r/nobuy • u/AutoModerator • 20d ago
Discussion Weekly No Buy Check-In & Accountability Post - September 27, 2026
How did your no-buy or low-buy go this week?
Share your goals, progress and how your purchasing habits have changed since starting a no buy.
If you 'failed' this week, remember that it is just a stumble in a long journey. If you did well, inspire others and encourage them when they do well or get off track.
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u/Euphoric_Variation57 18d ago
My big win was Friday night. I hosted a dinner party at my house and didnt buy anything for it other than food. Usually, I'd buy new table decor, candles, dishware, napkins, do a whole theme.
Nope, this time it was looking through what I already had and a lot of "this will work just fine".
Small wins: no takeout this week, returned a dress I bought that I know I'll never wear, a trip to the library, lots of dog walks
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u/galtoramech8699 19d ago
My life is sad, I was trying to avoid Starbucks coffee, just the coffee by the way. But bought 13 dollars for Starbucks Keurig and forgot I even did it.
Spent 13 dollars to save 4 dollars. Hope I don't buy coffee this week.
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u/Logical_Level_8206 20d ago
I was doing well for the most part, no shopping but I was really tempted. I'm kind of not satisfied with my wardrobe right now, but I know just impulsively buying random clothes off online sites is just contributing to this problem. I also an very easily influenced to buy stuff by random people around me.
But I have a huge win: my family was visiting for the weekend and we usually go shopping together, but this time I insisted on going to the zoo lol, we had a blast and they even said, let's do something like this every time we visit, this is so much better than going to the shops. I was very proud!
One struggle: I have a ridiculuous schedule on wednesdays, so I was at home at around 9, too tired to cook so I ordered food. This week I'll try to prepare a meal the day before. When buying clothes and stuff I can resist the impulse, but food is often really a challenge, especially when I'm cranky, tired and hungry. But one step at a time..
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u/sammiefh 20d ago
I’m feeling happy because I’ve been really good at staying within my budget with most parts. Especially skincare and clothing. I’ve finally managed to spend a lot less which feels so good. Budgeting has really improved my life, I feel a lot more calm when it comes to my money now.
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u/No_Appointment6273 20d ago
I not only didn't buy anything unnecessary I also saved over $100 on necessary purchases (gas and food)!!! I honestly didn't think it was possible, but I did it.
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u/Upyour_alli 20d ago
Awesome! How’d you save??
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u/No_Appointment6273 19d ago
Sticking to my no buy list, checking my pantry and making a menu plan before I shop and asking myself if I actually needed each item before I bought it. I organized my toiletries and skincare so I can easily see all of it on one shelf. I'm working on stationary and school supplies next.
Most difficult things were the small, cheap items because they were "only a dollar" or "it's just lunch, it's only $5." Those little purchases really do add up, both in terms of clutter and cost.
The other thing I did was tracked every single cent I spent and kept a running total. There's something about seeing the dollar amount in black and white that's very sobering.
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u/perfumelvr30 19d ago
Those are the things I’ve done too! It really helps a lot seeing every penny you don’t spend add up! It’s almost addicting to see all those little cents here a dollar there build up! Lol saving could be our new addiction 🙌😉💪😂
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u/perfumelvr30 20d ago
Wow great job! Thats fantastic! I’ve saved some as well. I only have a small amount of fun money each month, and I’ve set out to save 25% of it each month, and I’ve done that the last 2 months and I exceeded that this month! 🙌🫶 Look at us doing the hard things we didn’t think we could do! 🙌🙌💪💪😘😘😘
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u/perfumelvr30 20d ago
I’ve done well this week. Many of the things that are my things I REALLY like to buy have been on super sale and I haven’t bought a thing! Feels good to not give in to the FOMO and realize I’m fine without buying the next new shiny fragrance or body cream etc. I’m currently doing project pan and doing really well. I’m down to 7 lotions which it used to be an absolutely obscene amount lol, and I’ve used up, gave away or sold nearly half of my fragrance collection. Overall, I feel really good about that 😊
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u/No_Appointment6273 20d ago
Good job!!!
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u/perfumelvr30 20d ago
Thank you so much!! ❤️🫶 It feels really freeing to be getting it down to just the ones I truly LOVE, not everything I like. Lol, cause my problem is I like almost everything 😂🫣
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u/StatisticSnaccuracy 20d ago edited 20d ago
I knitted for 3 hours yesterday on a sweater, and then I undid all the work because I wasn't happy with the result (I tried to do a pattern and it was not looking good at all). This would in the past have sent me into a spiral of bad mood and wanting to shop to sooth the feeling of having wasted time, not being good enough and probably arguments like "If I just want a damn sweater I could just buy one!!!".
Instead I feel like annoyed but totally okay. I'm learning to knit, mistakes happen. And more importantly I've learned that I knit because I enjoy it and because it keeps me from staring at my phone. Therefore it was not 3 hours wasted. Because I'm not knitting because I need a sweater, I have way too many already. I knit because I like to knit. That felt good <3
Ps. I can 100% recommend picking up knitting as a hobby. It's made my no buy a lot easier. My mental health is better in general. And I'm enjoying learning a new skill and talking to people about it.
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u/Euphoric_Variation57 20d ago
How did you get started?
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u/StatisticSnaccuracy 20d ago
I have knitted before, but just made like a square or a hat for school. So I had some muscle memory to pull from and some yarns and needles I inherited from my grandma. What really motivated me to start was seeing a coworker knit a sweater and finding out that he only started knitting a year ago!
I started by just knitting a square to see if I could even do it, if it looked even etc. I made some mistakes but found very good videos and reddit posts on how that happens and how to fix it.
One day I decided I wanted to knit a simple bolero/shrug; just an oval sewn together to create sleeves, left open across the back. This might not be a regular beginner project but I'm used to sewing so it came naturally to me. I made some mistakes, learned a lot but came out victorious, and that made me confident that I could knit a sweater.
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u/Euphoric_Variation57 19d ago
That's great!! I've always wanted to try it, but felt intimidated as it's definitely not in my usual wheelhouse
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u/StatisticSnaccuracy 19d ago
I used to feel like that, but with all the tutorials on YouTube I feel like it's a lot easier. I so far haven't found a problem they couldn't solve. And there's videos of how to knit a thing from start to finish. I also love the site Ravalry that has lots of patterns, many of them free, and you can look at how people's projects turned out and if they had any comments about it being difficult etc :).
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u/OneRespect829 20d ago
I did amazing this week, no stress shopping although I had a big exam coming up! I didnt get the urge to buy anything after the exam as well so I think I can at least keep this going for the next month.
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u/renlotus 18d ago
My big win was that I realized I wasn’t counting down to payday anymore! I had a nice shock opening my bank app today. So much of my last paycheck was still there since only a few bills and groceries have been coming out. Now I’m able to automatically transfer $200 a week to my savings and forget it.