How to plan a No Buy challenge – and succeed

A No Buy Challenge is a great way to kick shopping habits, save money, and lessen your impact on the environment. If you do it right, you not only gain the immediate benefits, but get a reset on your mindset around consumerism, too.

Whether you’re thinking of doing a No Buy Month or a No Buy Year, you’ll need to set yourself up for success so you can stick to the challenge and meet your goals. Below is a walkthrough for creating your personal challenge.

What is a No Buy Challenge?

Also called a No Spend Challenge, a Low Buy, a Shopping Ban, or a Spending Freeze, a No Buy Challenge is a personal challenge to stop shopping and only spend money on essentials. It’s not about depriving yourself. It’s about resetting your habits and focusing your purchasing habits – and really, your entire life – around what’s most important. 

Many people do it for a month – No Buy January is popular – but I’m currently seeing a lot of folks going for a No Buy Year. You can do it for any period of time you like, for example, the three months between today and your upcoming vacation.

So when you’re doing a No Buy, do you literally not buy anything? For most people, no. You still spend money on essentials including rent, bills, groceries, gas, healthcare, and any other categories you deem appropriate. 

In fact, you’re allowed to spend money on other things too. It’s your challenge! We’ll work on creating rules for our personal challenges below. 

6 reasons to do a No Buy Challenge

Should you consider doing a No Buy? Here are the top reasons why you might.

• Save money – if you’re not buying, you’re saving! However, it’s important to articulate the reason you want to save. Are you trying to build an emergency fund? Pay off debt? Saving up for a large purchase, like a vacation or the down payment on a house? Investing money and reducing monthly expenses to work toward financial independence? Whatever you selected above – why is that important to you? In other words, what do you value? These are questions that actually become quite core to your philosophy of life!  The more specific you can get, the better.
• Reduce your impact on the environment – shopping is destroying our planet. Well, lots of things are destroying our planet, but overconsumerism is arguably the biggest. The production and use of household goods and services are responsible for 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.  Shipping and returning products purchased through e-commerce accounts for 37% of total GHG emissions. Most plastic produced for packaging is not recycled. By opting out, you can be a part of the change.
• Simplify your space – I’ve been there, with multiple piles of Amazon boxes, clothes in laundry baskets because they don’t fit in my dresser, and kids’ toys on the floor with no where else to go. Stop adding objects to your home! It’s not required, but you may take this as an opportunity to declutter and pare down to what’s essential. The clearer and tidier your space gets, the more peace you will feel. Check out my “Use-Your-Stuff” challenge for families for inspiration!
• Participate in consumer boycotts – look, as a general rule, corporations suck. I don’t want to support worker exploitation, destruction of the environment, surveillance, billionaires, genocide…! The less I buy, the easier it is to avoid giving companies my dollars to do these things with. Here’s more on the boycotts you may want to participate in, and how to avoid these companies.
  • What’s that? “There’s no ethical consumption under capitalism”, you say? Well, sure. That’s a great reason to do a No Buy! But when you do buy things, you can’t use that line to absolve yourself and buy anything from any company out there. It’s not that black-and-white, my friends. By withholding our money from corporations doing the worst evil and funneling it toward organizations with values we better align with, we teach the market what we as consumers want. This is a real way to enact change. Without our money, they are nothing. We have power!  
• Have a healthier relationship with consumerism – are you addicted to shopping and buying things without thinking about it, or even to avoid other emotions? Do you feel like you’re out of control? Maybe you want to give yourself a chance to use what you already have – for example, Project Pan does this for makeup – but it could also be books, craft supplies, etc. Maybe you want to focus on differentiating between wants and needs.
• Focus on what matters – by cutting out the inessential, you give yourself time and space to re-center on what does matter to you. Instead of shopping, maybe you want to spend more time on hobbies with supplies you already have, reading, cooking, or talking to friends and family. With less “noise”, you can get new insight into your life. With money saved on things you don’t need, you can put it behind things you value, too.

How to create your No Buy rules

So let’s set up your personal No Buy.

First, decide on the timeframe. I would recommend 1-3 months if this is your first No Buy. You want the challenge to be long enough for it to change your habits, but not so long that it feels unattainable, otherwise you’ll be prone to making an exception and the whole thing collapsing around you. Write down the start date and the end date.

Next, outline your reason for the No Buy, using the section above as inspiration. Write this down! Make it as specific as possible.

Now you need to determine your rules. Typically, these are categories of items that are “No Buy”, “Low Buy”, and “Allowed”. You can also call them red light, yellow light, and green light, or whatever makes sense to you.  You may want to start by reviewing your credit card history to see what purchases you have been making recently: what categories and stores are you spending money on?

You could also have a list of exceptions. Open your calendar and think about plans you have with friends, gift-giving occasions, or projects you are planning that may require you to purchase something. There are probably things you’ll want or need to spend money on besides rent and groceries. The key is to identify these in advance so that they are part of the plan, rather than a break in your No Buy. 

Here are some common ways to break down the categories:

• No Buy – things you will not spend any money on during the challenge. Depending on what you spend money on, you might specify: makeup, clothes, craft supplies, takeout/Doordash, restaurants, tech and gadgets, home decor, plushies, books, notebooks/stationary, mugs, furniture, takeout coffee, plants, antiques, candles, subscription boxes, etc. You could also specify stores, such as no Amazon.
• Low Buy – tread carefully here. The idea is to make sure your challenge isn’t so restrictive that you aren’t motivated to follow it, and also to realistically budget for things that you will spend money on. A “Low Buy” could be something that you’re allowed to buy as a replacement only (e.g. eyeliner), allowed to buy a certain number of times (e.g. 2 takeout coffees or restaurant meals per month), or allowed to buy up to a set amount (e.g. up to $30 on thrifted clothes per month). You don’t need to have any Low Buy categories, and if you think this will just make the waters murkier for you or invite temptation, then skip this.
• Allowed – for most people this will include rent, utilities, other bills, gas/transportation, hygiene items (though if skincare is a trigger category for you, make a list), cleaning supplies, healthcare such as medicine and appointments, etc.
  • Planned exceptions – As for exceptions, this may include planned travel (I am looser with restaurant spending when traveling, but still budget for it), birthday or holiday gifts (set a budget, and ask yourself if it’s even necessary), or specific items of clothing (for example, a new winter coat if you need one, or pants because you changed sizes). 

Lastly, consider whether you want part of your No Buy to be changing how you buy things. You might consider eliminating online shopping and only buying things by physically going to the store. Maybe you want to take that a step further and stop using a credit card in favor of cash. Or perhaps you’d like to purchase secondhand items for everything besides consumables. Write this down, too.

Free No Buy Tracker Template

Make sure you track your No Buy! This includes writing out your motivation and your rules, and then tracking whether you did or did not follow those rules.

I created a Notion Template to track this visually: you can make a copy here. I do charge for most of my Notion templates based on the value they provide, but this one is free on principle (though there’s an option to pay more than $0 if desired). 

You can also create your own tracker on a piece of paper, in your Notes app, etc. The most important thing is that you will actually use it.

No Buy Challenge Tips: How to make it easier & more likely you’ll succeed

Here are a bunch of tips to help you succeed at your No Buy!

Keep your “why” at the forefront 

One thing I’ve learned about myself in challenges like this is that I have to really believe the why. It can’t be bullshit, and it can’t be too aspirational. It has to be really real to myself and the life I’m actually living, or I’m going to justify my actions or ignore the reason entirely. So return to the list of reasons above. It’s okay if there’s more than one thing on this list that’s motivating you (I think all of them are important). Distill this down to something memorable. Write it at the top of your tracker, and perhaps add it to your phone’s home screen or on a post-it by your desk. The motivation is the key. Here are a few “why”s I’ve seen in the wild:

• I want to pay off my student loans.
• I want to be a more thoughtful consumer.
• I want to change my spending habits.
• I want to save $15k for my wedding.
• I want to pay off my car loan.
• I want to save $2k for a trip to France. 
• I don’t want to work until I die. 

Additionally, here are some motivating quotes and affirmations:

• “He who buys what he does not need steals from himself.” – Swedish Proverb
• “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
• You have everything you need.
• Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without. 
• Don’t let some useless piece of plastic steal your dreams!
• You don’t have to own that beautiful thing to appreciate its beauty.
• Life is not a having and getting, but a being and a doing.
• I can enjoy life without the need to own everything I like!

Make it more physically difficult to purchase something

The idea here is to slow yourself down and break the automatic action of the purchase, to give yourself space to think and ensure you’re acting intentionally.

• Remove your credit card from saved locations on websites and from autofill in your browser and on your phone.
• Physically freeze your credit card in ice so you would have to thaw it to spend money (after you’ve deleted the auto fill details) – it works for some people! Do not thaw it in the microwave, you’ll wreck the card. You’re going to have to wait if you need it.
• Change your driving routes to avoid trigger stores if you frequently stop on your way home from work or otherwise in your weekly routine. Put a post-it on your steering wheel to remind yourself to take the new path.
• Do grocery pickup instead of shopping in-store, if impulse buys while walking around the grocery store are a problem for you. 
• Cancel memberships such as Amazon Prime that pre-pay for shipping and encourage more shopping.

Avoid shopping triggers

Next, make sure you’re seeing fewer advertisements:  

• Install ad blockers, if you don’t have them already: uBlock Origin on Firefox, SponsorBlock (skip YouTube sponsors), ReVanced for Spotify, YouTube, etc.
• Delete shopping apps: Amazon, Target, Walmart, Etsy, Poshmark, Depop, eBay, Shop, Temu, Shein, ThredUp, Vinted, Doordash, Uber Eats, Next, Klarna, etc. If any remain for any reason, turn off push notifications. 
• Use apps to block certain domains – for example, the iOS app and Chrome plugin BlockSite can block you from accessing specific domains you specify, such as amazon.com. 
• Unsubscribe from marketing emails and texts – here’s how to mass unsubscribe from emails in Gmail.
• Unfollow and block brand accounts on social media 
• Turn off the option for personalized ads on social media platforms. For example, here’s a guide from Instagram on how to change your settings.

Slow down

Many people doing No Buys institute a purchase waiting period for all purchases. When you are tempted to buy something, you can write it down in a list. Instead of a wishlist, I’d call this “tempted to buy” or something. This helps the idea feel “collected” and noticed. If you’re in a store, you can take a picture of the item. If you’re online, you can save it to Pinterest.

Then, wait. You can decide how long, but common periods are 24 hours, 1 week, or 1 month. This gives you time to break through the impulse, and decide if it’s something you actually need. If it is, you can go back to your list and purchase the item after your waiting period. If not, it becomes a list of what you didn’t buy. Add up the savings as you go!

Ask yourself questions to purchase intentionally

When you are thinking about making a purchase, think about it critically. Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself:

• Do I already own something that can serve this purpose?
  • One thought exercise I use for this is the “spaghetti test.” When tempted to buy a new outfit for a specific event – for example, a wedding, but it could be anything – imagine that you did and you’re dressed in it and almost ready to leave the house. But! Just before you leave, you spill a plate of spaghetti with marinara sauce all over your clothes. There’s no salvaging that. What backup outfit from your closet would you wear instead? Now just wear the “backup” outfit you imagined instead of buying something new in the first place.
• Where would I put this object in my home? Do I even have a spot for it? Is that space that I’m willing to sacrifice? 
• How would I clean and care for this item? Is that an investment in time and money that I’m willing to make?
• Have I been influenced to buy this from a trend or ad?
• What problem in my life does this purchase solve? Did I have this problem before I saw content/ads about it?
• Am I buying this item because it is on sale? Would I have bought it otherwise?
• Can I borrow this item from a friend, the library, or through a circular economy group like Buy Nothing? 
• How much will this item cost per use? For example, if you buy that $100 dress and only wear it three times, that’s $33 per wear. That doesn’t seem like good value. This tip only works if you are honest about how often you’re likely to use the item. Think about a similar item you already own as a reference point.
• How many hours would I need to work in order to afford this item? If you want to buy that $100 dress, and you earn $20/hour, that means you need to work 5 hours of your life in order to have that dress (that you’re going to wear 3 times). Does that seem worthwhile to you?
  • Note: I would use this one cautiously. Sometimes it encourages impulse buying, especially for lower cost items if you realize you need to work less than one hour to buy something – that’s practically free! It’s also not going to be as impactful a visual for higher earners, for whom the working time will be smaller.
• Am I buying this as a way to deal with emotions?
• What else could I buy with this money? 
• If I could only have one of this type of item, is this the one I would choose?
• Does this item match and further my personal values? Does it reflect who I want to be as a person?
• Do I want to give my money to this particular company/seller? Who would I rather be in possession of this money: me, or the company I’m buying from? Every dollar you spend is making someone else richer and yourself less rich.
• What fantasy am I chasing with this purchase? For example, looking cool to strangers, being admired for my generosity, or feeling beautiful. Does this matter? How else can I get this feeling? 
• When will I be “done with” this item? What will happen to it then? Am I okay with this outcome? 
• Does this item break my No Buy? 

De-influence yourself by getting familiar with marketing techniques

I am a former career marketer, albeit on the business-to-business side, I marketed to people within the bounds of their workplaces. However, this does give me some insight behind the curtain. Marketers have a ton of tactics up their sleeves with one goal: to get you to buy things.

What they also have is data, data, data. They know everything about you. They will use this to their advantage, and your detriment. They are constantly learning and improving, too, in other words: getting better and better at getting you to buy things.

Do you want to be a puppet for corporations? Because whenever an ad works on you, that’s what’s happening. You’re doing exactly what they want you to. 

When you know how they’re trying to manipulate you, it becomes easier to see avoiding a purchase as sticking it to the man. HAH. I DIDN’T BUY IT, I WIN. TAKE THAT!!! (Maybe that’s just my competitive self 😅.)

Here are some marketing techniques to be aware of: 

• “Authenticity” is a tactic. It is not authentic. I mean, it can be. But marketers are wise to the fact that people are tired of being marketed to, so they need to pivot from traditional, obvious marketing to more insidious, more embedded tactics. What this means in reality is that no community, no space, no account is safe. Yes, they have Reddit accounts. They’re commenting like regular people. Companies also need you to believe that they have the same values that you do. You’ve heard of “greenwashing”, where companies paint their actions as good for the environment when they are no such thing. This can happen for any value: family-friendly, all-natural, politically left, politically right, politically skeptical, religious, atheist, inclusive, luxury, whatever.
• Influencers are the main conduit of the commodity of authenticity. Who better to seem real than…a real person? Though influencers may wear their real clothes and talk to you from their real homes, the version you see on their accounts is not real. It is a crafted performance…to get you to buy things. Yes, even the folks on social media that you feel like you know and trust, in fact, especially those accounts  – they need you to buy things. They do not need to like the product they are showing in order to get you to like it. They do not need to have bought the product to get you to buy it. Getting you to buy things is their job. If they don’t sell things to you, they can’t earn money by being an influencer. They are not your friend. They are not real.
• Retargeting – once you interact with a social media post or webpage about a product, the company tags you as a likely buyer and will send you ads about it. Everywhere. And remember, these include the obvious ads but also the fake-authentic ones. If an item suddenly seems ubiquitous, that’s because your algorithm is making it ubiquitous. This reality has been created for you.
• False scarcity or “FOMO Marketing” – yes, when you feel the fear of missing out on a product, that’s very intentional. As a recent example as of this writing, Starbucks offered a limited release into “Bearista” cups and only sent a handful, sometimes even one, to each store location. This kind of scarcity creates urgency – if I want to get one of these, I have to be the first to the store! – as well as desire – if I am the only person to get one of those at my store, I will be special! It’s a cup. Or a makeup palette. Or a special edition board game. Whatever it is, it is not going to change your life. It is not going to make you special. If someone else gets it and you don’t…so be it. Watch out for false scarcity in the form of:
  • Flash sales and limited time offers 
  • Listing the remaining stock amount on a product page, so you feel like you have to buy now to get one
  • Notifications when an item is back in stock, so you feel like you need to rush to purchase in order not to miss out this time
  • Notifications when you leave an item in your online cart that it is “selling out fast” so you need to get it before it’s too late
  • Early-bird pricing – buy now so you can get this special price before it goes up! (Spoiler alert: it’s going to go down again.)
  • Limited bonuses – BOGO offers or “buy today and get a free gift!” 
  • Shipping deadlines – when a product page says “order today by 5 PM for next day delivery!”, they’re adding false scarcity. Does it matter if you get next day delivery? Why is that so important?
  • Special editions of products in limited quantities. The limited quantity is not a miscalculation. It’s precisely calculated to create demand.  
• Preying on your emotions – how you feel is extremely important to your buying behavior. If you feel an emotional connection to a brand, you’re 8.4 times more likely to trust them, 7.1 times more likely to purchase from them, and 6.6 times more likely to forgive them. Yikes. But it’s not just positive emotions – marketers are making you feel, and then taking advantage of: anxiety, awe, inspiration, joy, humor, anger, and more. They’re choosing their words carefully. They’re choosing their images carefully. They’re finding problems in your life that they can solve…or more often, creating those problems in your mind, and then telling you they can solve them.

Whew, I think I’m going to have to do a couple of posts on this subject, we’re barely scratching the surface here. But the main point is: stay vigilant. 

Marketing isn’t just about products. It’s about feelings, aspirations, and trust. Your trust in the brand.

But they’re using all of those things to…get your money. How prosaic. How uninspired. (This former marketer asks: and is this what we’re using all this human talent to achieve? But I digress.)

We’re better than that. Break free! Stick it to the man! 

Make the item you want to buy less appealing

Related to de-influencing yourself, here is an offbeat tip I learned from the Reddit No Buy group. It works especially well for clothes. If there’s a piece of clothing you want to buy, look up pictures of it used on Poshmark, Ebay, or other resale sites. Instead of seeing an airbrushed picture of the item on a flawless model with perfect lighting, look at it in the real world, hung floppily on the back of someone’s closet door. See how it pilled or wrinkled or wore down. Or maybe it’s in good condition, but it just looks…unmagical. Let the clothing lose its allure. Notice how it’s just like all the other clothes in your closet and dresser. Go wear some of those instead!

As a general tactic, wandering around a thrift store often works for me, too. After a while, it just looks like shelf after shelf of junk. I shouldn’t buy new items, because they will just become this thrift store junk. And I shouldn’t buy from this thrift store because it’s already junk.

You can also remind yourself of this effect via items you have previously bought. Go through your purchase history on Amazon or by searching receipts in your email account. Of all the items you bought three or five years ago, how many of those do you even still have? Of the ones you do have, do you use them? Do you know where they are? Are they in good shape? Are they making your life better? Now take the item you’re lusting after buying now, and imagine it three years from now, trashed or broken or in the back of a drawer somewhere. That’s how it’s going to end up. You don’t need it.

If you keep wishlists, you can also look back at those from previous years. I’m looking at one of mine now. Why did I want this chiffon shirt? I don’t wear chiffon. I don’t wear nearly enough jewelry to justify the dozen pieces on this list, either. I checked that book out from the library instead of buying it. I didn’t really need any of this stuff.

Depending on your specific triggers and attitude, be careful with these tips, and don’t go opening Poshmark or Amazon if it’s going to make you buy something. Know yourself. 

Lastly, I’ve also seen folks refer to seasonal decor/fast fashion/single-use gadgets as “landfill-core”. When looking at a shiny object, ask yourself if it’s simply destined for the landfill. Imagine it there, barely used and covered with stinky trash. And then don’t buy it.

Surround yourself with anti-consumption content

This blog post is a great starting place. (Subscribe to my email list if you want more!) Now, put similar content in front of yourself.

If you use Reddit, check out r/nobuy, r/anticonsumption, and r/shoppingaddiction.

If you have access to Netflix, check out the documentary “Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy”. 

You can also check out from your library books like The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. MacKinnon, The Year of Less by Cait Flanders, and Spent by Sally Palain.

Check out #deinfluencing and similar hashtags on your social media platform of choice.

Remind yourself what you already have

A great way to kick off a No Buy is by cataloging your belongings. If you have a specific problem area for purchases, start there. Make a list of every kitchen gadget, ball of yarn, Christmas decoration, or whatever it is, that you already own. 

This may inspire decluttering, and that is fine! For objects that still have life in them, try to sell them, give away in a Buy Nothing group, or donate them before considering the trash can.

Either way, make a point to spend more time with the objects you have. If you have a ton of journaling supplies, make time for journaling. If you have a bunch of cookbooks, comb through them and start making new recipes. Enjoy your stuff. That’s why you have it! Plus, this keeps you off social media and away from more ads and shopping.

Have a plan for what to do instead of shop (seek dopamine elsewhere)

For a lot of us, shopping has become a hobby, whether that’s going to stores in person, sitting down at your laptop for some serious product research, or just idly browsing on your phone while sitting on your couch. As part of starting your No Buy, you need to find other ways to fill your time. Here are some ideas.

• Go to the library – this might actually be a good one for early in your No Buy, when you’re feeling the craving to shop. By browsing at your library, you can imitate the browsing you do at a store, and by checking items out, you can feel that little dopamine rush of “object acquired!” But this time, it’s for free.
• Play a stupid phone game – okay, this isn’t a long-term strategy for Living a Meaningful Life. But as a transition activity to keep you away from buying things, playing a free game can help you get that dopamine kick. Something kind of stupid but growth/collection focused can really scratch this itch, like Cookie Clicker or AdVenture Capitalist on mobile.
• Play a more engaging game on your platform of choice. 
• Focus on creating something instead of consuming something. Baking, knitting, writing, drawing, programming, whatever it is you like to do. This could be using up some of your owned items that you listed out, but it doesn’t have to be. 
• Go do one of these free outings outside of your home
• Or peruse this list of free activity ideas at home – admittedly I wrote it with kids in mind, but many apply to all ages.
• Clean your home. Do your daily tasks like the dishes, but also go deep. Clean and scrub the parts of your dishwasher. Dust your vents. Take everything out of your refrigerator and clean it thoroughly. Clean your walls. This has a couple of benefits. First, it keeps your hands busy and your eyes off the screen. Second, it makes your home better to live in. Yay! Third, it puts you in contact with the objects in your home, so you can appreciate them. This may sound unappealing – I definitely think to myself, “I hate cleaning.” But sometimes I surprise myself. When I find an audiobook (checked out for free from my library) that’s really engaging me, I can sometimes go into a trance and clean for an hour or more without even thinking about it.
• Mend or repair something broken you own. I personally have a cabinet door, a shelf, cat scratches on a secondhand sofa, and about 10 items of my/my kids’ clothes that need various repairs. Oh, and a stuffed animal ear. Fixing these will keep me busy, keep these items out of the landfill, and keep me from buying replacements.
• List your unwanted items for sale – this is kind of like reverse shopping, and honestly it scratches some of the same itch for me. By taking your items and listing them for sale on Poshmark/Depop/Vinted/eBay, you can work on getting them out of your home and pocketing some cash, too. 
• Go for a walk. Try with or without headphones. Try taking pictures of things you see to scratch that “collecting” itch. Or try walking with a friend or giving someone a phone call and having a long conversation while you walk
• Read a book. If your reading brain is a little rusty, don’t start with heavy-hitting lit. Go for something popcorn-friendly that’s going to keep you turning the pages, like a romance or thriller. 
• Do a workout video or go to the gym.
• Bake or cook. 
• Journal – write out the feelings you’re feeling and how your No Buy is going. Or, write about something else entirely. 
• Whatever it is that you wish you had more time for – congratulations! You just got time.

Have a plan for “after”

It’s okay to formulate this during your No Buy period. But do consider what happens when your No Buy ends. Hopefully, you are building lower consumption habits and will have less of a desire to buy things after this reset. If you are waiting until after your No Buy to make some purchases, make sure you have a plan for a certain number of items or a certain budget – don’t let this become a purge-and-binge cycle. Once you’ve it to halfway through your No Buy period, pause to reflect on your goals and whether the No Buy is helping you meet them. Think about what habits you’d like to carry with you. Some folks end up sticking with the No Buy indefinitely. Others switch to only secondhand shopping. Others will come up with “Low Buy” rules of their own.

Treat yourself with love

If you break your No Buy rules, don’t quit. It’s not pass/fail! Treat yourself with love. 

And then, learn and adapt. Ask yourself: what caused you to break your No Buy? Were you feeling low? Was there a specific trigger or situation? Is there something you can change to avoid that happening again? This is all part of the experience of the No Buy, and rule-breaks and close calls are actually quite important! That’s how you get to the root of what was causing you to buy in the past, and how you move forward and change in the future.

In the comments, tell us about the No Buy you’re planning! Have you done one before? What are your rules going to be? What did I miss in this post? Cheers!