well and is doing a low buy year for 2025, where she is allowing herself 2 purchases a month. I'm going to give that a try! Anyways, great work on all of the videos. I appreciate it and have learned a lot 😊
Im only halfway through the video at this point so youre still talking about november. Just throwing this out there because it seems like a lot of this are christmas gifts. Maybe from ahead it would be a good idea to set a budget for next christmas, not spend over that, then none of it counts on your no-buy. No guilt. I bought myself 2 things for christmas, and dont consider the cost of those in my no buy year. Maybe thats just me though 😅
Agreed - it was a lot of Christmas/Birthday gift shopping, and one of the first things I did for "no buy 2025" was to set a goal/reasonable limit for gifts, so that next November I have a very clear plan! As well as a budget!
@Alexas.nobuyyear im glad 💚 thank you for sharing all that. I recognize that would be a very hard video to make. If you had not "failed" idk if I would've found your channel through your first failure video. Also, it's healing to watch someone attempt something really difficult and not do it perfectly. I don't know if I believe when creators set out to do a 12 month no-buy and no mistakes were made or no weird circumstances came up. A year is unpredictable and I just look forward to seeing you try this again and be a bit closer to your goals as you practice not buying 💚💚🙏🏻
Hi Alexa, thank you so much for your transparency! I have learned so much from your videos and your input. Regardless of how much you've spent or didn't spent on your no buy year, the work you're doing in changing your mindset will have a lasting impact! I'm sure you'll reap the benefits in 2025. I have mentioned before in my comment on your other videos that I have started a no buy year. I think that having my husband supporting me in this goal will help a long way. Maybe when you are discussing finances with your husband, you can also have a discussion as to how he can support you in the upcoming no buy. For us, having a clear family budget and savings goal for the year + understanding how much we are spending and where we can save & optimise => these steps have really helped. My husband has also started a no buy year - his is simple with one rule only: no tech stuff because thats his downfall 😅
It is pretty tough in that area since my husband is quite different when it comes to buying stuff, he does have a more rigid mentality sometimes too so I don't think he would be willing to commit to any sort of "no buy," even if he is generally supportive about trying to get our finances in order. If it's a category he is unwilling to compromise on (groceries, running supplies, both things that are "health"-based so also harder to argue! but also categories that he wants to always have the"best" in, and therefore, often the expensive options) then it is unlikely that we will be able to make any "savings progress" in those categories - but, we'll see how "putting savings first" looks at the beginning of this new year and go from there! Thank you for sharing!
I think you have succeeded. See, if you never try, you have already failed. But if you try and fall short, if you learn from it, if you grow from it, if you reflect on it and decide to make changes or try again, you have won! You have pushed through, kept going, and continued on the path. So what if you detoured? You took the scenic route now and then. If you were like all these other UA-camrs that give this perfectly currated account of a flawless no but year, it would continue to set an unrealistic standard, leaving some of us watching feeling like wee are failures. Please keep it up staying real with us ❤ the people who need and appreciate it will stick around.
I will be doing a low buy year next year for sure. However good I thought I was doing, I did the math and got 74€ for november and 77€ in december... What made up the most of it was a second hand genuine leather jacket and a pair of white Adidas sneakers on discount, which I dedicated to when I am feeling fancy and not driving a bike (because the white sneakers I already own need to be put in a washing machine regularily and will be exposed to bike grease). The rest is small stuff online like pillow covers and pendants... But small stuff tends to pile up haha. I will be committed to battle the excuses to buy next year and set a budget for every month of the low buy year
I know you started this UA-cam channel as a way of holding yourself accountable...so I'm not going to try to convince you that this was not the "fail" you seem to feel that it is ("fail" is in the eye of the beholder...being you), but I will say that I'm impressed with how much you have learned during this past year and how your channel/content has evolved into so much more than just an accountability project. I'll also praise your honesty which has been very refreshing. Lastly, I'm impressed that you are going for another year of no buy in 2025. You have inspired me to consider a no buy for clothing only in 2025. I'm pretty good with my money otherwise, but I still spend too much on clothes even with buying most all secondhand.
I'd love to stay updated on how it goes! I'm feeling actually a lot better/more optimistic this time around, especially looking back and seeing where I started last year's "no buy" - that girl back then didn't stand a chance, honestly, but maybe the "me" of today, does!
Also thank you because you are a great help, you are also very articulate, obviously quite educated and I really enjoy listening to you. So I wish you a very happy new year'from France🇫🇷✨
I dont interpret your talk as 'negative'..to me it reminds me of english self-irony combined with humility & humanness..your humour ressonates very well with a light version of scandinavian humour..the way you address your own behaviour makes me giggle (in the most complementing sense)..Thank you for being real 💚
Was November a king of rebound shopping from some point? I watched Shelby a lot in earlier years, nice to hear from her here. At least the things you bought and got are things you use... so don't be too harsh on yourself. I will follow in 2025...I hope you will keep reporting.
I love your honesty here Alexa. Looking at your what you might have got it does look like you spent around half of what you would have! I am attempting a low buy next year as I have unfortunately got a large chunk of debt to pay off so I will have to be a lot more strict on myself. I think I’d normally spend over £7000 (I’m in the UK) on non essentials (I do have twelve year old twins too so some of that is on them) but I hope to at least half that and use the other half I’d usually use to pay debt down! I like the idea of doing a full six months and staying within a set budget too though. I wouldn’t buy expensive jeans myself and I’m not into makeup (I work from home and don’t even own any lol my 12 year old daughter wears more!) so that’s not a problem for me but little clothing items and especially things I can’t resist buying clothing wise which often include jackets and coats definitely add up!
We can do it! I guess on further reflection, if I manage to halve the spending once more in 2025, I'd actually be pretty happy with the result (and it'd come in under the maximum budget allowance for non-essential spending!) so maybe that's a more holistic way to think about it!
I think I was intending to mention when they were purchased but not include that in the "no buy fail" cost - but I do see that I failed to remove that from the pie chart where I removed technology. I think I was focused on how it's a recurring expense rather than a once-a-decade expense and lost track of whether the pie chart was representing arguably non-essential spending or no buy "fails" 😅
I think this was a complete success because you changes your habits and shifted your views quite significantly in many aspects. You should be really proud for doing it and for sharing it with so much humility. Remember that you don’t need to justify anything to anyone but appreciate you explaining. We don’t do stocking gifts and never have - don’t think it’s a big thing here in Aus as I’ve never known anyone who does it. Is this primarily a US thing? No shade but it seems like yet another American based consumerist thing that isn’t as popular in the rest of the world (another example I can think of is decorating for every season). Even with just one child the number of gifts we/she received from family was insane. So much stuff to organise and tidy and not to mention all the packaging and wrapping. So overwhelming. I wish my family would slow down and cut down but they don’t really ever do so. Even this year my sister in law bought our toddler a play kitchen (which she absolutely adores!) but up until now she was using her toddler fold up couch as an oven by putting the bowl inside and folding the couch over. It was so creative and fun to see from a 2 year old. While she now has a perfect and beautiful play kitchen, she won’t use her make believe oven ever again which is sad.
Thank you - in my case I definitely had to start somewhere, and hopefully can continue improving. In our house the stockings are more of the "Santa element" - and I know it might be weird, but we do have stockings for us as parents too, and get a little something in there to be able to participate in that "fun". From a quick google search it looks like the tradition started Europe, but, probably like many things America has co-opted the tradition to encourage as much consumerism as possible. We I think, successfully managed to curtail the massive gift haul for our kids this year! Our family already doesn't really do a ton of gifts outside of those who live in the same household, and it helps that the kids' grandparents are also trying to save money these days, and were receptive to doing much fewer gifts. It actually felt pretty great, and maybe it's the perks of having a big family, but even with fewer gifts per child, the whole process still can feel pretty special with everyone taking turns/helping each other open gifts! Loved hearing about the pretend oven - the toy kitchen is a popular fixture - we got one for free from some neighbors a few years ago, but it has since ended up as an outdoor toy (it's plastic) since my husband got sick of it inside 😆
Hot take: the actual intended market for a lot of “influencer” brands are other aspiring content creators. Whether it’s products folks feel they have to review to get more views or equipment that’s in a grey area of actually needed vs justifiable as a “work” expense but doesn’t really fit a need. I really think there are lots of viral products that no one actually likes, they just “look good” for an aspiring content creator to have. And my further hot take is that I think the brands themselves know this. I’m not talking about your headphones at all, I think there’s a big difference between what I’m talking about and something you have multiple work uses for and no other item that meets that need. Actually, I think it would probably be helpful to decide whether YT is hobby spending or work spending for your personal understanding of it, and to separate work / hobby / discretionary out from each other. I know it’s super tricky! I’m a stage performer so makeup I buy is often a “work” expense, legitimately. And it can get a little murky, but it’s been worth untangling work stuff from day to day imo.
I agree with this, deeply, actually. Will probably discuss this in a future video. And I agree that brands know this, and market themselves to be "influence-able" products or focus on the highly aesthetic traits of the product rather than actual use value, but we are at a point where it doesn't matter as much if it's an actual good product, it matters more if an influencer will talk about it online. I have several examples of this in my own "collection of things I was influenced to buy" where there is undoubtedly a better version out there for the function of the product. That's an interesting question about whether UA-cam is hobby or work - I guess it muddies the waters that it does generate some income, but, I prefer to not treat it as an income-generating pursuit in terms of seeking to uphold a "professional" level of quality, if that makes sense. Not that I'm TRYING to be low-quality over here but I don't want to have to pursue income and certainly am not looking to justify expenses in the hopes of "improving my work/hobby" with youtube videos. I guess case in point is that I would consider this year's spending on "technology" kind of work-related since I use all of it for my viola-playing job, but also incidentally use it for youtube, but would never have purchased any of the tech FOR youtube if that makes sense. The only physical purchase for the video-making has been the hard drive, which I would also never have purchased for "work". Hoping that I actually won't have ANY additional youtube expenses for 2025 apart from the editing software, nor any hobby spending, seeing as I have more than enough to get on with going from the books/music goals that I already have 😅
Well I think you did great in 2024! We didn’t develop these shopping habits overnight so I think it’s unreasonable to expect to change overnight either. You’re changing your mindset about shopping and I think that’s what is so important. I must say, it is very difficult to change habits when your family doesn’t do the same. Re: savings-I set aside money for savings every time we get paid (the old “pay yourself first” term) and use the zero based budget but it works for us. That way I feel better knowing the savings goals have been met and we use the rest for monthly expenses (food, gas, etc.). Anything left over at the end of the month goes into savings. I don’t think you failed and I really appreciate how real and honest you are. ❤ Happy New Year!
We also do zero based budgeting, but have just been really bad at "paying ourselves first!" That'll hopefully be the FIRST thing that we address in 2025! Happy new year to you too!!
I saw in one of your videos where you said you had 317 clothes items!!!! This for me would be my main priority to not add to. 50-100 items would have to be a much more reasonable amount in the long term. Good luck and keep going you are helping lots of people. Michelle.
Yes - agreed! According to the current smartcloset app count it's now 249 items, including things like hats, gloves, pajamas, athletic wear...but still! This year will bring more decluttering (responsibly) clarity I think, as I'm starting tracking what I actually use in earnest.
Well! You’ve exercised restraint and made carefully considered decisions, so the “conscious” part of conscious consumerism has grown for sure. It must be daunting to share these details and I commend you for that. I’ve slipped up too, but also made better decisions and gotten better at stepping away from purchases, and that’s more than I honestly expected from myself. Not that I’ve done a complete 180- I found myself devastated over Black Friday that a specific bag I had my eye on went out of stock! One more reluctant win from Black Friday? I forgot to actually purchase the 2 products I wanted from Sephora during their Black Friday sale 😂
for the emergency fund, to make it easier, you could put a percentage of your direct deposit into savings ( if your company offers that). Set it and forget.
This was great content as usual ! Do you know why you felt compelled to buy a significantly higher number of stuff in november compared to the rest of the year ? Do you think it’s a result of an end of the year, end of the no buy feeling ? Or a monster that feeds itself, the more you buy, the more you want to keep buying ? Or did you feel it coming from a slow creep of buying more and more each month ? I think it would be very interesting if you covered this in a video ! It would also help me (us the viewers?) reflect on why we sometimes buy a lot, because it happens to me sometimes too. I also realised that year after year I tend too buy more items (in number) for more money (bigger budget) and I would like to reset that. This year I took note of why and when I bought each non essential item, and who/what influences me. I just unsubscribed to everyone who influenced me to buy something in 2024. My goal is to buy less than 50 items and stay steictly within my budget. Lets see how 2025 goes ! 🙂 I was also wondering for your 2025 goals, will you add more budget for gifts (birthday and christmas) or will they be within your 200/month budget ?
Thank you - so I do think that a lot of the November gray area was the thought of gifts for Christmas/Birthday, and the fact that it "made sense" to look for these things during the "sale season". However, without a plan in place for these gifts (yes, for myself!) for Christmas/birthday in terms of number of things and budget, it was way too easy to go off the rails like in previous years - although I'm 100% sure it was worse in the past. I do think it's a thing sometimes where if I'm "shopping" for something, more purchases tend to happen, which is kind of what happened in April with multiple fails happening there. I figure the next time I buy something (in 2025) this might present an opportunity to discuss the "urge to buy more when already buying", so I'll make a note to cover that idea when that happens 😅 I think prior to "no buy 2024" I was also seeing my purchases creep up in number and price, even though I was trying to buy less but better. I think part of that is that it's hard to cut down purchasing unless we are super intentional about it, and we can end up just buying more expensive stuff without actually buying less! Or in some ways, feeling enabled to buy more of the "nicer" things in the hopes that they're more ethical or sustainable or otherwise "positive" purchases. Plan for next year at least for now is to include gifts in the $200/month, but, that goal also includes meals out when I have a double service at work, and so it might need some course-correcting if that turns out to be unreasonable. I'm hoping to outline this plan a bit more in some upcoming videos of my "2025 no buy rules"
Ooo tip for making your own nut milk: use tea instead of water for the liquid in the blender! You can get some lovely flavors in that way! Hazelnut milk with lavender/rose tea as the base is super good. I don’t diy nut milk so much these days bc my blender isn’t powerful enough to really do it right now, but when I did it was awesome and super fun to experiment with!
At first I balked at your number, but really $300/month is pretty easy to spend. I think my goal is to get down to $100/month (single income household as my partner is disabled and going back to school). Right now we're at about $230/month (includes any non essential non food spending like date activities, video games, makeup, clothing, etc). Which, is actually a bit better than I thought! Unfortunately my budgeting app doesn't have an average, so I'm guessing this by looking at total spending in each non essential category. Practically, this means some months we spend nothing and some months we spend $600.
Same, I balked at it too! Especially since at the beginning of the year, I was unrealistically hoping for $0 😆 Next year's plan will hopefully bring things back into check, and at least make the "year-end total" NOT a surprise amount like it was this year
Breaking the habit is the hardest part. I feel sometimes like a drug addict tapping my feet and fidgeting in my chair because I want to go shop. I keep track of times I went shopping for unnecessary things, and the ❌️ "fail" days have been halved since I started watching your videos. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless!
I'll watch it later. Until then, I'm curious whether it is a good sign that this video is quite a bit shorter than the one about the things you did *not* buy. 😂 Edit: Ah, you finally bought these expensive Jeans. I was wondering whether I missed them in the "what I didn't buy" video.
Ok, please consider the source when it comes to this comment. Now maybe I'm just a hick from the sticks, but I have never in my life desired a cardigan for $400. You seem obsessed with brands and I just don't understand that. I understand being influenced with something that is in style, but who cares what the brand is? I have knockoff Birkenstock shoes and sandals where Birks cost $100+ but mine are EXACTLY the same - same materials and same quality. They last for years and years and I spend maybe $35 a pair. Just an example. Again, just an example - flared jeans are in so you want a pair. But why does it seem that with clothing, everything you want is a brand that costs HUNDREDS of dollars? You can get a good pair of flared jeans for $50-$100. I know people are going to say "quality" but I'm telling you, you can get the same quality for a fraction of the price.
I think there is something here - I think you can certainly get an item of the same quality often for a far lower price, especially if you get second hand. That said, I don't believe a lot of items should be priced as low as they are - the people making them are almost never getting a living wage, and I would be be willing to pay more for an item of the same quality that was manufactured ethically - I note that paying more for an item has next to no association with whether the maker is getting a living wage and many expensive brands are the worst offenders in terms of ethics. Also, I believe in paying original artists and valuing their work (and paying an amount for their work that gives them a living wage in the country they reside in) rather than mass produced knock offs that just look similar - they might have similar quality but that doesn't make them equal. If I didn't make my own, I'd be paying $30AUD for underwear... from a local maker that sews them on her own machine in Australia... I do not want to finance ANY sweatshops with my purchases if I can avoid it :) People don't want to know this in a cost of living crisis, but we are paying far too little for our clothing, and we need to get used to paying more for it and repairing it when it breaks :)
I think there is also some introspection needed about being very harsh to count work items like viola strings but then not batting an eye at a 500 dollar (!!) jeans because it's a "Christmas gift". A lot of savings goals would need to be reached for me that I would even consider this a possibility personally.
Exactly - the brand Asket’s site lists the actual fair production cost for each piece, itemized by type of cost. It’s very helpful to see what clothes SHOULD cost at minimum! On top of that comes of course the wages and profit etc for the company selling the item. Cheap clothes are too cheap. I sew and knit, and a lot of work goes into making clothes. If I buy enough ethical, local, sustainable yarn for an oversized sweater (babaa style) it easily costs me about 150-200 euros. So I don’t think a sweater like that from a store (230 euros from a sale, 290 e normal price) is crazy expensive. I would rather have two great pairs of jeans and one great sweater for which I paid 200 euros each, than ten pairs of jeans and ten sweaters that were 30 euros each but not so great or good quality. Where the problem arises, is that we are not content with just two pairs of jeans and one sweater, but always want more. I have been hoing between wanting to do a no-buy and a low-buy. I already decided that I can only buy yarn for one project at a time, and only after the previous project is finished. Otherwise there is no limit to buying yarn, as knitting is a hobby I enjoy. But I also like the fact that it takes a lot of hours to knit a sweater, so I won’t be making dozens 😹 I’m afraid that strict no-buy will just make me cave at some point and then spend even more. Maybe use the rule of five, so that if there is something I really, really want and would have use for, I am allowed to buy up to five items during the year…
I am one of those people who are into nicer clothing items and good designs so to me, this comment is extremely harsh. You don't see the value in it (also Birkenstock is hardly a fashion item! so your example is really not relevant), doesn't mean it should be the same for everyone.
I really felt understood here 😂 I found myself spending money over the last month and a half in a way that I'm disappointed with. A lot of that is influence from my friends - eating out, participating in shopping for gifts or for fun. Sure, we're young, but I don't want to hear that excuse anymore. I'm tired of spending money on things, and shockingly, I'm even sick of spending money on certain experiences and events. These days, for me it's not about the items or the specific experience - it's the connection that I feel to the other person. The item or experience is just an excuse to avoid the awkwardness and earnestness of asking for connection and time with the other person. I would much rather have spent all that money eating out on cooking classes so that I can learn to enjoy or at least tolerate cooking. A lifelong skill that would have endless benefits! I resent having to cook and I really want to transform that relationship into something more productive and useful for my life. My body did change this year, so I found myself buying clothes to feel warm and comfortable this winter season. But I also ended up buying things I didn't properly need - I convinced myself it would make me feel happier with my style, or my daily comfort. Also convinced myself I was investing in my future self. Why was I buying outdoor sandals for hiking when it was cold and raining outside and I won't be able to wear them until June of next year? Come on now 😂😂 I already have sandals I love. It's true that I don't have hiking shoes I feel comfortable in, but why is that randomly a priority compared to my other financial and personal goals *right now*? I can't remember if you were the one who had a video about shopping and loneliness - it was a discussion about how sometimes, buying things can be like filling an emotional void, and social connection can fill that void and make it easier to be less tempted to spend. I'm observing that pattern in myself. The spending I'm most disappointed by is happening when I'm detached from others. When I'm connected with others, I no longer desire to buy the things I wanted when I was alone. My friends and loved ones treat me the same no matter what I look like or what I'm up to.
Haha yes, I have absolutely done multiple videos on shopping and loneliness, it was an early pattern I observed during the no buy year and an idea that continues to weave its way into patterns of wanting and buying. I feel deeply the dissonance of buying stuff for the future self, or buying something now that's intended for use later. I feel like although I see it a lot more easily now, I still have work to do in this area. And even some of the things purchased in the recent November period are already mild regrets in terms of "I didn't actually need this *right now* and now I have to keep it in my house. Incidentally I also want to re-vamp my feelings towards cooking a bit too! I don't dislike it, but would love to have a better routine of healthy meals so that I have less of those days where I feel that struggle of deciding what I should prepare and eat, when I'm already tired and low-motivation as far as doing the work of preparing it 😅
One thing I noticed was how often you used excuses of saving something for Christmas which seems far more like an excuse to buy things than anything else, especially when it was happening in April
This is a thing. I am a person that buys things I like for myself, but I refuse point blank to get MYSELF a Christmas gift. That is just weird :P In fact, there are things I deliberately don't buy myself - even (and maybe especially) low cost things I can easily afford - so my friends and family can gift me something affordable that I want :)
Maybe it's just me, but if this year had been a bang up, huge success and you had not bought anything, it would have been a lot less interesting. If it is a gradual tapering off or just a more moderate method of buying things, it is actually much more helpful.
i don't think it's helpful to say you're a failure, even as a joke. negative self talk won't help you bc your brain doesn't know it's a joke and will internalize that message. no offense but i think you are spending far above your means, and i think it would help you to completely cut out whatever media you're consuming that exposes you to luxury brands, so that you don't even think about luxury eyeshadows or jeans and such. i would delete mercari from your phone, as well as any other shopping apps. honestly, you did much worse than i was expecting, but i also think you're being unfair to yourself by counting necessary expenses toward this total. good luck on your low buy next year!
Yep - the plan was to delete Mercari after the listings I have on there have had a longer chance to sell, but otherwise I deleted all shopping apps awhile ago aside from mercari and thriftbooks (the latter has since also been deleted). Also cut out most of the media awhile back too! And funnily enough some of the "latest brand exposures" were in other no-buy content! Which is what's making me re-think whether I can avoid brand mentions as much as possible for my channel next year, although it is proving challenging sometimes when the dialogue is kind of about the "power of branding". In January the plan is also to take a break from ALL content consuming, so we'll see how that shapes things! Onwards and upwards!
I don't think you should be so hard on yourself. You didn't develop a shopping problem overnight. Or even in a single year. It's been ingrained in you for your entire life living in a materialistic/consumerist society. So it will certainly not be solved in a single year. The worse the addiction, the longer it takes to recover. Like any other muscle, it takes time and constant work to build up your ability to want less. Give yourself grace. Keep working toward your goal. Although I was successful in not buying the majority of the things on my "absolutely not" list, I did fail with a few of them. One thing I broke my rule on was buying stuff at my work (which has a gift shop). Thankfully I only bought a few small things, and I didn't buy in any books! I did however completely fail in not buying art prints when I went to a convention. Sigh. It is my biggest weakness. Even if I had nothing on my walls, I have so many art prints there aren't enough walls in my house that I could hang them all up. Perhaps I shouldn't have had such a hard "no," much as you discovered with having too lofty of a goal of not buying for 12 months. I think maybe this year I will try a budget approach. (Edit: (as if this wasn't long enough) I forgot to mention I didn't buy ANY clothing! Which was also a problem area for me. I think it helped that probably 75% of the time when I buy something off the rack or from a thrift store, I'm not happy with it. And it feels like a big waist. So it was easier to just not bother. haha) Unfortunately, I found other places to spend a lot of money. I got into backpacking, and I spent a lot of money getting all the equipment I didn't have. But thankfully I have all that stuff now, so I shouldn't need to buy anything any time soon. I feel like my mindset has really changed doing this no-buy. I have reached a point that I actually DON'T want a lot of stuff anymore. Even recently, where I've had to shop for things that need replacing, or to spend some Christmas money I got, I kind of... don't like shopping now. It's sort of exhausting. I just want to quickly find the best option and get out of there as fast as possible. On my guide for no-buy 2025, I've allowed myself a few purchases that were previously on the "absolutely not" list, but with either a numerical limit, a maximum budget, or listing the very specific items I can buy in that category (mainly for things I know that will be releasing next year). Here's hoping that with these new limitations I will continue to work on my "not wanting" muscle. And maybe someday, I won't want anything at all. Haha. I wish this for you as well!
Here's to not wanting anything! Although I do someday "want" to get into backpacking too... it won't be until I can more regularly get out of the great nature-state (not) of Nebraska 😅 I always love reading your long comments, so please don't feel the need to restrain them. Major congrats to you on not purchasing any clothing! Wooo!
I am sure all of us (your viewers) recognize how damning difficult a video of this nature is to make. Takes a lot of courage and self security to put this out in the world. That said, this video makes a 'no buy process' look more attainable. Dont get me wrong - a promise to commit to a no-buy is what triggers a realistically successful 'low-buy' and in my eyes, it's a win! Something that i take away from this video - For my low buy 2025, I am going to hold up a small list of approved purchases - things I've kept on my radar for over 2-3 years already - its a small list, 2 shoes and 1 polene bag and 1 standard office white shirt (and some fresh underwear TMI). That'll give me something to fixate on which i forsee myself needing. That way I'll not seek new things to look for. Let's see how this pans out. Also, thank you for chosing to share your journey, one of the highlights of my year was pivoting to content like yours and Shwana's. This is the perspective i want to be exposed to to get my lifestyle inflation behaviour in chekc once and for all. Hoping 2025 bring peace, health and stability to you and your family
Same, as far as the content pivot! Having like-minded creators has really helped in letting go of some of my "old favorite" more influencing channels. Thank you for your presence and encouragement. Would love to hear your updates on how your low buy goes, and when you make your approved purchases, etc!
i feel like you go in the right direction, but then when you talk about certain items i'm still a little shocked how much thought you put for example in your bags. and why you need or want 4 different bags. i'm not saying it is wrong, i'm just shocked at how normal it has become in our society as a whole to put so much emphasis on material things and all the wants and needs that are being created. i'm going to be honest, from some of your other videos i thought you truly escaped this trap, but it seems like the hold is super strong. wishing you the best for next year!
Different perceptions for sure- to me 4 bags is not a lot. I love fashion and styling and probably have 15- 20 I've collected from thrift shops over the last 20 ish years. No regrets. They store easily within each other and they make outfits fun! They also serve different purposes for someone who likes lots of different activities, (hiking, farmers markets, nights out etc)
Yep, I get this! I guess I'm realizing also that especially in the case of bags specifically, that is the one area where I'm a bit of a "collector". While I logically know I already have way more than one person needs, I for some reason don't have the "you have too many already!" alarm bells that go off, for bags. I'll be looking more into this aspect of it next year too, so hopefully there's still a chance of my escape 👀
This isn't a shopping channel. So you don't need to name any brands nor show any items. It's literally not relevant. If people want to see products, there are plenty of other channels for that. And actually I think you came pretty close to your target spending for your first year. I bet with a combination of finding less expensive products and buying fewer things, you will meet your goals! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
@amandak.4246 it's only relevant if the point is to sell or justify the purchase. The goal of this channel is not to buy. The brand is not relevant to us at all. She could say she was influenced to buy a thing with a brand name and never show us nor mention the brand.
@ I don't know what to tell you. On the one hand, I don't feel bad because I didn't even officially start the my no buy year , but I started practiced slowly by putting money aside and seeing if it would last. On the other hand, I feel great because I didn't get into debt. I have to mention that I didn't buy cheap nonsense and create a pile of junk in my closet, but only high luxury, like 2 very expensive perfumes, one very expensive sweater and an American sweatshirt, if that can be taken as an extenuating circumstance for this shopping nonsense we live in.
Please consider editing some of the extra tangents out of future videos. The concepts of your videos are very interesting, but way too long to get to the point, and so I lost interest and didn't finish the video.
honestly it’s really helpful to see a no-buy year that didn’t go exactly to plan! it’s really motivating and impressive to see you break your no-buy, but not completely fall off the rails afterwards.
You are perfect and human - your channel helps with my addiction and shame surrounding it. You’re not failing but trying- I didn’t think that it would make sense for me to even try to attempt a no buy anything. Now I feel motivated as I know that the worst thing to happen is that I spend way less than usual ❤
ooh, love that "worst case scenario" way of looking at it
As the saying goes, "fall down seven times, stand up eight"! We're all human, learning, doing our best and trying to improve. You're not a hypocrite because you're acknowledging the contradictions and fully disclosing the information without sugar-coating it. The value in your message is genuine!
You are not a sham. You are human, and you're learning. You seem to be learning more each year and as long as you are trying to find solutions as well as trying them out then you are moving in the right direction. Keep going with your momentum.
We are loving it! 😘
Thank you, Alexa, for your transparency and honesty. You are an inspiration for me as I head into my low-buy year. I am looking forward to watching your channel in 2025.🎉
Me too! 😎🏜
Me three ❤
I'm personally not a fan of no-buy years, because it's not a realistic way to live in today's society. So for me, your year was absolutely a success; you were able to truly and deeply look at your consumer behaviour, document it and analyse it. You totally changed the way you view influencer content and how much it influences your purchases. All this while also creating a lovely UA-cam community. In my eyes this year was a huge turning point in your life.
I also feel like a no-buy year doesn't make sense for someone like you who's interested in style, social media and culture - I'd just set up some spending limits or rules for next year instead of setting yourself up for a failure by trying to do something unrealistic for your life.
As much as I agree with this comment, I think the " no buy" was a vessel into which she could pour all her efforts and creativity! She maybe needed an impetus to get going on UA-cam? So glad this has worked out so VERY well! Not really a fail at all!
I'm actually not sure still, that I am interested in style, social media and culture in a genuine sense, or what aspects/levels of that interest are intuitive to me!
To the dismay of perhaps yourself and realistic-minded people out there, I am going to try another "no buy" 2025 😆 but with additional parameters for "success", so that it's not just "buy nothing unnecessary or FAIL"
There's something about the perhaps unattainable idea of a "no buy" that makes it more fun - I recently realized that despite how it might appear on here, and how negatively slanted some of these videos might seem as far as where I'm at internally, this whole endeavour, overthinking included, has actually been quite fun, as far as the pursuit of a seemingly impossible goal.
@@Alexas.nobuyyear I totally think this year was a really awesome trial run and next year you will be successful!!! Because of you I’m doing a low buy year!
Yayyy congratulations on completing the year!! ❤🎉 I am super inspired by your openness and the realness of your channel. I can’t wait to keep watching and seeing what is next!
🥰
I am subscribing because of the pure honesty here in this video. None of us is perfect. So many pretend they are. What I saw in this video is vulnerability and openness and honestly and wisdom. Thank you!🙏
I actually wonder if the 2020-21 situation sparked my shopping issues, since that was the year I had the job I made the most money doing (public school teaching) and also had the most formal dress code for, so felt that I needed to buy a bunch of clothes for the job. I did have some very low-income years before that and didn't have as much of an issue NOT spending or trying not to buy things I didn't need.
But hopefully 2025 will bring new focus! We'll see how ti goes!
I appreciate your transparency in this process. Recovering from overspending is not an easy linear path. It helps to hear your challenges and struggles in the process because I'm sure others can relate and understand. I'm glad you plan to keep going on this journey.
You're not a sham. You've made a lot of progress that you wouldn't have, if you just carried on as before. And your channel is helpful and inspiring to many people, like me.
The biggest tip I would give that has helped me personally is to have a monthly spending budget. For me personally it is a $50/month “fund”. If there is something I “need” - a
pair of shoes to replace worn out ones, a skincare item I’ve used up - then we budget for it separately at the beginning of the month. So I get $50 to spend how I want, and if something I want is more than that, I have to “save” that money. This has saved me so much money, and forces me to think about if I really want to use my budget for it.
Also I would recommend checking out library apps like Libby or hoopla or little free library for books.
This is my plan for the upcoming year! ❤ Good old "pocket money"! 😊
Pardon my parasocial feeling of protectiveness but you are so hard on yourself 😩 You educate and inspire us, and look at all that you have learned ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ you make me believe I can change my mindset too
I concur 👍🏼
Congratulations on a truly epic accomplishment! So much planning, so much rehearsing, so much reading and editing! Finding the time in a busy life! We have all benefited greatly and look forward to more growth and FUN! Happy 2025! 🎉
haha not sure about the rehearsing (aside from at the symphony!), but plenty of everything else!
I think this is one of the most successful no buys based on the audience you’ve reached and inspired. we’re gearing up for our no buy in 2025 and after watching a lot of year end videos I think we’re adding the “rule of 5” to allow for a little more grace for ourselves.
I also look forward to really looking at our budget, staying under 10% is a really great place to cap things off. I wonder how much my favourite things will retain their value when I know what percentage of my annual income they are.
Good video and very honest of you to share! Did a year of low buy and then a year of no buy this year. I think the point isn't necessarily not buying anything which sounds silly but honestly its changing habits around buying. The only thing I would say though is we did the no buy as a family and considered EVERYTHING that came into our home and its finally changed my habits and feels like a way of life tbh. I spent £30 this year on myself thats just replacement shampoo, facewash and moisturiser it didnt even feel that difficult compared to 3 years ago i would spend thousands on stuff! I do feel watching this video that you're still purchasing alot in different areas of your life or for different times of years which isnt a judgement just think thats why you could be finding it harder to break the habits. Everyone is so different though so what ever works for you and I love the fact you share this journey! Xx
Also I cancelled prime and magically I just didn't use it all year year before we ordered 46 things... crazy if you have it then you just use it!!!
Wow that is amazing!! My husband and I are in the middle of a low buy but I could go lower for sure. 30 pounds a year is incredible!! 🤯
Well we haven't had prime for years but still ordered from Amazon this year (just with slow shipping) - but it's a conscious goal to avoid in 2025!
Not sure I'll ever convince my husband to fully commit to trying it with me, but I do feel that I'm becoming more successful at not being influenced by his "times of purchase" even for expensive things. He does spend a lot more of his time at work and make a lot more of our income, so I wouldn't actually trade the ability to buy more for having to do his job, so I'll appreciate what I do have!
Anyway, I agree that purchasing in different areas and at different times of year wasn't helping in succeeding at my goals, so I do have a more concrete plan for those kinds of things in 2025! We'll see how it goes!
Personally, naming the brands makes things feel more relatable to me tbh, but I get the point of not wanting to influence.
I’m enjoying your channel and seeing your journey. Happy new year!
As far as naming the brands go... I am not personally tempted so like to know them but can understand if others are? Maybe take a poll?
I think how it's going to go, is I'm going to try and de-brandify myself and my own mentalities first, and see how the "mentions of brands" might naturally decrease on here - we'll see!
Love your content! Best wishes as you jump into 2025 with a positive outlook!
I love your honest and thorough content. Be kind to yourself!! You're doing great!!
It would be interesting to hear more about your auto-gift giving approach - it seems you take on this task for the household and it requires a deal of maintenance throughout the year. Essentially, delving into the "grey area" mentioned here. Also, more about what habits or hobbies you will enjoy instead of shopping (for yourself or others) in the New Year. Thanks for making this very necessary space!
Will do!
Will do!
Thank you so much for sharing! I've been attempting No Buys for a few years now and I have failed each one.
It's refreshing to see someone else also fail in their attempt at making the drastic life change that is a No Buy.
It can feel like a failure, but the upside is that each year I am better at detaching myself from wanting superfluous items. I am better at saving. I am better at distinguishing want from need. Progress is progress. Life is one big experiment and we're allowed to try, fail, and get better. Wishing you good luck in the new year!
Thanks for sharing your success and failures of 2024. This is my first No Buy / Low Buy year and I heard another UA-camr say, "Always ask yourself 'Can I live without it?'" when considering acquiring something. I think I'm going to use that myself and hope it will help me "practice the pause" when I'm tempted to buy a thing I really do not need. Happy New Year & Best of luck to all of us in 2025! 🙂
This year will be exciting as a comparison! Onward and upward!
I hope so!
It’s not a sham, it’s a trial period. I don’t know anyone who pulled a no-buy swinging from intense consumerism perfectly. It’s a muscle like any other and needs to be strengthened with time.
We are not mad at you. We appreciate your content! Thanks for sharing and all the best for 2025! And by the way barefoot shoes have helped my health immensely. Not only for the health of my feet. But also for my posture and overall back, hip and knee health.
Also you have done 5 nobuy months/lowbuy months. Brava!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. It helps! We’ll try to do better next year together! Regards from a follower in Sweden. 🇸🇪
All of us feel this way ( I think?)
Congratulations!!!!! Was so fun following you through this year!!!!! Yay!
I really applaud your honesty. Buying name brand high price items without a full emergency fund and a nice savings would make me not sleep at night and I really hope that you will get there in your process. It's not about perfection or "fails". Combining savings goals with your no buy efforts would probably be a good idea.
Yes - next year's approach is very much going to be a "savings-first" one, where the top priority is to make that "payment to myself!"
Call it a Low Buy !!
I'll be doing a 25 in 2025..so allowing 2 items a month + 1 bonus! The 2 doesn't count gifts for others, replacing items and essentials. Goal is not to buy anything but the 2 a month allows a certain amount of flexibility. Best Wishes for 2025 🎉
I like the idea of 2 per month. I think I’d have some months I’d ’save up’ for another month though as I know already I might need some new summer clothes due to losing weight (if all goes to plan with my diet!) but I Am enforcing a ban on many items including new shoes and bags etc which I have lots of to last me
love your efforts and honesty ❤ and appreciate hearing how you relate to your husband’s continued non-no-buy experience. my partner has quite a different mindset from my no/low buy efforts but observing them actually makes me understand my motivations and purpose even more xo
Thank you so much for sharing your journey! I am on a similar journey and you have truly helped me to do better in 2024, to see things how they are and to really reflect on what makes us buy stuff. (for me it is often problem solving with money instead of behaviour change) You are so much more helpful than all of these "fewer nicer things"-channels, which honestly feel more like they focus on "nicer things" nowadays, the "fewer" part is not very present. No shame in "failing", we are never perfect, but always good enough! So glad I stumbled upon your channel, and excited to see what 2025 brings along!
Yes! I felt myself falling into the "fewer nicer things" illusion of really just buying the same or MORE of the "nicer, curated, expensive stuff" 🙈
Here's to continuing the journey out of that place, in 2025!
NOT a sham! You brought awareness to how you manage your spending & taught your audience quite a bit. Baby steps!
In the most respectful way possible, I’m getting the sense that you have a lot of guilt/shame about “failing” your year and it’s manifesting in negative self talk and excuses. I don’t think the standard of perfection you have set for yourself in 2024 is realistic. Very very few people (if any) can go from 0% to 100% in one go. To me, it sounds like the progress you’ve made over the past year is worthy of celebration. If your previous spending was truly so bad that you don’t wish to elaborate, then this year has been a massive leap forward in comparison.
All this to say, doing better than you did yesterday is not failure-its great, and offering yourself grace and acceptance when you inevitably slip will benefit your mental wellbeing and your overall goals in the long run.
Well wishes for your no buy 2025! I will be in the same boat!
Well said!
Hi there! This is the first video I've ever seen of your channel and I've got to say that I'm so excited to follow you through this next year.
Boy have you missed a lot! 😉
Welcome!🥰
Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing this
For 2025 I'm doing a No Buy year for certain categories where I know I already have what I need: shoes, purses, jewelry, make-up (unless something runs out), exercise equipment or clothing, decor, and kitchen cooking items, dishes or cleaning items.
No Shame ❤
Living and learning.
❤❤❤❤
hi! as James Clear would say, focus on the process not the outcome. A few years ago I was going to attempt a no buy year ( like hlp) but then I realised how unfit I was for a whole marathon.... I first needed to put on my running shoes, stretch, do a bit of walking first, run a few hundred meters, then miles.... I am sure you see the metaphor: one hears about no buy years from people who have shopping addiction: running a marathon before building your muscles is not only very hard, but also does not work very well, and is painful. I ended up, like suggested down below in one of the comments, with a no buy month, on only a few items (clothes) Then I extended it with a few other items ( beauty products). Little by little I ended up observing the when why how I felt like shopping ( boredom, evening ,on line). And I got to know myself too. " Know thyself" is what I gained in the process... not necessarily huge amounts of money even if I did save more. I gained as we say in French my own "mode d'emploi", "instructions for use manual".
Love this! And I DO actually talk about "know thyself" as one of the reasons the "no buy year 2024" was a success, instead of a failure. (Next video, I think).
I guess the reason HLP's year was inspiring to me was that it did seem like she was also unfit for the marathon (saying this in a nice/observational way, not judging), but yet she managed to do it anyway. And talked her viewers through all the pain of the year. And so I thought maybe I could do the same. But I will continue learning! And writing new instructions for my use manual!
I don’t see your no-buy year as any kind of failure, you have learnt so much about yourself. I have a goal of tracking my spending in 2025. I would like to know where it goes… 💸
Congratulations Alexa, thank you for sharing your journey.
Thank you so much for your content! And thank you for being honest, you are not alone!
Thank you for your candidness. You have really helped me to be prepared for (inevitable?) mistakes and failures when I embark on my first no/low spend year in 2025.
Your honesty and opnness has helped bring my unrealistic optimism back down and consider where the pitfalls are likely to be.
This means that I can be better prepared and not throw it all in because of some imperfections and bumps in the journey.
I have really enjoyed and appreciated your reflections. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
aw, thank YOU! here's to 2025!
No one needs to beat you up because you have already done it! Be gentle on yourself, girlie. New subscriber here. ❤
Thank you for a realistic video. I still think you did great. I watched a video from Uncomplicated Spaces. She is great as well and is doing a low buy year for 2025, where she is allowing herself 2 purchases a month. I'm going to give that a try! Anyways, great work on all of the videos. I appreciate it and have learned a lot 😊
that's a great idea/way to manage the challenge!
Im only halfway through the video at this point so youre still talking about november.
Just throwing this out there because it seems like a lot of this are christmas gifts. Maybe from ahead it would be a good idea to set a budget for next christmas, not spend over that, then none of it counts on your no-buy. No guilt.
I bought myself 2 things for christmas, and dont consider the cost of those in my no buy year. Maybe thats just me though 😅
Agreed - it was a lot of Christmas/Birthday gift shopping, and one of the first things I did for "no buy 2025" was to set a goal/reasonable limit for gifts, so that next November I have a very clear plan! As well as a budget!
@Alexas.nobuyyear im glad 💚 thank you for sharing all that. I recognize that would be a very hard video to make. If you had not "failed" idk if I would've found your channel through your first failure video.
Also, it's healing to watch someone attempt something really difficult and not do it perfectly. I don't know if I believe when creators set out to do a 12 month no-buy and no mistakes were made or no weird circumstances came up. A year is unpredictable and I just look forward to seeing you try this again and be a bit closer to your goals as you practice not buying 💚💚🙏🏻
Thank you for your openness! I think most of us will have failures and you’re telling us that this is a difficult challenge.
Hi Alexa, thank you so much for your transparency! I have learned so much from your videos and your input. Regardless of how much you've spent or didn't spent on your no buy year, the work you're doing in changing your mindset will have a lasting impact! I'm sure you'll reap the benefits in 2025.
I have mentioned before in my comment on your other videos that I have started a no buy year. I think that having my husband supporting me in this goal will help a long way. Maybe when you are discussing finances with your husband, you can also have a discussion as to how he can support you in the upcoming no buy. For us, having a clear family budget and savings goal for the year + understanding how much we are spending and where we can save & optimise => these steps have really helped. My husband has also started a no buy year - his is simple with one rule only: no tech stuff because thats his downfall 😅
It is pretty tough in that area since my husband is quite different when it comes to buying stuff, he does have a more rigid mentality sometimes too so I don't think he would be willing to commit to any sort of "no buy," even if he is generally supportive about trying to get our finances in order.
If it's a category he is unwilling to compromise on (groceries, running supplies, both things that are "health"-based so also harder to argue! but also categories that he wants to always have the"best" in, and therefore, often the expensive options) then it is unlikely that we will be able to make any "savings progress" in those categories - but, we'll see how "putting savings first" looks at the beginning of this new year and go from there!
Thank you for sharing!
Progress not perfection, eh? You did great!
Perfection does not seem human?
Using that later.
This is one of my mantras as a musician 😅
I think you have succeeded. See, if you never try, you have already failed. But if you try and fall short, if you learn from it, if you grow from it, if you reflect on it and decide to make changes or try again, you have won!
You have pushed through, kept going, and continued on the path. So what if you detoured? You took the scenic route now and then.
If you were like all these other UA-camrs that give this perfectly currated account of a flawless no but year, it would continue to set an unrealistic standard, leaving some of us watching feeling like wee are failures.
Please keep it up staying real with us ❤ the people who need and appreciate it will stick around.
I will be doing a low buy year next year for sure. However good I thought I was doing, I did the math and got 74€ for november and 77€ in december... What made up the most of it was a second hand genuine leather jacket and a pair of white Adidas sneakers on discount, which I dedicated to when I am feeling fancy and not driving a bike (because the white sneakers I already own need to be put in a washing machine regularily and will be exposed to bike grease). The rest is small stuff online like pillow covers and pendants... But small stuff tends to pile up haha. I will be committed to battle the excuses to buy next year and set a budget for every month of the low buy year
I know you started this UA-cam channel as a way of holding yourself accountable...so I'm not going to try to convince you that this was not the "fail" you seem to feel that it is ("fail" is in the eye of the beholder...being you), but I will say that I'm impressed with how much you have learned during this past year and how your channel/content has evolved into so much more than just an accountability project. I'll also praise your honesty which has been very refreshing. Lastly, I'm impressed that you are going for another year of no buy in 2025. You have inspired me to consider a no buy for clothing only in 2025. I'm pretty good with my money otherwise, but I still spend too much on clothes even with buying most all secondhand.
I'd love to stay updated on how it goes! I'm feeling actually a lot better/more optimistic this time around, especially looking back and seeing where I started last year's "no buy" - that girl back then didn't stand a chance, honestly, but maybe the "me" of today, does!
@@Alexas.nobuyyear well, I'm an entire nine hours into 2025 and I haven't bought any clothes so far LOL. Happy New Year!
Also thank you because you are a great help, you are also very articulate, obviously quite educated and I really enjoy listening to you. So I wish you a very happy new year'from France🇫🇷✨
I dont interpret your talk as 'negative'..to me it reminds me of english self-irony combined with humility & humanness..your humour ressonates very well with a light version of scandinavian humour..the way you address your own behaviour makes me giggle (in the most complementing sense)..Thank you for being real 💚
Thank you! My dad's British so I think I picked up a bit of that communication/style of humor growing up 😄
Was November a king of rebound shopping from some point? I watched Shelby a lot in earlier years, nice to hear from her here. At least the things you bought and got are things you use... so don't be too harsh on yourself. I will follow in 2025...I hope you will keep reporting.
🫡
Love you❤ respect all your decisions. I would prefer seeing the items to visualize and emphatize with you more… Thats how my brain works I guess😁
I love your honesty here Alexa. Looking at your what you might have got it does look like you spent around half of what you would have! I am attempting a low buy next year as I have unfortunately got a large chunk of debt to pay off so I will have to be a lot more strict on myself. I think I’d normally spend over £7000 (I’m in the UK) on non essentials (I do have twelve year old twins too so some of that is on them) but I hope to at least half that and use the other half I’d usually use to pay debt down! I like the idea of doing a full six months and staying within a set budget too though. I wouldn’t buy expensive jeans myself and I’m not into makeup (I work from home and don’t even own any lol my 12 year old daughter wears more!) so that’s not a problem for me but little clothing items and especially things I can’t resist buying clothing wise which often include jackets and coats definitely add up!
We can do it! I guess on further reflection, if I manage to halve the spending once more in 2025, I'd actually be pretty happy with the result (and it'd come in under the maximum budget allowance for non-essential spending!) so maybe that's a more holistic way to think about it!
Surely viola strings don’t count? They’re your work tools!
I agree. I would probably not count clarinet reeds if I were playing professionally. Since I currently am not I consider them a hobby item.
i agree, she included some things i wouldn't because they're needs, like the deodorant
I think I was intending to mention when they were purchased but not include that in the "no buy fail" cost - but I do see that I failed to remove that from the pie chart where I removed technology. I think I was focused on how it's a recurring expense rather than a once-a-decade expense and lost track of whether the pie chart was representing arguably non-essential spending or no buy "fails" 😅
I think this was a complete success because you changes your habits and shifted your views quite significantly in many aspects. You should be really proud for doing it and for sharing it with so much humility.
Remember that you don’t need to justify anything to anyone but appreciate you explaining. We don’t do stocking gifts and never have - don’t think it’s a big thing here in Aus as I’ve never known anyone who does it. Is this primarily a US thing? No shade but it seems like yet another American based consumerist thing that isn’t as popular in the rest of the world (another example I can think of is decorating for every season).
Even with just one child the number of gifts we/she received from family was insane. So much stuff to organise and tidy and not to mention all the packaging and wrapping. So overwhelming. I wish my family would slow down and cut down but they don’t really ever do so. Even this year my sister in law bought our toddler a play kitchen (which she absolutely adores!) but up until now she was using her toddler fold up couch as an oven by putting the bowl inside and folding the couch over. It was so creative and fun to see from a 2 year old. While she now has a perfect and beautiful play kitchen, she won’t use her make believe oven ever again which is sad.
Thank you - in my case I definitely had to start somewhere, and hopefully can continue improving.
In our house the stockings are more of the "Santa element" - and I know it might be weird, but we do have stockings for us as parents too, and get a little something in there to be able to participate in that "fun". From a quick google search it looks like the tradition started Europe, but, probably like many things America has co-opted the tradition to encourage as much consumerism as possible.
We I think, successfully managed to curtail the massive gift haul for our kids this year! Our family already doesn't really do a ton of gifts outside of those who live in the same household, and it helps that the kids' grandparents are also trying to save money these days, and were receptive to doing much fewer gifts. It actually felt pretty great, and maybe it's the perks of having a big family, but even with fewer gifts per child, the whole process still can feel pretty special with everyone taking turns/helping each other open gifts!
Loved hearing about the pretend oven - the toy kitchen is a popular fixture - we got one for free from some neighbors a few years ago, but it has since ended up as an outdoor toy (it's plastic) since my husband got sick of it inside 😆
Hot take: the actual intended market for a lot of “influencer” brands are other aspiring content creators. Whether it’s products folks feel they have to review to get more views or equipment that’s in a grey area of actually needed vs justifiable as a “work” expense but doesn’t really fit a need. I really think there are lots of viral products that no one actually likes, they just “look good” for an aspiring content creator to have. And my further hot take is that I think the brands themselves know this.
I’m not talking about your headphones at all, I think there’s a big difference between what I’m talking about and something you have multiple work uses for and no other item that meets that need. Actually, I think it would probably be helpful to decide whether YT is hobby spending or work spending for your personal understanding of it, and to separate work / hobby / discretionary out from each other.
I know it’s super tricky! I’m a stage performer so makeup I buy is often a “work” expense, legitimately. And it can get a little murky, but it’s been worth untangling work stuff from day to day imo.
I agree with this, deeply, actually. Will probably discuss this in a future video. And I agree that brands know this, and market themselves to be "influence-able" products or focus on the highly aesthetic traits of the product rather than actual use value, but we are at a point where it doesn't matter as much if it's an actual good product, it matters more if an influencer will talk about it online.
I have several examples of this in my own "collection of things I was influenced to buy" where there is undoubtedly a better version out there for the function of the product.
That's an interesting question about whether UA-cam is hobby or work - I guess it muddies the waters that it does generate some income, but, I prefer to not treat it as an income-generating pursuit in terms of seeking to uphold a "professional" level of quality, if that makes sense. Not that I'm TRYING to be low-quality over here but I don't want to have to pursue income and certainly am not looking to justify expenses in the hopes of "improving my work/hobby" with youtube videos. I guess case in point is that I would consider this year's spending on "technology" kind of work-related since I use all of it for my viola-playing job, but also incidentally use it for youtube, but would never have purchased any of the tech FOR youtube if that makes sense. The only physical purchase for the video-making has been the hard drive, which I would also never have purchased for "work".
Hoping that I actually won't have ANY additional youtube expenses for 2025 apart from the editing software, nor any hobby spending, seeing as I have more than enough to get on with going from the books/music goals that I already have 😅
Well I think you did great in 2024! We didn’t develop these shopping habits overnight so I think it’s unreasonable to expect to change overnight either. You’re changing your mindset about shopping and I think that’s what is so important. I must say, it is very difficult to change habits when your family doesn’t do the same. Re: savings-I set aside money for savings every time we get paid (the old “pay yourself first” term) and use the zero based budget but it works for us. That way I feel better knowing the savings goals have been met and we use the rest for monthly expenses (food, gas, etc.). Anything left over at the end of the month goes into savings. I don’t think you failed and I really appreciate how real and honest you are. ❤ Happy New Year!
We also do zero based budgeting, but have just been really bad at "paying ourselves first!" That'll hopefully be the FIRST thing that we address in 2025! Happy new year to you too!!
I saw in one of your videos where you said you had 317 clothes items!!!!
This for me would be my main priority to not add to. 50-100 items would have to be a much more reasonable amount in the long term.
Good luck and keep going you are helping lots of people.
Michelle.
Yes - agreed! According to the current smartcloset app count it's now 249 items, including things like hats, gloves, pajamas, athletic wear...but still!
This year will bring more decluttering (responsibly) clarity I think, as I'm starting tracking what I actually use in earnest.
Thank you for not showing the items! I really appreciate that.
Well! You’ve exercised restraint and made carefully considered decisions, so the “conscious” part of conscious consumerism has grown for sure. It must be daunting to share these details and I commend you for that.
I’ve slipped up too, but also made better decisions and gotten better at stepping away from purchases, and that’s more than I honestly expected from myself. Not that I’ve done a complete 180- I found myself devastated over Black Friday that a specific bag I had my eye on went out of stock! One more reluctant win from Black Friday? I forgot to actually purchase the 2 products I wanted from Sephora during their Black Friday sale 😂
Haha well hey, the reluctant wins are still wins, and maybe can teach us even more about our desires and responses to when we can't fulfill them
Still....its curated. Thought out. Not a haul... it's progress when the items are used.
Any serious goal gives me anxiety and I immediately fail 😂😂😂😂😂
I feel this 😅
for the emergency fund, to make it easier, you could put a percentage of your direct deposit into savings ( if your company offers that). Set it and forget.
This was great content as usual ! Do you know why you felt compelled to buy a significantly higher number of stuff in november compared to the rest of the year ? Do you think it’s a result of an end of the year, end of the no buy feeling ? Or a monster that feeds itself, the more you buy, the more you want to keep buying ? Or did you feel it coming from a slow creep of buying more and more each month ? I think it would be very interesting if you covered this in a video ! It would also help me (us the viewers?) reflect on why we sometimes buy a lot, because it happens to me sometimes too.
I also realised that year after year I tend too buy more items (in number) for more money (bigger budget) and I would like to reset that.
This year I took note of why and when I bought each non essential item, and who/what influences me. I just unsubscribed to everyone who influenced me to buy something in 2024. My goal is to buy less than 50 items and stay steictly within my budget. Lets see how 2025 goes ! 🙂
I was also wondering for your 2025 goals, will you add more budget for gifts (birthday and christmas) or will they be within your 200/month budget ?
Thank you - so I do think that a lot of the November gray area was the thought of gifts for Christmas/Birthday, and the fact that it "made sense" to look for these things during the "sale season". However, without a plan in place for these gifts (yes, for myself!) for Christmas/birthday in terms of number of things and budget, it was way too easy to go off the rails like in previous years - although I'm 100% sure it was worse in the past. I do think it's a thing sometimes where if I'm "shopping" for something, more purchases tend to happen, which is kind of what happened in April with multiple fails happening there.
I figure the next time I buy something (in 2025) this might present an opportunity to discuss the "urge to buy more when already buying", so I'll make a note to cover that idea when that happens 😅
I think prior to "no buy 2024" I was also seeing my purchases creep up in number and price, even though I was trying to buy less but better. I think part of that is that it's hard to cut down purchasing unless we are super intentional about it, and we can end up just buying more expensive stuff without actually buying less! Or in some ways, feeling enabled to buy more of the "nicer" things in the hopes that they're more ethical or sustainable or otherwise "positive" purchases.
Plan for next year at least for now is to include gifts in the $200/month, but, that goal also includes meals out when I have a double service at work, and so it might need some course-correcting if that turns out to be unreasonable. I'm hoping to outline this plan a bit more in some upcoming videos of my "2025 no buy rules"
Ooo tip for making your own nut milk: use tea instead of water for the liquid in the blender! You can get some lovely flavors in that way! Hazelnut milk with lavender/rose tea as the base is super good. I don’t diy nut milk so much these days bc my blender isn’t powerful enough to really do it right now, but when I did it was awesome and super fun to experiment with!
I'm going to attempt a no buy in 2025 but recognise that it'll probably end up a low buy.
How about you start with a 30 day no buy instead?
At first I balked at your number, but really $300/month is pretty easy to spend. I think my goal is to get down to $100/month (single income household as my partner is disabled and going back to school). Right now we're at about $230/month (includes any non essential non food spending like date activities, video games, makeup, clothing, etc). Which, is actually a bit better than I thought! Unfortunately my budgeting app doesn't have an average, so I'm guessing this by looking at total spending in each non essential category. Practically, this means some months we spend nothing and some months we spend $600.
Same, I balked at it too! Especially since at the beginning of the year, I was unrealistically hoping for $0 😆
Next year's plan will hopefully bring things back into check, and at least make the "year-end total" NOT a surprise amount like it was this year
It is a bizarre notion to buy a stocking stuffer item for oneself as an adult. I thought it is only for kids...
I will forever be a child 😄
Breaking the habit is the hardest part. I feel sometimes like a drug addict tapping my feet and fidgeting in my chair because I want to go shop. I keep track of times I went shopping for unnecessary things, and the ❌️ "fail" days have been halved since I started watching your videos. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless!
Yes - we will keep walking!
I'll watch it later. Until then, I'm curious whether it is a good sign that this video is quite a bit shorter than the one about the things you did *not* buy. 😂
Edit: Ah, you finally bought these expensive Jeans. I was wondering whether I missed them in the "what I didn't buy" video.
👀
Ok, please consider the source when it comes to this comment. Now maybe I'm just a hick from the sticks, but I have never in my life desired a cardigan for $400. You seem obsessed with brands and I just don't understand that. I understand being influenced with something that is in style, but who cares what the brand is? I have knockoff Birkenstock shoes and sandals where Birks cost $100+ but mine are EXACTLY the same - same materials and same quality. They last for years and years and I spend maybe $35 a pair. Just an example. Again, just an example - flared jeans are in so you want a pair. But why does it seem that with clothing, everything you want is a brand that costs HUNDREDS of dollars? You can get a good pair of flared jeans for $50-$100. I know people are going to say "quality" but I'm telling you, you can get the same quality for a fraction of the price.
I think there is something here - I think you can certainly get an item of the same quality often for a far lower price, especially if you get second hand. That said, I don't believe a lot of items should be priced as low as they are - the people making them are almost never getting a living wage, and I would be be willing to pay more for an item of the same quality that was manufactured ethically - I note that paying more for an item has next to no association with whether the maker is getting a living wage and many expensive brands are the worst offenders in terms of ethics. Also, I believe in paying original artists and valuing their work (and paying an amount for their work that gives them a living wage in the country they reside in) rather than mass produced knock offs that just look similar - they might have similar quality but that doesn't make them equal. If I didn't make my own, I'd be paying $30AUD for underwear... from a local maker that sews them on her own machine in Australia... I do not want to finance ANY sweatshops with my purchases if I can avoid it :)
People don't want to know this in a cost of living crisis, but we are paying far too little for our clothing, and we need to get used to paying more for it and repairing it when it breaks :)
@@racheljames9187absolutely!! someone is having to pay the price for cheap items, and usually that’s the working conditions of the labourers.
I think there is also some introspection needed about being very harsh to count work items like viola strings but then not batting an eye at a 500 dollar (!!) jeans because it's a "Christmas gift". A lot of savings goals would need to be reached for me that I would even consider this a possibility personally.
Exactly - the brand Asket’s site lists the actual fair production cost for each piece, itemized by type of cost. It’s very helpful to see what clothes SHOULD cost at minimum! On top of that comes of course the wages and profit etc for the company selling the item.
Cheap clothes are too cheap.
I sew and knit, and a lot of work goes into making clothes. If I buy enough ethical, local, sustainable yarn for an oversized sweater (babaa style) it easily costs me about 150-200 euros. So I don’t think a sweater like that from a store (230 euros from a sale, 290 e normal price) is crazy expensive.
I would rather have two great pairs of jeans and one great sweater for which I paid 200 euros each, than ten pairs of jeans and ten sweaters that were 30 euros each but not so great or good quality. Where the problem arises, is that we are not content with just two pairs of jeans and one sweater, but always want more.
I have been hoing between wanting to do a no-buy and a low-buy. I already decided that I can only buy yarn for one project at a time, and only after the previous project is finished. Otherwise there is no limit to buying yarn, as knitting is a hobby I enjoy. But I also like the fact that it takes a lot of hours to knit a sweater, so I won’t be making dozens 😹
I’m afraid that strict no-buy will just make me cave at some point and then spend even more. Maybe use the rule of five, so that if there is something I really, really want and would have use for, I am allowed to buy up to five items during the year…
I am one of those people who are into nicer clothing items and good designs so to me, this comment is extremely harsh. You don't see the value in it (also Birkenstock is hardly a fashion item! so your example is really not relevant), doesn't mean it should be the same for everyone.
I really felt understood here 😂 I found myself spending money over the last month and a half in a way that I'm disappointed with. A lot of that is influence from my friends - eating out, participating in shopping for gifts or for fun. Sure, we're young, but I don't want to hear that excuse anymore. I'm tired of spending money on things, and shockingly, I'm even sick of spending money on certain experiences and events. These days, for me it's not about the items or the specific experience - it's the connection that I feel to the other person. The item or experience is just an excuse to avoid the awkwardness and earnestness of asking for connection and time with the other person.
I would much rather have spent all that money eating out on cooking classes so that I can learn to enjoy or at least tolerate cooking. A lifelong skill that would have endless benefits! I resent having to cook and I really want to transform that relationship into something more productive and useful for my life.
My body did change this year, so I found myself buying clothes to feel warm and comfortable this winter season. But I also ended up buying things I didn't properly need - I convinced myself it would make me feel happier with my style, or my daily comfort. Also convinced myself I was investing in my future self. Why was I buying outdoor sandals for hiking when it was cold and raining outside and I won't be able to wear them until June of next year? Come on now 😂😂 I already have sandals I love. It's true that I don't have hiking shoes I feel comfortable in, but why is that randomly a priority compared to my other financial and personal goals *right now*?
I can't remember if you were the one who had a video about shopping and loneliness - it was a discussion about how sometimes, buying things can be like filling an emotional void, and social connection can fill that void and make it easier to be less tempted to spend. I'm observing that pattern in myself. The spending I'm most disappointed by is happening when I'm detached from others. When I'm connected with others, I no longer desire to buy the things I wanted when I was alone. My friends and loved ones treat me the same no matter what I look like or what I'm up to.
Haha yes, I have absolutely done multiple videos on shopping and loneliness, it was an early pattern I observed during the no buy year and an idea that continues to weave its way into patterns of wanting and buying.
I feel deeply the dissonance of buying stuff for the future self, or buying something now that's intended for use later. I feel like although I see it a lot more easily now, I still have work to do in this area. And even some of the things purchased in the recent November period are already mild regrets in terms of "I didn't actually need this *right now* and now I have to keep it in my house.
Incidentally I also want to re-vamp my feelings towards cooking a bit too! I don't dislike it, but would love to have a better routine of healthy meals so that I have less of those days where I feel that struggle of deciding what I should prepare and eat, when I'm already tired and low-motivation as far as doing the work of preparing it 😅
One thing I noticed was how often you used excuses of saving something for Christmas which seems far more like an excuse to buy things than anything else, especially when it was happening in April
This is a thing. I am a person that buys things I like for myself, but I refuse point blank to get MYSELF a Christmas gift. That is just weird :P In fact, there are things I deliberately don't buy myself - even (and maybe especially) low cost things I can easily afford - so my friends and family can gift me something affordable that I want :)
Christmas almost seems like a safety valve? We don't want to let perfection be the enemy of good?
Agreed! I do have a much more reasonable plan/limit for Christmas gifts for 2025, having learned from this year's experience
I don't like the term no-buy. I prefer buy less, buy least, buy simply, buy mindfully. No need to punish ourselves.
I get it! But also in some ways, the un-attainability of the "no buy" kind of makes it more fun! Or I'm a sucker for punishment maybe 😅
Don’t beat yourself up for what you didn’t do, take credit for what you did do!!!
Maybe it's just me, but if this year had been a bang up, huge success and you had not bought anything, it would have been a lot less interesting. If it is a gradual tapering off or just a more moderate method of buying things, it is actually much more helpful.
I agree, but I also promise I'm not just doing it for the plot 😅
i don't think it's helpful to say you're a failure, even as a joke. negative self talk won't help you bc your brain doesn't know it's a joke and will internalize that message. no offense but i think you are spending far above your means, and i think it would help you to completely cut out whatever media you're consuming that exposes you to luxury brands, so that you don't even think about luxury eyeshadows or jeans and such. i would delete mercari from your phone, as well as any other shopping apps. honestly, you did much worse than i was expecting, but i also think you're being unfair to yourself by counting necessary expenses toward this total. good luck on your low buy next year!
Yep - the plan was to delete Mercari after the listings I have on there have had a longer chance to sell, but otherwise I deleted all shopping apps awhile ago aside from mercari and thriftbooks (the latter has since also been deleted).
Also cut out most of the media awhile back too! And funnily enough some of the "latest brand exposures" were in other no-buy content! Which is what's making me re-think whether I can avoid brand mentions as much as possible for my channel next year, although it is proving challenging sometimes when the dialogue is kind of about the "power of branding". In January the plan is also to take a break from ALL content consuming, so we'll see how that shapes things! Onwards and upwards!
I don't think you should be so hard on yourself. You didn't develop a shopping problem overnight. Or even in a single year. It's been ingrained in you for your entire life living in a materialistic/consumerist society. So it will certainly not be solved in a single year. The worse the addiction, the longer it takes to recover. Like any other muscle, it takes time and constant work to build up your ability to want less. Give yourself grace. Keep working toward your goal.
Although I was successful in not buying the majority of the things on my "absolutely not" list, I did fail with a few of them. One thing I broke my rule on was buying stuff at my work (which has a gift shop). Thankfully I only bought a few small things, and I didn't buy in any books! I did however completely fail in not buying art prints when I went to a convention. Sigh. It is my biggest weakness. Even if I had nothing on my walls, I have so many art prints there aren't enough walls in my house that I could hang them all up. Perhaps I shouldn't have had such a hard "no," much as you discovered with having too lofty of a goal of not buying for 12 months. I think maybe this year I will try a budget approach.
(Edit: (as if this wasn't long enough) I forgot to mention I didn't buy ANY clothing! Which was also a problem area for me. I think it helped that probably 75% of the time when I buy something off the rack or from a thrift store, I'm not happy with it. And it feels like a big waist. So it was easier to just not bother. haha)
Unfortunately, I found other places to spend a lot of money. I got into backpacking, and I spent a lot of money getting all the equipment I didn't have. But thankfully I have all that stuff now, so I shouldn't need to buy anything any time soon.
I feel like my mindset has really changed doing this no-buy. I have reached a point that I actually DON'T want a lot of stuff anymore. Even recently, where I've had to shop for things that need replacing, or to spend some Christmas money I got, I kind of... don't like shopping now. It's sort of exhausting. I just want to quickly find the best option and get out of there as fast as possible.
On my guide for no-buy 2025, I've allowed myself a few purchases that were previously on the "absolutely not" list, but with either a numerical limit, a maximum budget, or listing the very specific items I can buy in that category (mainly for things I know that will be releasing next year). Here's hoping that with these new limitations I will continue to work on my "not wanting" muscle. And maybe someday, I won't want anything at all. Haha. I wish this for you as well!
Here's to not wanting anything! Although I do someday "want" to get into backpacking too... it won't be until I can more regularly get out of the great nature-state (not) of Nebraska 😅
I always love reading your long comments, so please don't feel the need to restrain them. Major congrats to you on not purchasing any clothing! Wooo!
you are human
speaking so harshly over yourself isn't working :'( it's okay!! xx
I am sure all of us (your viewers) recognize how damning difficult a video of this nature is to make. Takes a lot of courage and self security to put this out in the world. That said, this video makes a 'no buy process' look more attainable. Dont get me wrong - a promise to commit to a no-buy is what triggers a realistically successful 'low-buy' and in my eyes, it's a win! Something that i take away from this video - For my low buy 2025, I am going to hold up a small list of approved purchases - things I've kept on my radar for over 2-3 years already - its a small list, 2 shoes and 1 polene bag and 1 standard office white shirt (and some fresh underwear TMI). That'll give me something to fixate on which i forsee myself needing. That way I'll not seek new things to look for. Let's see how this pans out.
Also, thank you for chosing to share your journey, one of the highlights of my year was pivoting to content like yours and Shwana's. This is the perspective i want to be exposed to to get my lifestyle inflation behaviour in chekc once and for all. Hoping 2025 bring peace, health and stability to you and your family
Same, as far as the content pivot! Having like-minded creators has really helped in letting go of some of my "old favorite" more influencing channels. Thank you for your presence and encouragement.
Would love to hear your updates on how your low buy goes, and when you make your approved purchases, etc!
i feel like you go in the right direction, but then when you talk about certain items i'm still a little shocked how much thought you put for example in your bags. and why you need or want 4 different bags. i'm not saying it is wrong, i'm just shocked at how normal it has become in our society as a whole to put so much emphasis on material things and all the wants and needs that are being created. i'm going to be honest, from some of your other videos i thought you truly escaped this trap, but it seems like the hold is super strong. wishing you the best for next year!
4 bags total is not that much, well it depends on how much one bag is. My bags are never over 45€, usually 20€
Different perceptions for sure- to me 4 bags is not a lot. I love fashion and styling and probably have 15- 20 I've collected from thrift shops over the last 20 ish years. No regrets. They store easily within each other and they make outfits fun! They also serve different purposes for someone who likes lots of different activities, (hiking, farmers markets, nights out etc)
@@jessgirr1728 Me too, if you count all, from small bags for celebrations to tote bags. Some of them were a present
Yep, I get this! I guess I'm realizing also that especially in the case of bags specifically, that is the one area where I'm a bit of a "collector". While I logically know I already have way more than one person needs, I for some reason don't have the "you have too many already!" alarm bells that go off, for bags.
I'll be looking more into this aspect of it next year too, so hopefully there's still a chance of my escape 👀
Gasp! $400 for JEANS?
Nah..it was $500!
@@faeriesmak That doesn't make it much better, lol.
Edit: 430 with discount.
@@jochenkraus7016 I find it painful to pay more than $50 for denim, honestly. I buy all of mine either on clearance or at the thrift store.
I KNOW...hopefully I'll be posting in 10 years, still wearing them
@Alexas.nobuyyear Then you can look back and tell us that cost per wear is super low 🤔🤣🎉
This isn't a shopping channel. So you don't need to name any brands nor show any items. It's literally not relevant. If people want to see products, there are plenty of other channels for that.
And actually I think you came pretty close to your target spending for your first year. I bet with a combination of finding less expensive products and buying fewer things, you will meet your goals!
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
considering the brand is often the driving force for why she wants the item, i think it's very relevant.
@amandak.4246 it's only relevant if the point is to sell or justify the purchase. The goal of this channel is not to buy. The brand is not relevant to us at all. She could say she was influenced to buy a thing with a brand name and never show us nor mention the brand.
I spend all my saving😅
Well... How do you feel about that? If good alls well! If not so good join us all next year!
@ I don't know what to tell you. On the one hand, I don't feel bad because I didn't even officially start the my no buy year , but I started practiced slowly by putting money aside and seeing if it would last. On the other hand, I feel great because I didn't get into debt. I have to mention that I didn't buy cheap nonsense and create a pile of junk in my closet, but only high luxury, like 2 very expensive perfumes, one very expensive sweater and an American sweatshirt, if that can be taken as an extenuating circumstance for this shopping nonsense we live in.
We're all making uncomfortable admissions here today maybe - but we can start again for 2025! And hopefully hit those savings goals!
@@Alexas.nobuyyear You are the queen of the project. I wish you a happy new year.
Get your library card.
would you believe, I already have one? 😅 all the book purchases are in ADDITION to the books I borrow from the library - putting a stop to it in 2025
@@Alexas.nobuyyear Girl.... Good for you! I'm rooting for you.
Please don’t start showing products on your channel. Yours is my refuge to escape being influenced
🫡
Please consider editing some of the extra tangents out of future videos. The concepts of your videos are very interesting, but way too long to get to the point, and so I lost interest and didn't finish the video.
Check the captioning, it says you earned $330,000 a year
there are only autogenerated captions, she has no control over that.
Thanks for letting me know, not sure if I can actually do anything about it except try to speak more clearly next time 😆