2024 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

[ElleElleG]

New Year,  New Thread, cheers to Year 10 of the  of the No/Low Buy Thread 🥂🥂

This thread was initially created by the amazing @lnum and this is how she described the purpose of this challenge: 

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.

Some 2016 insights from lnum:

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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!

Interested in Past Threads? Check here:

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2015 https://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB-ROUGE/2015-The-No-Buy-Low-Buy-Budget-Buy-Accountability-and-Sup...

2016 https://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB/2016-The-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILITY-AND-SUPPORT/t...

2017 https://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB/2017-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILITY-AND-SUPPORT/m...

2018 https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/2018-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILI...

2019 https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/2019-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILI...

2020 https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/2020-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILI...

2021 https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/2021-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILI...

2022/2023 https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/2022-amp-2023-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACC...

Other Challenges/Threads that May Help You/Your Spending Goals

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Pan It! - 2024 Challenge
Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge
What are you wearing today Pt2
Love At First Sample!!! 🥰
Makeup Challenge of the Week 2021/2022/2023/2024

*Feel free to PM me if there are additional challenges that should be added*

[itsfi]

@danielledanielle, the ability to pivot is an extremely powerful skill when it comes to real life, including beauty purchases. 

lol, my plans and approaches to low buy / no buys have come from many, many, many failed attempts missteps over the years. 😥 Try enough hats and I’m bound to find something that works, right?! Or, works decently most of the time. 😆 

[danielledanielle]

Missteps are a part of success, tho @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Very true @danielledanielle 

[blackkitty2014]

I need to join you ladies on Low-buy. I feel overwhelmed every time I look at my makeup stash. I will need to go over them and throw away lipsticks that gone bad or any eyeshadow and face palettes that never used which translates to thousands of dollars wasted. My strategy for low buy is to wait awhile. If I can’t resist the temptation in new products or formula then buy 1 only (instead of buying multiple shades/colors). Will report back after the Spring sales. I’m sure I will crave and buy couple lipsticks but hopefully just 1 from each brand (I’m eyeing 3 different brands). Ugh. I don’t need anymore lipsticks 😂🤣

[itsfi]

@blackkitty2014, I relate to this so much! You have a great strategy. I have always enjoyed seeing the progress you make on your luxe beauty products on the Pan It! - 2024 Challenge over the years. Truly inspiring. 😍

[blackkitty2014]

@itsfi thx you. You’re sweet. Let’s do it together. I love my pretty makeup but I hate wasting money too 😘

[danielledanielle]

You're not alone @blackkitty2014 .  That overwhelming feeling is tough.

[blackkitty2014]

Thx you @danielledanielle . Especially when Ithink about how long does it take for me to finish 1 thing. 😘

[danielledanielle]

We didn't buy all this $h?! in a day @blackkitty2014 , so it's going to be more than a day to do it, but we can do it!!!

[itsfi]

I've been on a low/no buy of some sort for a couple of years, with much more deliberateness in the last year. Aiming to be even more selective in what I choose to purchase this year.

Year To Date Efforts:

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• This first quarter was okay. I did well, err, fairly well in January on my low buy. 
• February was supposed to be a no-buy month, other than a couple of limited edition Lunar New Year  products. I did pick up the LNY items on my list of allowances, but I also picked up other things during the month. 😕 A misstep. (Love how you frame that @ElleElleG) More than one misstep. 
• But we bounced back a little in March with a low(er) buy. I made purchases, but reined it in, for the most part. 

Spring Savings Sale Strategy: 

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• Giving myself some license this month to pick up what I want during the Spring Savings Sale … within reason. 😉 In this case, that means: 
  
  • NO eyeshadow palettes - it's year 5 of having the Natasha Denona Biba Eyeshadow as part of the Pan It! Challenge. I've hit pan on all but one shadow but I'm nowhere close to fully panning the entire palette. I've transferred a few shadows into a smaller palette to make it more accessible and portable and have taken the actual larger ND palette and placed it on my desk, next to my laptop, as a reminder that eyeshadow palettes are off limits for purchases 
  • NO full-face sheet masks until I'm down to my last 5 sheets - my current sheet mask stash is a small, small fraction 🎉 of what it was previously when I probably could have been a distribution center, albeit a small one, for full-face sheet masks. Ugh. Again, that's been whittled down a ton,  and, since I use a sheet mask with a lot less frequency in the warmer seasons, I'll be perfectly fine working through my lovely sheet mask stash.
  • NO shampoo & conditioner - I have plenty. My hair will be clean and conditioned for years to come with my current stash. I need to get through, at the very least, the open bottles and then can think about whether I need to pick up anymore. 
  • NO body washes or shower gels - just as I won't run out of shampoo or conditioner for a while, I also won't be running out of body washes or cleansers for a while either - and I'll have plenty of scents to choose from along the way.
• I will update that NO list, as needed, after the Sephora sale (and after a few orders from last month make their way here)

Summer Shopping Slowdown:

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• Going back on a low buy for May thru August - I may try a no-buy during parts of that time as well.
• I tend to not make as many beauty purchases in the summer months and am hoping to keep up with that pattern this summer. 🤞🏼 

What Has Worked For Me for No/Low Buy Periods:

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• Focus on finishing products I've already opened. I’m working on that withPan It! - 2024 Challenge  - we have some phenomenal panners on that thread, with some very practical and creative approaches to panning, like rotating products to work through during different times of the year. I may make a more deliberate effort to try my hand at that this summer. 
• Shopping my stash - I didn’t realize I hoarded things as much as I do. That’s become so much more evident as I’ve been putting together a weekly makeup bag for the Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge . Putting together a group of products to use during the week has been fun and insightful as well as efficient for getting ready in the morning - Top Shelf products make themselves known pretty clearly & quickly as do  many items that don’t suit me or are otherwise questionable whether I’d use them with any regularity. 
• Having an Allowance List - I started doing this a year or so ago. I have a running list of products that I treat as exceptions to “no buy” months. The list typically includes items that may be set for release (or are likely to be set for release) during a no buy month (such as LNY related beauties) or products I know I will want to pick up if it does launch during a no buy month. This is a running list and I have a set number of products on it, with the idea that if my list is full, I need to swap out something from the list if I’m going to add a new product to it that I want to be able to buy should it become available when I’m on a no buy. A list of acceptable “cheats” if you will; it’s made up mostly of limited or special edition items.
• Limiting my time on beauty social media YT channels, blogs, etc. With the exception of a 2, maybe 3, videos and a couple blog posts last week (to check out swatches), I haven't been on YT or blogs for over a month. 
• Finding non-beauty related distractions / other things to focus on during the low buy / no buy seasons. I've been reading more books the last couple of months and have been loving it. It's been nice to carve out time to read something not related to work. My goal is to average a book a month, which is an easy feat for most people, I imagine, but that clip should work nicely with my other commitments and personal projects I want to work on (or want to make time to work on this year) -BIC book club! has been a great place to see what others have been reading. 
  
  

[Margalee]

@ElleElleG Thank you. for the tag! I have been taking things from my cart because I have been a bit spendy lately and how long can that go on? But the sale is only a few times a year and I have been really wanting to try Danessa Myricks face palettes. I have at least ten eyeshadow palettes so I definitely don't need it but I like the colors and am very intrigued by the multi use of the palette. There are also some things I've been wanting to try but they are more expensive so I have been waiting for this sale. I am thinking now is my chance! And I am thinking how much does all this spending add up to? So if I buy a bunch now I will have to shut off the valve afterward. I'd like to have the Lancome matte for lip and cheek, maybe some perfume. 54 Thrones Blue Tansy and Blue Chamomile Butter. The 1.7 oz tubes seem more pricey than the larger sizes so I've been holding off on that hoping they'd bring in a value size of it. And maybe this is a chance to get some of the long awaited items on my loves list. 

[missjeanie]

Thanks for the tag @itsfi !  I've been trying to do more thoughtful purchases this year.  The big thing for me is not stopping into a TJ Maxx or Winners casually, and avoiding Shoppers Drug Mart beauty aisles.  I've been pretty good at not buying online at Sephora and waiting for the spring sale.  And I think I can keep my Sephora spending down by waiting for the big sales.  They're often enough that I never have a full on need for anything and I find waiting keeps me from impulse purchases.  I know I'll have a few shopping trips here and there when on road trips, but controlling my Sephora packages is a big thing for me.

I also tried to re-organize my back ups... and filled an entire bookshelf.  So... having that all out and seeing shelves full of unopened product has been... sobering. 

The Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge has been a game changer for keeping me feeling like I've got make up variety as well.  Bonus I'm using some products that I forgot I even had.  

I know I'm likely going to pick up more than I should next weekend... but I'm trying to stay thoughtful with what I snag this year.  Especially outside of Sephora sales and the occasional trip into the US. 

[sistakimberk]

I need this because I need to budget and stop trying every new skin care item!!!

[ElleElleG]

Welcome @sistakimberk !! There are quite a few new skincare releases that are tempting. Aside from toner I’ve banned myself from buying more skincare since I have several bags worth of items from an event last year. I remind myself of all this by having the full bag out/visible nearly all the time 😅

[lmaster]

Thanks so much for the tag @ElleElleG 🙌 after this sale, I definitely will be laying low for awhile 🤞

[ElleElleG]

Ditto @lmaster ! Fortunately Sephora’s sales tend to be like clockwork so I can be intentional about only purchasing during those times (for the most part)

[WinglessOne]

Thanks for the tag and thinking of me, @ElleElleG ! And for another year of this helpful thread! 

I definitely need to be in low-buy mode this year, or at least low-OOP-buy mode. I tend to hoard Ulta points because they don’t expire, and racking ‘em up is easy since Ulta does so many multiplier events throughout the year. Point multipliers are the retailer mind trick that makes me spend OOP instead of use points/rewards. I need to stop buying for points and start using ‘em more frequently instead. 😅

Nordy Notes are easier to spend because they do expire, so I need no help there. And I never have more than 3000 Sephora points banked because I always use ‘em for Rouge Rewards instead of trying to get the bigger super elusive rewards. But Ulta points… I could—and should—restock many skin/haircare staples for $0 OOP all year long. Gotta stop letting point multipliers tempt me to spend money. 

3 specific items I need to slow my roll on: 

• Lipstick - I remember the year I got my hoard under 300 and was thrilled. Now I’m far over that number. 🤦‍♀️ It doesn’t help that Poppy King’s making lipstick again… I’ll budget myself some “support the OG Lipstick Queen” allowance this year. Otherwise, I need to buy as few lipsticks as possible and get very serious about decluttering again. 
  
  
• Makeup brushes - if it’s not a shape/size that’s unique to my collection, then I have no business buying it. And instead of buying multiples of the same brush, I should just not be so dang lazy about washing brushes. 😂 I already don’t buy brushes I won’t actually use; I’m not a hands-off collector. But I have so many brushes, I rarely use ‘em all. That’s a problem. 
  
  
• Nail polish - I’ve always layered and manipulated different polishes for various effects. So rather than buy all the pretty sparkly things, I should think more about whether I can dupe a polish using 2 or 3 in my collection. That line of thought helped me a bit last year. Gotta carry it through this year. 

I do plan to take advantage of Sephora’s spring sale. Hopefully I won’t do too much damage though. 

[ElleElleG]

You’re welcome @WinglessOne !!

Completely agree with your notes on Ulta & how they get you to spend money instead of using points. I try to hold off on converting them when I have a big order and a 20% off that includes prestige. Having to maintain platinum status so the points don’t expire is my biggest frustration with them. I find myself spending unnecessarily at the end of the year to meet the minimum and still those points sit there and judge me 🙃

Whew, you highlighted 3 of the sneakiest areas to pull back on! Having to mask helped curve the spending on lipstick but those other two. Is there an anonymous meeting available 🤓 

[makeitup305]

Thanks for restarting the thread @ElleElleG . I'm trying to be better about purchases this year and using my stash. I was doing really well up until this month. It's hard when all the sales hit at once. I will say, I didn't pickup anything from Ulta despite the 20% off coupons and sales so I'm pretty happy about that. I've definitely bought some unnecessary items from other retailers, though. I'm giving myself a slight leeway during the sale but after that, I'm tightening my belt again.  Right now my cart is sitting at like $500 but I'm definitely not spending that. I'm going to be cutthroat and pare it down to less than half that at the most. I have a $100 Rouge Reward that I'm hoping will help offset my spending during the sale.

To help with spending, I've got an Excel sheet with every palette or eyeshadow single I've used this year. I'm 3 months in and so far, it's definitely helped me reduce eyeshadow purchases. The Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge has also helped me out, as I've been rotating stuff in and out and trying to incorporate a wider variety of products into my daily or weekly routine.

[ElleElleG]

@makeitup305 The back-to-back sales are too tempting 🫣. Love that you have a Rouge reward that you can use during the sale, definitely lessens the blow to the wallet. Love the idea of creating an excel sheet! Some of the project planners have shared samples of their tracking methods and it’s certainly something to explore. I’m open to anything that will help keep me consistent.

[makeitup305]

Sorry for the late response! @ElleElleG I'm DMing you