How My First No Buy Month Went!
January 2025 No Buy
January is over, so it’s time to look at how the first month of my no buy year went. I did a check-in mid month because I was struggling with wanting to shop, so if you missed it you can go read it now. I had some planned extra expenses since January is my birthday month. I also went over my hobby budget of $50 per month by $71… So I spent a total of $121 on my Stars Hollow Snow Village in January. Part of it was that I needed to place an order from Michaels because they only carry their specialty snow glitter online. You get free shipping with $50 and I was close enough to $50 that it made sense to add a couple items. Unfortunately I had already spent some money on paintbrushes, which were necessary since I did not have paint brushes tiny enough for miniatures, and on some mats for using an X-acto knife. I did rationalize it at the time by telling myself that was money I was going to spend anyway so it made sense to spend it and get free shipping vs placing an order in January and one in February and paying shipping on both just to stay within my budget. I don’t know if that was the right or the wrong decision but that is what I did.
How Much I Saved in the First Month of My No Buy Year
Even with going over budget on hobbies, I saved $380 that I would typically have mindlessly spent on things like a new outfit for my birthday, and whatever I felt buying because “it’s my birthday month.” It’s definitely nice to see that number, especially given that I felt like I didn’t do as well as I should have with not buying things. The point of this is to save money, pay off credit cards, and mindfully use what I earn, not to completely stop buying things I need that I will genuinely use.
A YouTuber that I sometimes watch, who I will not name because I am not “calling them out,” is coincidentally doing a no buy year in 2025. I watched one of their videos and when talking about how much they “saved” they had kept a record of everything they had thought about buying in January. Maybe they buy everything that they want, although I suspect they do not because their niche is minimalism, but if I kept a record of everything that it crosses my mind that I want to buy, I’d be “saving” $8,000 a month. What I might think “oh that’s cute, I want that” and what I would legitimately buy if I were not on a no buy year are very different things. Just last night I clicked on a photo of a dress that I thought was cute and might be nice for an upcoming event and it was $2500. So I am not going to be keeping a record of how much I save based on what I think about buying and what I don’t. Each time I get paid (every two weeks) I’m simply taking all the money that’s left from the previous check in the checking account that I use for everyday purchases and putting that in a special savings account.
Other Spending in January
In January, I bought my mother a birthday gift. I budget monthly savings toward periodic expenses, so that came out of my savings account. I am not sure if I have written about this before, but I used an app called GoodBudget (not sponsored) that lets you put in expenses that happen less than once per month and tells you how much you spend. Then you figure out how much that is per month or per paycheck and you can separate that out. That account includes things like my haircuts every 6 weeks; birthday, holidays, and anniversary gifts for all of my family members; the yearly homeowner’s association fee; my car tag renewal; things like that. That way, I’m saving a bit toward those things every time I get paid and I’m never hit with a big expense that I should have planned for but didn’t. Automating things makes life so much easier!
I also felt like groceries and Target expenses were higher than I’d like. Unfortunately, there are no hidden things there, everything was either groceries, medications, or personal care items. No Target impulse purchases. I have made some adjustments on what I am spending on groceries and I’m also trying to make sure that I plan meals and then make/eat what i have planned so food is not getting wasted. I also have an Amazon subscribe and save which is higher than I’d like it to be and I have made some changes there like not getting so many different flavors of protein powder. My spouse and I are both trying not to shop at Amazon and other than subscribe and save I am pretty happy with how much I cut back. I did use it for some purchases for my business but I tried looking other places before I decided that the items needed to be purchased from Amazon.
Extra Payments Toward Debt
I have one personal credit card and a Lowe’s credit card that my husband and I share. Before the no buy, I was paying $300 per month on my personal credit card and $50 per month on the Lowes card. Simply because I pay $150 every other week when I get paid on my personal card and the way the weeks in January fell, I did have an extra $150 payment in January. I also payed an additional $500 on my personal card. So I paid $1,000 total toward credit cards in January! Not too shabby. I believe that, like most modern financial experts like The Financial Diet and the Financial Feminist teach, that putting all of your money toward debt and not having any savings or investments is ill advised. I am throwing as much money as I can toward paying off my credit card before student loans start again and I don’t have as much in my budget but I am saving money. I also max out my IRAs every year. If my debt was a lot more, I might reconsider some of my saving but I have less than $3,000 on my credit card so that is not an emergency the way some people’s debt is.
Final Thoughts on No Buy Month One
Overall, I could have done better on sticking to my hobby budget but I think that I did pretty well overall. I am not expecting myself to be perfect and for my first month and it being my birthday month, I’m satisfied.
The Totals
I will be keeping a running tally of money saved and paid toward debt on each monthly check-in post.
- Total saved: $380
- Total paid toward debt: $1,000
About Me
I was late diagnosed with ADHD in 2024, which made my life-long struggle with impulsive shopping and cluttered home make a lot more sense! While I want to reduce what I own so that I can appreciate what I have more and invest in items that will last, I am closer to a maximalist than a minimalist. You will not find photos of white kitchens with items perfectly re-packaged in glass containers here. Unless they’re stock photos!
When I am not working on decluttering or blogging about something, my real job is being a mental health therapist focusing on neurodivergence and trauma. I have too many projects (thanks, ADHD) and my 2025 project is repainting vintage Christmas/Snow village pieces to create the town of Stars Hollow, CT from the Gilmore Girls. Follow the Stars Hollow Snow Village Instagram to keep up with that! I also love traveling, hiking and spending time outdoors, and animals including my 3 very spoiled dogs.
