Sarah’s Guide to doing a No-Buy Challenge

Do you feel trapped in a cycle of endless and mindless spending? Are you ready to reset your relationship with consumption and money and building your savings at the same time? You’re not alone. Doing a low-buy or no-buy challenge has surged in popularity as a powerful tool for financial reset and mindful consumption.

My Year of Buying Less

In 2024, I embarked on a year-long low-buy challenge. While I can’t claim complete success—those first four months of discipline gave way to an unexpected clothing shopping spree when I needed to replace just one item—the experience transformed my relationship with spending.

This journey taught me:

• How to identify what I truly need versus what I impulsively want
• The specific triggers that prompt my unnecessary purchases
• That my tendency toward all-or-nothing thinking made a year long challenge very difficult
• That certain categories of spending (like spending money on my garden) genuinely make my life better and bring me so much joy.

Finding Balance

So what’s the difference between more isolated money saving ideas and a true financial reset? Here’s what I’ve learned: when we take action to save money – like “make coffee at home”, “lower the thermostat” or “cancel that subscription service” – we’re not addressing a deeper issue. While they will certainly help you save money, it’s still like decluttering one drawer while the rest of your house remains in chaos – helpful but not transformative.

A proper financial reset, though? That’s another story entirely. When I committed to my low-buy year, I wasn’t just saving money – I was creating space to examine WHY I was spending in the first place. My spending triggers became visible and I started seeing patterns in my behavior that I hadn’t noticed before.

The reset also gave me something concrete to measure my progress against. I could see the “before” and “after” in my bank statements, and that visual proof was incredibly motivating. But perhaps most importantly, my mindset shifted from “I can’t have things” to “I’m choosing what truly matters.” And that feeling of empowerment? That was honestly worth more than anything I could have bought during that time.

Now, I’m sharing what I learned and what I wish I’d known from the start.

What This Guide Offers

Whether you’re considering a month-long shopping ban or a year-long spending freeze, this comprehensive guide will help you establish meaningful and realistic boundaries and set attainable goals.

Are you ready to take control of your relationship with consumption? Let’s begin.

What is a No-Buy Challenge?

A no-buy challenge means temporarily stopping all non-essential purchases for a set period. A low-buy challenge allows limited spending within strict guidelines. Both of these approaches will help you reset shopping habits and save money.

Let’s explore its advantages, how you can to prepare, and what rules you should consider. 

Advantages of a Low Buy or No Buy Challenge:

1. Save money: Cutting back on nonessential purchases will save a lot of money. You can use this opportunity to pay off debts or redirect funds towards meaningful goals like vacations, saving for retirement or charitable giving.
2. Reset Habits: Similar to fasting, abstaining from shopping helps you shift your mindset away from impulse buying and habitual browsing, and this will promote a long-lasting healthier relationship with money and consumption.
3. Environmental Impact: Buying less means a more eco-friendly lifestyle. For example, setting limits on buying clothes encourages you to use existing items and focus on quality over quantity.
4. More time for what matters: if shopping is not an option, you’ll be able to find more time and energy to focus on the things and people that matter to you.
   

Rules of Engagement:

A Low Buy or No Buy Challenge isn’t about complete abstinence from buying stuff. Rather, it’s about intentional consumption that is in line with your personal goals and values. Decide what your goals are—financial, emotional, or organisational ( or all of the above)—and customize your rules accordingly.

Prepare for Success:

1. Figure out your why: Your reasons for doing a no buy challenge will help you figure out your goals and rules.
2. Decide on a realistic time frame: How long will it be and what is a good time to start?
3. Establish Clear Goals: What do you want to achieve with a no buy year? Save money, challenge consumerism, declutter, or another goal? Your goals will shape your rules and guide your journey.
4. Define Your Rules: Decide what purchases are permitted (e.g., essentials, replacements, experiences) and what’s off-limits (e.g., nonessential items, clothes, craft supplies, dining out). 
5. Set Some Guidelines: If you need to buy something, what principles do you want to adhere to? For example, buy local, second hand or organic whenever possible.
6. Come up with strategies that will help you resist temptation: Set a waiting period before buying anything, or add items to a ‘Want List’ that you review once a month.
7. Remove temptation: Unsubscribe from newsletters from your favourite stores and cut back from social media where you see a lot of ads.
8. Use your Time Wisely: Use your time to connect with family and friends, spend time outdoors or work on achieving some of your personal goals. If you plan activities and set goals outside of shopping, it helps prevent boredom-induced relapses into old habits.
9. Track & Review: Keep a list of “money not spend’, or do a monthly review. This will help you maintain accountability and refine your approach. And seeing your savings can be incredibly motivating to keep going!
10. Find a community. Finding like minded souls can be incredibly helpful. So find a community, like this No Buy subreddit to keep you on track, to learn from and who can cheer you on.

Start small

If a full year seems too daunting, you can start smaller, with a no buy ( or low buy) month or quarter. Or implement a no buy for a certain category of spending, like cosmetics, clothes or home decor. If you are the type of person who benefits from having visual reminders and tracking your progress on paper, I have created a printable No Spend Challenge bundle that can help you track your progress and keep you motivated.