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updated 12/31/19* The 2020 Thread is here 2020 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD
Hey all! Welcome to Year 5 of the No/Low Buy thread 😲.
Since 2019 is LITERALLY around the corner so I figured it was time to get this thread started. The 2018 thread can be located here: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/2018-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILI...
For reference here's the purpose of this thread (from lnum):
This thread is a support system for all of us who are trying to maintain a budget and keep our beauty spending limited. Post here when you have a weak moment, post here to hold yourself accountable, post here when you just need someone to talk to, post here when you have advice for all of us, and post here when you make mistakes but also make gains! Many of us post here to keep track of our monthly purchases. Anything you need to say, we are all here for each other. There's no judgement here.
Feel free to share your goals, items that tempt you, missteps (we don't believe in failures), and any successes. Above all else, encourage and support one another.
The 2017 OP and link:
lnum wrote:Welcome to Year 3!
My motto for this thread is that I strongly believe, even on a budget, you can have the things you want that make you happy without feeling like you're limiting yourself.
This thread is a support system for all of us who are trying to maintain a budget and keep our beauty spending limited. Post here when you have a weak moment, post here to hold yourself accountable, post here when you just need someone to talk to, post here when you have advice for all of us, and post here when you make mistakes but also make gains! Many of us post here to keep track of our monthly purchases. Anything you need to say, we are all here for each other. There's no judgement here.
I am so excited to spend another year with you all. If it wasn't for the first two years of this thread, I would never have been able to cut down my beauty spending. My goal for this year is to maintain low spending on beauty, and cut down my clothing purchases. I will be funneling that money into traveling, which is what I have done in the past and it's a great goal that truly motivates me.
I'm still so proud of everyone for making it through 2015 and 2016, limiting ourselves in the beauty product area in order to improve our lives in other areas. We all did great and here's to another year of learning and saving!
Here is a link to the 2015 thread: http://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB-ROUGE/2015-The-No-Buy-Low-Buy-Budget-Buy-Accountability-and-Supp...
2016 thread:
2017 thread: https://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB/2017-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILITY-AND-SUPPORT/m...
Challenges to Help You Use Your Stash:
Thanks for the encouragement, I believe it when you say it.
Okay so the Sephora sale did me in a little. I was hoping to make $1700 of progress in August since it's a three paycheck month for me, but it would have required spending money on literally nothing but the absolute necessities. I went a little off the rails with the sale at sephora with a $70 spend on makeup but the rest of the things I bought are replacements I know I'll use. However, all those items could have waited for the November sale or later. Between that, an impromptu Labor Day vacation, and a lot of little unexpected expenses I only got to a little over 1300.
I'm still counting it as a victory, it's no small sum, but my goal is to have my $10,000 remaining credit card debt gone by the end of next year and it's going to require a little more self discipline than I've been exercising thus far. I'm looking forward to bartending a wedding every weekend this month at my side job and I've sold some of my higher-dollar clothing items I don't use as often as I'd like so I'm hoping this month I can make some decent headway. My goal for the month of September is $600, but I'm still hoping to have enough tip money left over to splurge on the new pat McGrath palette and a pair of leggings during the Athleta friends and family sale- here's hoping these wedding guests are generous 😜
@Brutalitops We know you’ve got this! It looks like you’ve planned this all out for success! The closer you get to your goal the easier it will be too!
$1,300 is great. You’ll get there, this is wonderful. Hope your tip jar is fat.
I feel like my self discipline needs a little reining in too @Brutalitops but it seems you still did well. Hoping your bartending brings in more than you expect this month so you can get some treats as well as save!
Thanks @ShortErica. I know it's a little gauche to talk about it in such oblique terms, but I feel like if I don't lay it out as it is I'll never fully have a hold on it
That's a perfect reason to keep posting @Brutalitops 😁
Let’s see how accurate my $50 guess was.
Totals for August 2019:
Makeup (no buy) - $0
Skincare (low buy) - $48.93
Haircare (low buy) - $5.33
Totals for my year (November 2018-October 2019) to date:
Makeup (no buy) - $25.56
Prior purchases
Skincare (low buy) - $506.92
Prior purchases
Haircare (low buy/smart buy) - $187.37
Prior purchases
Did I need to use the Ulta coupon..probably not..but I will use it. My guess was pretty accurate which makes me happy but I'm hoping I can just enjoy my mask stash as opposed to wanting to add to it. Even if I get them at good prices, I could spend the money on something else. On to September!
Awesome job on the tracking, @ShortErica! Great idea to record a year’s worth of spending on a specific category of purchases.
Thanks @newcarlee!
@ShortErica Wow loving your commitment to accountability!
Thanks so much @lnum. I am feeling so proud today. I went to Sephora to specifically buy THE INKEY LIST - Caffeine Eye Cream but off course it wasn't in store. But then I saw THE INKEY LIST - The Wake Up Duoand the other product I considered was the hyaluronic acid serum so I took it as a sign. I only have one backup of my hyaluronic acid serum so will be using this one in 3ish months so I figured that's reasonable. But then I stopped in TJ Maxx. There were a few mask packs on clearance but they were brands I didnt know so I didnt pick them up. My other temptation was 30 pairs of lookatme snail eye gels for $7.99 but since I just bought eye cream and haven't used the Skyn Iceland eye gels I bought from Ulta 21 days, I held to no purchases. Wooo!
@ShortErica That is awesome! Stores are my weakness I avoid shopping in store at all costs!
That's great you know what tempts you and to avoid it @lnum!
I’ve had a spendy August so it’s time for a checkin. Since Sephora introduced the August rouge discount last year, and upped the spring to 20% as well, I’ve been able to spread my spending from mostly during the November sale to more year round. However this also tends to result in more impulsive purchases. I’ve been in a 5? year low buy (basically since the year I started this thread) so it is time to try some new things.
I’ve barely bought makeup the past few years (except TF lipstick). I realize this has actually helped me tremendously in realizing what I actually like. I make purchases for new products so carefully I end up loving a lot of what I buy now.
I’m going through a declutter to remind myself of what I have and use it up. I also have a fair amount of items that are still new but I know I won’t use since I know my preferences better now. Thankfully birthdays and holidays are coming up, so that saves me some money and space! Then there’s the things I’ve used probably once and don’t like. Those are going in a box for friends and family to pick and choose from.
I have finally allowed myself to splurge on things I do love and know I will use. This includes clothing and shoes. This is hard, getting out of the low-buy mentality I’ve been in for years. But I deserve it. It’s been a treat myself kinda year, and there’s no room for regrets.
My ultimate goals for this journey were paying off my loans (done!), and traveling. I’ve since been to 8 new countries and countless new places. In the next two months, I’m visiting 5 new cities, 3 familiar cities, 2 different countries, in a total of 6 trips! I’m so thankful for this journey, but I think it’s time to set new goals.
I’m saving to own property someday. I’m 50% there with a potential down payment and that took me two years. I want to spend 18 months saving the other 50%. This means I will aim to travel a little less during this period so I can save. Wish me luck! 😇
@lnum Congratulations ❤️ This is a wonderful update! 😊
WOW!!! I am super impressed with what you have done! You really are setting yourself up with a pattern of behaviour that will benefit you throughout your whole life. Taking stock and shifting goals is part of that process and that seems to be exactly what you are doing. Good on you!
@elthom Thank you! It’s been such a long but rewarding journey.
So glad you left this comment. These are my goals now. I just started on a new no buy with goal of getting out of dept. Once I added a goal I really want the no buy became easier. Goals like traveling and owning property seem wonderful. I’m so encouraged
@howconnie Thanks for the support and words of affirmation! Paying off my student loans wasn’t any fun until I realized I could do it at the same time as traveling. Getting out of debt is a great goal, there’s a huge weight lifted off your shoulders and you can finally start to see past all this debt you owe. You also start to realize the things you wasted money on just aren’t as important as the new life you want for yourself. After five years, I feel I am a different person than the one who’s started this journey.
8 months down of no-buy/low-buy. I've been mostly successful at only buying replacements for things I've used up (using things up is going really well too). I've bought a handful of things but no impulse purchases, which is the thing I really wanted to curb. Everything I might want to get, even replacements, sits in my online carts for at least 48 hours first, and usually a lot longer. I'm also trying to go into a brick-and-mortar store for those items whenever possible.
I didn't buy anything during the Sephora sale, so that's a victory. Also looked through the Ulta flyer for possible spoilers on Sephora's 21 days thing (I made a goal of not shopping at Ulta at all this year) and the only things I'll get if they go 50% off are replacement Clarisonic brushes, and a new KP Duty scrub.
So I'm feeling pretty good now about making it to the end of the year. I've been concentrating mostly on using up as much of my existing stash as possible, so now when I do buy something it's kind of a reward for having finished everything else like it.