#nobuy

-Can give and receive emotions

-Would like to draw with me n stuff

-isvegan,antinatalist,efilist,sexrepulsed,misanthropic,zerowaste,nobuy,intoactivism,hasgrungevibes,supportsvegancatfood,doesntkillbugs,iscoolwithspontaneityandwillmatchmyfreak,isntbotheredbysuicidetalk,isahaterbutalsoaloverwhenitswarranted,isattractive,likesbeingaesthetictogether

people will make you happy. 

animals will make you happy.

music will make you happy.

literature will make you happy. 

doing things with your hands will make you happy.

being out in nature will make you happy. 

I found that creating the rules was easy, but trying to capture every possible situation to be difficult, so I keep adding things. Since this is my own project, I want to stuck to my rules as closely as I can, but understand that situations may arise that I didn't think of when I created the rules. I want to follow the rules I’ve created so I tried to think of everything, but I don’t want to be too hard on myself so i I’ve missed something, I will just add it later.

Shopping Allowance

My overall goal is to limit shopping in general, so the main rule is that I've limited myself to a $150 "allowance" per month for the categories of items listed below. So, this is more of a “shopping allowance” than a limit for all spending entirely. Things like food and entertainment aren’t included. The allowance can rollover if not spent, but cannot be borrowed from future months. If I want to buy a $200 necklace, for example, I have to save up for it.

The categories that are included in the $150 per month allowance are:

Beauty products (Replacements only)

Clothing

Accessories

Homewares/decor (that are purely for me and not my husband)

Replacements Only for Beauty Products

In addition to the shopping allowance, another way to significantly cut down on spending is if I limit what I allow myself to buy, and beauty products are one of the biggest areas I spend on. I want to stop accumulating products faster than I use them, so I’ve created a long list of items that I can purchase once I only have one left and it’s about to run out. For example, I currently have 4 bottles of body wash in the shower and another 2 unopened ones. So, until I’m down to my last bottle and actually need more, I have to use up what I have first. I’ve decided that the replacement-only rule does not include free sample sizes or travel sizes of products if I actually do need them for travel. 

Gifts

I wanted to consider how I would handle both giving and receiving gifts. 

For giving gifts: I decided that the $150 shopping allowance does not include birthday or Christmas gifts for people I regularly buy such gifts for (ie: my immediate family and a small group of friends). However, any other gifts would still be included in the monthly $150. Since my goal is to limit shopping in general, I don’t want there to be a loophole where I just shop for other people instead, so other than the close friends/family I already plan to buy gifts for throughout the year, any other “just because” gifts will still come out of my budget.

For receiving gifts: I decided that gifts I receive should still truly be gifts. I receive gifts for my birthday (in April) from a small group of people and Christmas as well. I don’t think it’s going to ruin what I am trying to do here if I ask my parents for an eyeshadow palette I’ve had my eye on, or ask my husband for some Lush bubble bars. So, since I think gifts are meant to be something happy and extra (and don’t actually play into my budgeting whatsoever), I didn’t want to create any rules in regard to receiving gifts.

However, if I receive a gift card, it is in addition to the $150/month allowance, but I still can’t use it to buy beauty products unless it’s a replacement. 

If I receive a cash gift, I must save half, and half can be spending money in addition to $150 allowance (with same rules as gift cards).

So these are my rules! In my next post, I will go over some of the things I’m apprehensive about in regard to the rules and sticking to them!

------------------------

EDIT 1 - February 14, 2019: While doing some online banking today, I realized that I haven't accounted for my credit card's "Payback with Points" feature. So, I decided to add that to the rules. I will treat it the same as a gift card, which means if I cash in $50 worth of points to pay off my credit card, it will add $50 to the monthly shopping allowance.

EDIT 2 - March 28, 2018: 

Two brow gels, two brow pencils, the Viseart Grand Pro 2 palette, the Hourglass holiday palette, a new rug for the dining room, new laundry detergent and bleach pods, coconut butter in two flavors, a new remote control for the tv, $60 worth of books from the kid’s Scholastic fundraiser, two sets of hair bows for my daughter’s birthday, which is many months away, birthday presents for several children whose birthdays are coming up. I have come up with so many things

The rules for this no buy venture:

1. This will start January 1, 2017 and last until January 1, 2018.

2. I am only able to buy necessary things like hygiene products and food new, but will make an effort to start buying from local, ethical, and environmentally responsible companies with the money I save from cutting my budget.

3. I can also replace or buy things needed for work, or a specific activity if I legitimately need it and cannot rent or borrow. I can also buy with the purpose of reselling for profit.

4. I can purchase things that will help me become more self sustainable in the future through learning or building on skills, eg. yarn for knitting, lumber/tools for woodworking but I need to plan ahead and try to buy these supplies secondhand or borrow if they’re available.

5. I can spend money on movies, outings, meals, etc with friends and loved ones. Money can and should be spent on experiences and memories rather than consuming. Because shopping trips aren’t as memorable as trying something new with people you love!

6. Vacations are another exception: small souvenirs and mementos are allowed as long as they are ethically made and support the local economy.

7. With a focus on minimalism, I am going to be selling, donating, or giving away a lot of the possessions I’ve accumulated over the years and don’t actually need. A loose goal is to get rid of around half of what I’m starting with (which is mostly clothes). 

At the end of this year, I want to:

1. Be able to create instead of consume

2. Resist sales and instead plan the items I buy carefully, spending more money on items that will last longer and were produced sustainably.

3. Have purged all of belongings that don’t have a purpose in my life or aren’t used regularly.