As you know, I did a No Buy challenge, last year and managed to not buy any clothes for a whole year! Hooray! I did buy some motorcycle gear and have beaten myself enough about it, so I won’t mention this again 😉

It has been a while now, since the end of my challenge, so I wanted to pour my soul out again, to share with you how things are going.

You can read the evolution of this no buy challenge in the following quarterly articles:

• A status report after 3 months
• A status report after 6 months
• A status report after 9 months
• one year summary!

It wasn’t just about no buying clothes, it was about sewing new clothes too. That part didn’t go so well 😉

Did I buy something since the end of my no buy challenge?

Yes!

First, I bought new yoga pants!

As you may have read before, I really thought the first thing I would buy were socks. It was definitively my intention, but I didn’t find any I liked, the only day I went shopping.

Let’s be clear, when I say I went shopping, it means I went to 1 store! I didn’t go on a shopping spree!

The store in question was a sport store, as I was actually looking for some heavier dumbbells, than the ones I have. I didn’t buy them but got tempted by the yoga pants! They had the ones I like, in stock, and my old ones had started developing holes in areas, that I can’t repair anymore.

It felt weird! I’m happy to have them now, they are so soft, and comfy. But when I checked out, I had mixed feelings of guilt & excitement.

Did I buy something else!

Yes!!

I bought period underwear!

I’ve been considering buying period underwear for a while now. Reducing my environmental impact is a daily struggle and my periods’ impact has been a great focus.

The cup didn’t work for me. I gave the one I had bought, and didn’t want to buy several others, to try to find one that maybe would work. Considering the issue I had with it, which is uncommon but which I will not describe, it was unlikely I would find one that worked for me, anyhow.

I was a bit lost in how to handle the situation.

I knew about period underwear but wasn’t sure I would like the feeling. I didn’t want to buy any, during my no buy challenge, anyway!

Then my cousin got some and told me how amazing these are and how great it feels. And she managed to convince me to give it a try! You can read all that you can about a topic like this one, but hearing the same sort of comments, from a person you trust, makes all the difference.

Period waste 0! Me 1!! Well I hope, I haven’t received ye! Anyway, on to the next one now!

Was I ever tempted?

Was I ever tempted to buy something else? Yes a little. I tried to shop online a couple times actually!

I looked for a new pair of boots and couldn’t find one that was perfect. This would have not stopped me in the past. Actually, I would have probably bought 2 pairs of ‘not perfect’ boots, instead!

In addition, I tried to find a new top because I want puffy sleeves! But again none of the ones I found, were perfect. So no puffy sleeves for me.

In fact, every time I kind of tried to find something to buy, it wasn’t perfect.

Again, this probably wouldn’t have stopped me from buying something in the past. But after a year of not spending any money on clothes, clearly things are different.

So did I buy anything else?

No! 🙂

Well, I bought an exhaust pipe, some clutch disks and springs, new fork axles and the corresponding bushings for my Indian. But that doesn’t count since this project was never included in my no-buy challenge, which was originally only about clothes anyway.

I am mentioning this here… “again” one may say (!), because it has a big influence on my spendings.

This vintage motorcycle restoration seems to be a never ending project as well as a financial disaster!

I knew I still had to buy the exhaust pipe, but the fork axles? No, that was a surprise. And not the good kind.

The expenses for this renovation are now pilling up and reaching amounts I did not anticipate. I’m not complaining. I’m just stating this because obviously, it impacts my budget.

To give you an idea of how bad it got, my spending on the motorcycle were for last year on average 18% of my spending. But these were around 10% for most part of the year and reached 45% of my spending, for the last 2 months of the year. And these have been at the same level for the 3 first month of this year! Yep for 3 months now, 45% of the money I spent, goes to the bike. Not my rent, not food, not stuff, but part for the bike! Ouch!

And it’s not over, I know it, so double ouch!!

Since finishing the renovation of my Indian is my top priority, buying a new dress or a new fancy outfit will have to wait!

What’s next?

Well, in terms of clothes, it’s going to be hard to find items that match my new expectations and standards, it seems!

For now I’m just going to continue not shopping because it clearly is something I became really good at!

And it’s good for my bank account!

As for other things, I kind of decided to not buy new things anymore. It isn’t really a challenge because I’m into the groove and I’ve always been a vintage Gal. I prefer vintage objects anyway.

So when I say no new things, I do mean, things that are new. Vintage is fair game! And it isn’t a hard rule. If I need something new, like a filter for my reusable water bottle, that’s ok.

You remember this little brooch I bought? I still love it so much. Obviously, I love my vintage sewing machine and my vintage telescope and so many other little objects that decorate my house and that you may have spotted on some pictures!

So what ‘things’ am I referring to anyway? Well in fact I’m not even quite sure because there is nothing I really need at the moment. We might have to wait for my birthday, in July, to see what it actually leads to!

Motorcycle parts apart, I haven’t bought many ‘things’ last year anyhow.

You can check the slightly weird list of things I bought last year if you want. And since the beginning of the year, I bought an agenda and 2 memory cards for my camera and that’s it. I can’t do vintage for these sorts of things.

OK totally unclear!! For me as well, don’t worry!

Budget update!

When I wrote my debt, coffee and other money struggles, I mentioned that my budget had a ‘various’ area that didn’t work. After analyzing this part more carefully, I was able to split it in 3: Home, gifts to myself and gifts to others.

Home representing 50% of the spending as it included some legal fees incurred, the boiler inspection and new curtains. Gifts to others represented 80% of the rest. At this point, I think I should delete the Gift to myself section and include such spending in my section ‘clothes & stuffs’. Waiting a month or 2, to see and decide!

Now, the issue I’m facing is that I can’t seem to be able to reduce my spendings, past the current level.

I do spend a significant amount of money on organic food, but I’m not about to change this.

My rent will change in a medium term future, but it will probably be similar.

My trips to see my dad are costing me big time, but this is a good thing.

When the renovation of the Indian will be finished, that will make a huge positive change to my budget! But then we’ll have to start on my dad’s second bike, so the expenses will probably rise again!

This is where I stand! Unable to find ways to spend less than what I’m currently spending!

So for a while at least, I’m going to try to not buy anything new, but the main goal here isn’t about money saving, it’s about reducing my environmental impact. Reducing waste, packaging and shipping of course.

Will let you know how things go!

*****

Darn, I’ve just been invited to a big party, with a fancy dress code! Will I dare sew something?! Well, since writing this piece and posting it, the party happened, I can tell you: Yes I did dare and it was great!!