How To Begin A No Buy Month This September

The No Buy challenge is frequently discussed in the personal finance space. It can be a great way to cut down costs, eliminate frivolous expenses, make headway on debt or savings, all while strengthening our delayed gratification muscles. Youtube bloggers with makeup addictions, students that have overwhelming debt, or families who tend to go over budget on fatuous things have all benefited from a No Buy month in their lives, and you can too.

Should I start a No Buy?

When embarking on your No Buy journey, it's essential to ask yourself two crucial questions.

1. How can a No Buy month help me right now?

2. What items can be defined as my necessities versus my wants?

We all have different goals we hope to achieve during a No Buy month. I am working to slash my debt and build up savings. By choosing to do a No Buy month, I am actively saying no to things like new clothes, weekend coffees, and last-minute urges in favor of mindful spending. The things we say no to will be the 'wants' we listed previously. These 'wants' are items we can live without for a month. Heck, we can probably live without them forever if we really wanted too.

How can I set myself up for success?

Before the first day of your No Buy, make sure you have planned out a clear set of rules and goals you intend to achieve this month. No Buy Rules can include things like: not purchasing any new clothes or personal care items, only buying replacements for things you use daily, and even getting take out once a week. If you're up for a real challenge, you can limit yourself to only buying food and paying necessary bills the entire month. Whereas No Buy Goals can consist of saving an extra $100 this month, quitting websites like Amazon or eBay in favor of shopping offline, and sticking to a budget or meal plan.

Once you have your rules and goals listed out, it's crucial to have a plan for where your money will be going. A budget is a valuable way to understand your expenses and make a strategy for how you will use your income this month. There are many excellent tools for this online. However, I will recommend You Need A Budget (YNAB) as my platform of choice. The YNAB system focuses on using the cash we already own and giving every dollar a job. This system has helped me get out of credit card float, pay off debt, and genuinely understand how to effectively use my money.

Take a peek at my No Buy Rules and Goals for September:

Rules

1) No new clothing, skincare, home decor, or self-care purchases.

2) Replacement purchases are okay, as long as they fit into my budget.

3) Absolutely no online purchases.

Goals

1) Search for items like books secondhand.

2) Have one no-spending day a week.

3) Cook more meals at home.

I set up my rules and goals, I made a budget, what now?

Now comes the fun part! You have the opportunity to figure out how you're going to fill your time that is spent free of buying things. It's probably a great occasion to declutter things in your home, make plans with friends, and read those books you've been storing but haven't read yet. The world is your No Buy oyster because you have allowed yourself to gain financial and mental success. You have 30 days to challenge yourself and your habits. Stay strong and good luck!