Hey all, I’m trying to do a No (or limited) Buy 2025 to help lower my excessive spending and get my debt lower. Does anyone have any tips or rules they follow or have followed to do something like this? My husband is having some medical issues so we may be relying on solely my income sometime in the near future, so any helpful comments on this, budgeting, side hustles, etc would be truly appreciated.
Track every expense. Download an app like NerdWallet. Link your bank accounts and credit cards. Game-ify your savings/spending. Food is also an enormous expense. Delete DoorDash if you use it. Go to the store and plan meals. Shop at Sam’s Club or Costco for bulk items and Aldi’s for regular groceries. Pack your own lunch. Cook dinner to intentionally make leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. It takes some effort but will blow your mind how much you save.
I gamified my no spend days - and have done so for 6 years now. I just ruled up a table in a diary, with 31 days down the left side and the months across the bottom. For every day I didn’t spend any money, I filled in the corresponding square to indicate a no spend day for me. I didn’t count any bills in this, just variable expenses. This year, I gave myself a goal of 184 no spend days and am at 196 days.
@Aza
That’s a great idea! What variable expenses did you classify? Like would you count Netflix as an ‘spend’ day or is that classified as a bill?
Vitt said:
@Aza
That’s a great idea! What variable expenses did you classify? Like would you count Netflix as an ‘spend’ day or is that classified as a bill?
Netflix would be a bill as it’s a set amount, scheduled for set days. Variable expenses are everything I had control over spending. For example, I have control over when I spend on groceries, petrol, going out, books etc.
@Aza
Got it, so you track things like snacks or extra trips to the store too? That makes sense.
Good luck with your no/low spend! I looked back through my last 3 months of bank statements to get a sense of where I spent and identify what I could cut out, mostly lunches out and coffees. I committed to eating what we had on hand and filling in with a grocery run to restock produce and milk. I also kept a notebook handy and would write down every expense. It really helped me get a grip on my spending.
@True
That’s smart! I need to start doing that. How do you keep track without getting overwhelmed?
Merit said:
@True
That’s smart! I need to start doing that. How do you keep track without getting overwhelmed?
I just write it down whenever I can, like after I buy something. It becomes a habit! Plus, it feels good to see it all laid out.
For clothes, you can use sewing skills to refashion stuff you already have. Check out YouTube videos for specific ideas.
Also, if you fall victim to online shopping here’s a suggestion: Put the item you want in your cart and let it sit there. Wait like 3 days. If you still ‘need’ it after that, then get it. Most times you will forget about it and not purchase it lol.