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RE: The Great Money Reset: Why You Need a No-Buy Month (and How to Nail It!)
Haha, I've just started my no-buy month which will run from 23 July to 22 August (I know, what am I like? I just choose any random 30 days I like 😂). I find when I do these things: set out my plans and commitments, I can't actually spend money. I don't mean I'm not allowed to, I just can't do it (one of my stepsons was like this when he was a little boy, we'd spend the whole afternoon going through four floors of the toy shop, looking at every thing, and at the end, he'd say, no, there was nothing he wanted to buy)!
You know I've been enjoying getting to know Lidl, well, this week, in spite of their coupons (15% off, a free item) and offers, I realized I didn't need anything except milk and I would pick that up from the cheapest place on my morning walk. It's quite seductive thinking that you are "saving money" with coupons etc, but as I've just found, do you need these things anyway?
One thing I would add to the rules is building in some treats - make sure you keep up your contact with friends and family, so maybe allow one coffee out a week, or two coffees for the month (or whatever you like to do - the owl watching was a lovely alternative). No-buy is more about cultivating general life habits, so even in a month with a celebration, that can be included in your "can buy" rules, even while you have "no new books, plants, seeds, yarn or notions" (my no-buy rules 😁) or equivalent in your list of no-buys.
As you say, it's a great reset!
You would have looked America. When we lived there in naughties they were couponaholics. You got the newspapers and cut out coupons. They have coupons for everything.
Mrs T's mother would drive all over the place to get something because she had a coupon. I would go with her until I got my green card. But I so often said to her, do you really need that?
So you have started your no buy month, good luck with that. I think you do so much preparation that you don't want stuff, so yes I understand that part of it.
I am taking Mrs T upto Perth for the last weekend in August for the Scottish Yarn Festival. I have no idea what she will end up spending, so after that we will start our no buy month.
I love the cultivating habits part. We now have a banana day once a week. We drink a green smoothie every morning, and on one day we will only eat 2 bananas. Not only does it feel like a great detox, it has changed my buying food habits and we are saving from it.
Oooh, Scottish Yarn Festival, you must do a post!