I have hinted a few times in my most recent posts, but I have spending the past few days  days planning the project I’ll be working on in 2020 and I’m ready to share it.

I’m going to be doing a year long no buy throughout 2020.

That sentence feels stupidly scary to type out loud as I am someone who loves shopping. I can just feel all of my friend’s and family’s doubts when they read that sentence, because spending money on things I don’t need is what I’m known for.

But I’m ready to change that.

This project is something I’m both excited and nervous for. For those who don’t know, a no buy is a project in which you cannot buy anything from certain categories for as long as you choose and I’m choosing all year.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

There has been a lot of research done into goal setting and success which has revealed that choosing one thing to focus on is the best thing to do. Although there are other things I want to achieve and work on in 2020, this no buy project is going to be my ‘one thing’ – my main focus (see Muchelle B’s video here for more detail about this)

A no buy is something I know that I need to do.

I have a major issue when it comes to spending and saving money. I’m someone you would call an ’emotional shopper’ which has now escalated into what could be considered an addiction.

I’m obsessed with spending money and obtaining new things – even if I don’t have the funds or the need for it. I have some specific problem areas (which I will be highlighting in my rules post) and these things have been somewhat of an emotional crutch for me for too long now.

This no buy project will give me the opportunity to save money and develop better habits, as well as making me more aware of the things I actually own.

I constantly feel overwhelmed, stressed and like I’m running out of time so cutting out shopping – which has become my number one hobby- will hopefully reduce this.

WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?

As a creative human being, the fact that shopping is the way that I choose to spend all of my free time is kind of sad.

Now, there isn’t anything wrong with shopping if you have the money and the needs for it but my behaviour isn’t healthy.

I spend more time shopping than I do reading, writing, walking my dog, communicating with my friends, or simply just being.

I have this need to constantly fill my time with shopping and ‘shopping behaviours’ such as searching, planning, and reading reviews to distract me from what is really going on in my life and head.

There are a lot of different creators online who have done a no buy challenge and I will list a few that I’ve been massively inspired by at the end of this post. Hearing their success stories and seeing the changes that not shopping for an extended amount of time can do has got me motivated.

I need to do this – and I want you to hold me accountable.

WHERE THIS BLOG FITS IN

By publishing my intentions and plans on this blog, I want to be held accountable. A no buy is a challenge that I will fail only if I allow myself, so hopefully having my small audience behind me will keep me motivated to make the right choices.

I want to update this blog on a regular basis about my progress, what I’m learning, and genuinely just hold myself accountable by creating regular content about this year long project.

If this is something that interest you and you want to see how I’m getting on, please stick around. I will be publishing posts about my goals and my rules for this challenge later in the week, I just thought I’d introduce my project first.

And if there is anyone out there who also wants to start a no buy for the new year, please reach out to me via the contact form on this blog and we can support each other.

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Inspirations

• Hannah Louise Poston – her whole channel is amazing and I’m working my way through her no buy videos, but I’d suggest starting here
• Rachael Stephanie– for both no buy and project pan content, which is something else I want to work on. Start here 
• Leena Norms – this specific video expresses my feelings better than I ever could
• Makeup Rehab Subreddit

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Have you ever considered a no buy challenge?

Speak soon,

Rachael.

Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash