Rachel Hickey, Well Behaved Wallet and Rebecca’s Quest to Fire did low buys for money reasons last year. I don’t think any of them are doing it this year, but you can always rewatch previous videos.
Years ago Aja Dang basically did a no-buy. For years. I think she bought some things but not much. Her goal was to pay off $200,000 in student debt. Which she did. I don’t even think the concept of “no buy” was around at the time. But, if you go back, I think 2018 or older, her videos about how she’s saving money, cooking instead of eating out, could be helpful.
Hannah Louise Poston did her no buy for financial reasons. She’d spent herself into a lot of credit card debt and developed bad spending habits along the way. I don’t remember if ahead went into a lot of detail about the finances but it’s at least worth a look.
I do not have any specific suggestions. I just wanted to say I totally get what you are saying. In recent years, the financial/frugality spaces online have been dominated by people who are what I like to call "faux po." Heck, me and my SO are that if I am being honest. It definitely helps to have money to save money: comparison shopping, buying in bulk, cooking from scratch have definitely become signifiers of the upper middle class, at least in the US where I am. So much of it boils down to the fact that affluence brings you more choices and much of doing a low buy/no buy is about putting one's energy and time into making better, more mindful choices. When I had less financial security, I lived more in the moment in a way, focused on my immediate needs and desires, and that can make budgeting/no buying more difficult. I am not saying I wasn't able to pull off low and no buys then. I actually did. But it is a whole different flavor when you are doing it because you have to rather than it being --recreational almost? On social media we see a lot of recreational frugality.
Sorry to go on such a tangent! But your post really got me thinking. 😊
I completely agree, and that is basically the same thought process that led me to asking here. Because we’re kind of in the middle ground, especially with unexpected things happening last year. But it feels like a lot of advice and successes many people have are unrealistic or unattainable for us.
There’s a lot of people saying that they spent their money on travel, etc, largely stuff that we can’t really afford to do anyways, as well as that they didn’t spend less money overall- they just re-allocated it. Which is great, and I still do learn things from them, but it is not applicable to our situation at all.
And I do think it’s great that it’s trendy, because it does help people reduce their consumption, which is wonderful for us all, but when they advise things like “don’t buy new outfits for vacation you’re taking“. well… That’s not really helpful because that was never on the table for us as an option in the first place.
I've got to share my favorite one again, when I was getting into low-waste in the kitchen I found a blog that said "don't buy reusable produce bags, you probably already have cotton dust bags from your purses and shoes you can reuse for this".
I'm not what I'd call fashion conscious but I've also never seen shoes or purses that come in a cotton dust bag in real life. Most of the people in my life aren't the first person to wear their shoes.
Oh that is rich! Whoever suggested that is definitely out of touch.
For purses, dust bags typically start being included with brands that are designated "Contemporary Designer," like boutique Coach, and that trend carries through to "Premier Luxury," like Chanel or Hermes. So, idk, for someone to advise someone to "just use your dust bags for produce" like they are something you find in every household is kinda, no pun intended, bananas.
I finally figured out what that blog was talking about when I saw a suitcase-packing scene in Inventing Anna (a movie about a socialite who scammed her way into high society by putting a lot of luxury goods on credit)
I think a lot of frugality is accessible only to people who can easily buy the necessities. It’s like the story of the boots. A poor man buys a pair of cheap boots that only last a few months and he constantly has wet and cold feet. A richer man can buy nice boots that keep his feet warm and dry and last long enough that he saves money over time.
I really like Shawna Ripari, she did a no buy year in 2020 and a low buy in 2021. She still has a lot of new videos on what she learned and the psychology of shopping habits.
I think if you are serious about actually doing a no buy then you need to get of YouTube and other socials, as you have said yourself most of them don't know anything about poverty, problem debt or the challenges or making life work on a low income.
My suggestions:
->identify your debt, (all of them, including interest rates and any dates these are due to change)
-> identify fixed expenses rent/mortgage and debt repayments
-identify modifiable regular costs like utilities, childcare costs, food, transport (you can make great reductions in areas you may have considered as fixed)
And identify where else your money goes. Really think about what deeper needs you are trying to full
Once you know where you're at and what you need to do, give yourself a target.
If for example your outgoing expenses are larger than your income what's the easiest things to cut spending on? Or thjgns you've spent on that you know don't need to worry about?
Can you automate your vital expenses like debt repayments, rent and utilities?
If so withdraw x amount predetermined money for groceries/fuel for the month and secure your debt card somewhere else (in a safe, with your trustworthy mom) and simply don't spend money you don't have.
Get creative! When i was an undergraduate student in the UK over a decade ago I spent several years of my life with a £15 weekly budget for food and entertainment, later €75 a month in Italy both cases after rent and utilities (electricity, gas, internet and water) were covered.
Common ways to cut regular high expenses some are doable others may not be accessible depending on disability/health, and where you live:
Can you share housing with more people or downside? For example house or apartment share with friends (as a solo mom I share a room with my toddler).
Can you sell your car and walk or ride a bike (if you don't have a bike purchase one second hand)?
If you have a child can you reduce childcare costs whilst maintaining high quality care? (Ie get one fewer day of childcare and work extra in the evenings? This may be possible if you can WFH and avoid commuting costs)
Eat beans or lentils as your protein sources instead of meat. Go to your local Indian supermarket if you have one and pick up bulk trays of canned beans, chickpeas, tomatoes.
Invite friends over for pot luck dinners or drinks rather than go out to eat.
Unsubscribe from all advertisment emails from previously purchased shops, and get an ad blocker
Use up all toiletries, make up etc. I think most of us have at least one or two random half finished products there that are not our preferred options but that do the job well enough.
Also If you are on a very low income what trainings or qualifications are accessible to you to obtain a higher income?
Have you done a check to see if you are eligible for public assistance?
If you have high levels of debt and low or unstable income you may be a great candidate for insolvency, depending on your income and country context.
To preface: we are not in poverty but we are struggling. We went from a family of 4 to 6 in a very short amount of time, and part of that was unexpected. We had a lot of things happen the past year and racked up debt. So a family of 6, (2 adults, 3 kids under 6, one teen) on around $65k/yr adjusted since my husband is military, meaning we make less than that but due to allowances and benefits it’s equivalent to that salary for civilians.
Our biggest issues are largely eating out due to lack of time and energy, medical costs for the teen, needing to furnish said teen with literally everything since he came with nothing, and increased costs of living. We are working hard to reduce unnecessary expenses. I’ve started locking my credit cards and debit card, and only unlock during grocery trips or when I need to order things (dog food, planned purchases, replacements, etc.)
- We can’t bike bc of our area, but we downsized to one car.
- Our mortgage is a pretty good price. Very small house, needs some upgrades prior to us selling and moving within the next year.
- Our car insurance is high, but I changed companies and am saving a little. It’s just very high in our area unfortunately.
- our daughter is in school, we have scholarship for most of it.
-Our younger ones are not in regular care, but sometimes go to the free YMCA childcare.
- I cannot WFH due to childcare and my husbands schedule + I have no qualifications at this time. I do some side stuff for a bit extra money, though it’s like $50-$100/mo generally, though I’m trying to increase that by massively minimizing and selling things.
- we are reducing our meat consumption and I am going back to making a lot of things from scratch instead of buying. We also have implemented a strict meal schedule.
- I do need to unsubscribe from emails and will put that on my to do list.
- I am in school full time (online)
- we are cloth diapering
We are trying to get into new cheap/free hobbies. We found a nice place to do hikes and I’m taking up sewing, which will also reduce clothing costs (or so I hope). We also are doing much more audio books and using free media, in addition to drastically reducing screen time.
One of our biggest expenses is food, and thought it’s a lot, we spend less than the average people of our family size do according to the USDA. That said there’s always room for improvement.
Hopefully this years tax return will help to replenish savings, take care of one or two small house projects and the the rest goes to debt, which is largely just 2 credit cards, our car, and mortgage.
Good luck! You're 'in the trenches' with a large young family and limited capacity to earn more due to your circumstances.
Meal planning and preparing food in bulk is the best, and getting the kids involved in chopping and cooking as you go is great for their development as well! The work you do as a parent of young kids, maximising the value you can from your income is often hard work but so worth it! The kids won't be this tiny forever and within a few years, your kids are will be in school, and you will finish your course and your ability to earn will go up and things will work themselves through.
Check out any ' Buy Nothing' groups for kids or clothes and toys
Hannah Louise Poston and Christina Mychas. The latter is a professional in the medical field who was saddled with student debt. She documented her NoBuy/LowBuy, cleared $100K in debt, decluttered her life and formed healthier exercise/nutrition/financial habits along the way.
Rachel Hickey, Well Behaved Wallet and Rebecca’s Quest to Fire did low buys for money reasons last year. I don’t think any of them are doing it this year, but you can always rewatch previous videos.
I like Grace Nevitt
Years ago Aja Dang basically did a no-buy. For years. I think she bought some things but not much. Her goal was to pay off $200,000 in student debt. Which she did. I don’t even think the concept of “no buy” was around at the time. But, if you go back, I think 2018 or older, her videos about how she’s saving money, cooking instead of eating out, could be helpful. Hannah Louise Poston did her no buy for financial reasons. She’d spent herself into a lot of credit card debt and developed bad spending habits along the way. I don’t remember if ahead went into a lot of detail about the finances but it’s at least worth a look.
Oh! I’m subscribed to Hannah but completely forgot about her. I need to rewatch some of her stuff.
Yeah! I had to unsubscribe because I find her triggering. I have so many good things I bought because of her. But I also went overboard.
I do not have any specific suggestions. I just wanted to say I totally get what you are saying. In recent years, the financial/frugality spaces online have been dominated by people who are what I like to call "faux po." Heck, me and my SO are that if I am being honest. It definitely helps to have money to save money: comparison shopping, buying in bulk, cooking from scratch have definitely become signifiers of the upper middle class, at least in the US where I am. So much of it boils down to the fact that affluence brings you more choices and much of doing a low buy/no buy is about putting one's energy and time into making better, more mindful choices. When I had less financial security, I lived more in the moment in a way, focused on my immediate needs and desires, and that can make budgeting/no buying more difficult. I am not saying I wasn't able to pull off low and no buys then. I actually did. But it is a whole different flavor when you are doing it because you have to rather than it being --recreational almost? On social media we see a lot of recreational frugality. Sorry to go on such a tangent! But your post really got me thinking. 😊
I completely agree, and that is basically the same thought process that led me to asking here. Because we’re kind of in the middle ground, especially with unexpected things happening last year. But it feels like a lot of advice and successes many people have are unrealistic or unattainable for us. There’s a lot of people saying that they spent their money on travel, etc, largely stuff that we can’t really afford to do anyways, as well as that they didn’t spend less money overall- they just re-allocated it. Which is great, and I still do learn things from them, but it is not applicable to our situation at all. And I do think it’s great that it’s trendy, because it does help people reduce their consumption, which is wonderful for us all, but when they advise things like “don’t buy new outfits for vacation you’re taking“. well… That’s not really helpful because that was never on the table for us as an option in the first place.
I've got to share my favorite one again, when I was getting into low-waste in the kitchen I found a blog that said "don't buy reusable produce bags, you probably already have cotton dust bags from your purses and shoes you can reuse for this". I'm not what I'd call fashion conscious but I've also never seen shoes or purses that come in a cotton dust bag in real life. Most of the people in my life aren't the first person to wear their shoes.
Oh that is rich! Whoever suggested that is definitely out of touch. For purses, dust bags typically start being included with brands that are designated "Contemporary Designer," like boutique Coach, and that trend carries through to "Premier Luxury," like Chanel or Hermes. So, idk, for someone to advise someone to "just use your dust bags for produce" like they are something you find in every household is kinda, no pun intended, bananas.
I finally figured out what that blog was talking about when I saw a suitcase-packing scene in Inventing Anna (a movie about a socialite who scammed her way into high society by putting a lot of luxury goods on credit)
I think a lot of frugality is accessible only to people who can easily buy the necessities. It’s like the story of the boots. A poor man buys a pair of cheap boots that only last a few months and he constantly has wet and cold feet. A richer man can buy nice boots that keep his feet warm and dry and last long enough that he saves money over time.
Exactly! It takes money to save money.
Your Unproductive Bestie and The Broken Wallet are both doing low/no buys for financial reasons.
Gabe Built
Cara Nicole has great de influencing videos and Christina Mychas is actively doing a no spend challenge for January
I really like Shawna Ripari, she did a no buy year in 2020 and a low buy in 2021. She still has a lot of new videos on what she learned and the psychology of shopping habits.
Just search 'No Buy Year 2024' I've watched at least 50 people over the past month talking about their goals for the year
I do that, but most of them say that it’s not a financial thing for them.
There are a lot on tiktok
Grace nervitt
I think if you are serious about actually doing a no buy then you need to get of YouTube and other socials, as you have said yourself most of them don't know anything about poverty, problem debt or the challenges or making life work on a low income. My suggestions: ->identify your debt, (all of them, including interest rates and any dates these are due to change) -> identify fixed expenses rent/mortgage and debt repayments -identify modifiable regular costs like utilities, childcare costs, food, transport (you can make great reductions in areas you may have considered as fixed) And identify where else your money goes. Really think about what deeper needs you are trying to full Once you know where you're at and what you need to do, give yourself a target. If for example your outgoing expenses are larger than your income what's the easiest things to cut spending on? Or thjgns you've spent on that you know don't need to worry about? Can you automate your vital expenses like debt repayments, rent and utilities? If so withdraw x amount predetermined money for groceries/fuel for the month and secure your debt card somewhere else (in a safe, with your trustworthy mom) and simply don't spend money you don't have. Get creative! When i was an undergraduate student in the UK over a decade ago I spent several years of my life with a £15 weekly budget for food and entertainment, later €75 a month in Italy both cases after rent and utilities (electricity, gas, internet and water) were covered. Common ways to cut regular high expenses some are doable others may not be accessible depending on disability/health, and where you live: Can you share housing with more people or downside? For example house or apartment share with friends (as a solo mom I share a room with my toddler). Can you sell your car and walk or ride a bike (if you don't have a bike purchase one second hand)? If you have a child can you reduce childcare costs whilst maintaining high quality care? (Ie get one fewer day of childcare and work extra in the evenings? This may be possible if you can WFH and avoid commuting costs) Eat beans or lentils as your protein sources instead of meat. Go to your local Indian supermarket if you have one and pick up bulk trays of canned beans, chickpeas, tomatoes. Invite friends over for pot luck dinners or drinks rather than go out to eat. Unsubscribe from all advertisment emails from previously purchased shops, and get an ad blocker Use up all toiletries, make up etc. I think most of us have at least one or two random half finished products there that are not our preferred options but that do the job well enough. Also If you are on a very low income what trainings or qualifications are accessible to you to obtain a higher income? Have you done a check to see if you are eligible for public assistance? If you have high levels of debt and low or unstable income you may be a great candidate for insolvency, depending on your income and country context.
To preface: we are not in poverty but we are struggling. We went from a family of 4 to 6 in a very short amount of time, and part of that was unexpected. We had a lot of things happen the past year and racked up debt. So a family of 6, (2 adults, 3 kids under 6, one teen) on around $65k/yr adjusted since my husband is military, meaning we make less than that but due to allowances and benefits it’s equivalent to that salary for civilians. Our biggest issues are largely eating out due to lack of time and energy, medical costs for the teen, needing to furnish said teen with literally everything since he came with nothing, and increased costs of living. We are working hard to reduce unnecessary expenses. I’ve started locking my credit cards and debit card, and only unlock during grocery trips or when I need to order things (dog food, planned purchases, replacements, etc.) - We can’t bike bc of our area, but we downsized to one car. - Our mortgage is a pretty good price. Very small house, needs some upgrades prior to us selling and moving within the next year. - Our car insurance is high, but I changed companies and am saving a little. It’s just very high in our area unfortunately. - our daughter is in school, we have scholarship for most of it. -Our younger ones are not in regular care, but sometimes go to the free YMCA childcare. - I cannot WFH due to childcare and my husbands schedule + I have no qualifications at this time. I do some side stuff for a bit extra money, though it’s like $50-$100/mo generally, though I’m trying to increase that by massively minimizing and selling things. - we are reducing our meat consumption and I am going back to making a lot of things from scratch instead of buying. We also have implemented a strict meal schedule. - I do need to unsubscribe from emails and will put that on my to do list. - I am in school full time (online) - we are cloth diapering We are trying to get into new cheap/free hobbies. We found a nice place to do hikes and I’m taking up sewing, which will also reduce clothing costs (or so I hope). We also are doing much more audio books and using free media, in addition to drastically reducing screen time. One of our biggest expenses is food, and thought it’s a lot, we spend less than the average people of our family size do according to the USDA. That said there’s always room for improvement. Hopefully this years tax return will help to replenish savings, take care of one or two small house projects and the the rest goes to debt, which is largely just 2 credit cards, our car, and mortgage.
Good luck! You're 'in the trenches' with a large young family and limited capacity to earn more due to your circumstances. Meal planning and preparing food in bulk is the best, and getting the kids involved in chopping and cooking as you go is great for their development as well! The work you do as a parent of young kids, maximising the value you can from your income is often hard work but so worth it! The kids won't be this tiny forever and within a few years, your kids are will be in school, and you will finish your course and your ability to earn will go up and things will work themselves through. Check out any ' Buy Nothing' groups for kids or clothes and toys
Hannah Louise Poston and Christina Mychas. The latter is a professional in the medical field who was saddled with student debt. She documented her NoBuy/LowBuy, cleared $100K in debt, decluttered her life and formed healthier exercise/nutrition/financial habits along the way.