I was a teenager of the YouTube influencer era; this was before the boom started, when ‘influencer’ wasn’t a job title and people made YouTube videos purely as a hobby. I watched videos on shopping hauls and makeup collections thinking that owning drawers of makeup and buying bags of clothes on regular shopping trips was what normality looked like. On top of that, I grew up around friends who came from wealthy families so it was hard to not think this, seeing 15 year olds wearing head to toe in designer clothing. I emulated that as much as I could on the shoestring budget I had, and my first payslip was spent on a designer jumper off eBay (I suppose that was the start of my secondhand clothing appreciation, but that’s a story for another time). 

From my late teens right through to my mid-twenties, shopping has been a source of entertainment for me. “Treat yourself” meant dropping £70 in one go online shopping, and those “treat yourself” moments became far too regular that they stopped feeling like a real treat. I told myself it was OK as I returned a lot of the clothes anyway, but I’ve since found that this isn’t a cycle of consumerism I want to be in.

In 2018, I spent £820 on clothing. Seeing that number in black and white was a real eye-opener for me, and a moment that I knew I needed to change. I am grateful that I could afford it without having to get a credit card, but quite simply: I didn’t want to be spending that amount of money on clothes when it wasn’t a priority in my life. It was all money that could have been better spent elsewhere.

Since then, I have slowly been making a conscious effort to consume less in all areas of my life. I took part in #secondhandseptember for the first time in 2018; a month-long challenge set by Oxfam to buy secondhand only. It opened up my eyes to the impact of the fashion industry on the environment. I decided to carry this on in 2019, and being unable to return secondhand clothes easily helped to slow down my purchasing decisions and impulsive behaviours. 2020 threw some spanners in the works for all of us with COVID and the global pandemic, and I know I wasn’t the only one assessing what’s important in life. It really made me appreciate the smaller things in life (being able to pop around my parents’ house for dinner), and in turn, place less significance on material items. 

Over the last couple of years, my low-buy approach to spending has stood me in good stead. I’m more ruthless in returning items that I know won’t work for me (or not buying them in the first place), and I feel less overwhelmed with the amount I own. But even this doesn’t make me immune from emotional spending and impulse purchases. So, I decided to take it a step further with a no-buy year. I am very fortunate to own as much as I do, and I want to use this year to appreciate what I already own. I recognise that a no-buy year is something of necessity rather than choice for so many. There’s privilege in being able to decide that this is a challenge.

What is a no-buy year?

A no-buy year is a year spent cutting out extraneous purchases, and being more intentional with our spending. The rules of a no-buy year differ from person to person.

What are my rules for my no-buy year?

Since the main motivation behind my no-buy year is to cut down on the number of possessions in my home, I am aiming to stop spending on the following:

• Clothes, shoes and accessories (this includes secondhand items)
• Home decor such as candles, decorative ornaments and soft furnishings
• Skincare and bodycare products when I already own something similar
• “Just because” gifts for others
• Coffees and takeaways unless that’s how I am socialising with someone

And I’m still intending to spend on the following areas:

• Time with friends – day trips and meals out as well as any ingredients I need to buy to entertain my friends at home
• Holidays and weekends away – this is an area of my budget I really value and get a lot from in terms
• Gifts for others – for birthdays, Christmas and other special occasions
• Home improvements – paint, DIY and any associated labour costs
• Replacement items – if I run out of something (and I don’t have anything that does the same job already) or if the one I have breaks
• A hair cut every quarter – this is my usual frequency for going

I chose these as my parameters because for the most part, I felt like I was spending too much money on them already. I know I spent over £150 on skincare, toiletries and bodycare in 2022 but I’m not even sure what I got for my money. The same goes with my house purchases. I know I bought a couple of plants and some new garden furniture, but how did I spend £405? 

But it’s not just about the financial aspect, there’s the mindset and the reason behind the purchases that I wanted to factor in too. £171 is the lowest amount I’ve spent on clothes since 2016 (I didn’t track my spending before then so I can’t be sure if this goes back further), and I’ve successfully been bringing this figure down each year since 2018, but buying clothes has always been linked to my self-esteem, and it’s my go to when I want to “transform” myself. I wanted to get out of this cycle. This no-buy year will also unmask the very behaviours and thought processes that for years I have tried to cover up with spending.

Why am I doing it?

My main motivation for a no-buy year is to cut down on the number of possessions, bring less into my home and to appreciate what I own already. We live in a society of excess and materialism where we are constantly being sold, and it no longer aligns with my overall values. 

What isn’t a no-buy year?

I don’t think spending money on ourselves is bad, and nor should we feel guilty for doing it. This isn’t a punishment I’ve set for myself but a chance to focus more on the areas in my life that I value the most.

While I expect there to be the odd slip-up here and there, and I’m sure there are scenarios I haven’t thought of in terms of whether it falls under the ‘no-buy’ category, I’m excited about the opportunity to learn more about myself and to reduce my possessions in the process. I’ll be documenting my no-buy year mainly here on this website, as well as over on Instagram with the hashtag #howidontbuy.