November 2013 -- No/Low Buy Thread

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So I'm in need of a serious intervention & figured being the one to START this thread would force me to be more accountable!  

My rules are pretty simple... I am only allowed to buy in two circumstances:

1.  Sephora, if they do a holiday VIB sale (with the 20% discount)

2.  Black Friday (which I've already rationalized because it's 11/29, which is almost not November anymore!)

A lot of us get three paydays this month & I'm planning to use mine to finally start saving some cash and make a few "adult" purchases I've been putting off, like a new cell phone (my last one is an iPhone 4 - not even 4s! - from 2/2011 and it's busted beyond repair), a desk (AKA battle station!) and Apple Care for my computer.

So what are your goals/rules for this month?  Good luck, everyone!

 
Thanks for starting, donutbaby. Looks like you have a good plan. I really need this thread this month. I've been fighting the urge to buy for the past week, and I really don't need anything. I'm in the process of moving from my apartment to a house, and packing has been a big eye opener for me. I need to use what I have, not get more. The big thing stopping me from online shopping right now that I'm transitioning between addresses, but I will be all settled at the house next week, and I still will need to stop myself. I'm committing myself to a low buy for the rest of the year. I started this around August, and overall, it has gone very well. I haven't purchased any makeup or skincare since June or July. I've only bought nail polish and bath type things, and a sub to Le Metier de Beaute (oops). This month is my birthday month and my nine month BB anniversary, so I will be spending the 300 Birchbox points I have saved with no more than $20 in cash on top of that. I will also be participating in Secret Santa. I will also be be allowed to shop for Christmas gifts, but anything I purchase must be for a specific gift, not for a hypothetical gift. Besides that, I am not going to be making any fun purchases. This shouldn't be too hard to do because I'm going on vacation for a week the week before Thanksgiving, so I do get to have some fun. The trip is almost entirely paid for already. I'm looking forward to going and relaxing, and not stressing about spending more.

 
For November I am planning to *not* purchase a thing in terms of beauty products. I am only on a low buy but I just messed up by $150 for October. So, I am only planning on getting my hair and eyebrows done. I am saving my Black Friday splurge for work related stuff like new shoes (normally $120 to $150) and a new stethoscope (about $175). My local scrub store allows us to go in the Wed. before Thanksgiving and reserve stuff to come in and purchase on Black Friday!

 
I am doing a low-buy for the rest of the year, I am going to allow myself no more than 5 new items a month. There is so many goodies at the dollar tree that I just can't pass up.

 
I've been low/no buying for several months as I have been waiting for Nov/Dec to make a few purchases and take advantage of some of the Black Friday/Xmas promos. I know I will have one Sephora order and possibly an Ulta one if I see something I've been wanting to try on their Black Friday deals. I also have a few things in my cart at UD but may not pull the trigger on it. Overall, I plan to spend $100-150 through the end of the year. One Sephora purchase will be eye cream as I'm using the last of my samples. 

 
Im on the no buy too- I can only buy everyday make up that I have absolutely nothing I can replace it with in my stash.

Im hoping to buy absolutely nothing in November, fingers crossed! Maybe it will help me finally make a dent in some of my make up, im currently trying really hard to hit pan on an eyeshadow (any eyeshadow).

Good luck everyone else xx

 
Ok, although I have been using lots of stuff up, I am still buying it faster than I can use it. Soooooo. I can only buy necessities that I am completely out of. I have 3 subs. Ipsy, BB, and Naturebox. I just joined weight watchers so to compensate, I must pass on LBB unless it is a gift for someone else. Oh and if those Liz Earle muslin cloths come back in stock at BB I will buy with points. Now must avoid all the good deals

 
Allowed:

-Birchbox Sub

-Purchases with BB points (although I'm trying to hoard them so this might not even happen! i might use my points for xmas gifts though...)

-Secret Santa gift -- will not purchase until i know who i am getting + what they want/like. I do not want to buy "hypothetical gifts" seems like a waste of my money even if there is a "good deal" because my SS might not want it or might already have it!

-Kiehl's order for BB cream -- hopefully there will be a good deal out before I totally run out of this stuff!

-One Sephora order with gift card + 20% off + the $ from a return I plan on making (unless they dont let me make the return)

Not allowed:

Pretty much anything else!

I did OK in October. Just bought the Make Up Must Haves set which is mostly being broken up to be given out as gifts. I caved and impulse bought a Loreal LeMatte in She's So Matte. I like it but I definitely have similar colors already! oopsies. I also spent some money on make up for Halloween but my boyfriend's aunt ended up buying all my Halloween stuff off of me.

Trading has also kept me feeling "fulfilled"!

 
I need to be on a SERIOUS no-buy/low buy!!! I really really really need to start saving up for my wedding& just saving up in general. I've noticed I have a really bad shopping habit and accumulated A LOT of stuff!!! 

All of these gift sets are KILLING me though! Seriously, I want them all. Also going to really start using stuff up and saving my empties until the end of the month.

Things I'm allowing:

Birchbox and Ipsy sub.

MAYBE something from Sephora's 20% sale.

MUT Secret Santa

 
So far October has been VERY successful for my low-buy, and I'm happy to continue it through November!

Allowed:

-My Ipsy & BB subs

-one additional sub up to $20 (to replace Bondi)

Shopping for my Secret Santa (regular and nails)

My normal $25 budget for "splurges", same as October (I think I only spent about $18 of Oct's allowance! Yay me!)

And that's it! 

 
Oooh, I forgot about MUT Secret Santa which I'll DEFINITELY be partaking in!  So that doesn't count :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  I also didn't account for my subs on my "allowed list" but they are Birchbox, Ipsy & Glossybox.  Saw the info about F&F at Sephora so my goal is to (of course) not buy anything the first week of November & then allow myself to only buy items I've needed or wanted forever during that sale (such as the MUFE Aquabrow in 'dark brown' -- it's brand new at Sephora & I've been waiting for them to get that shade in forever!)

 
So I have to do an extreme low-buy. I am only allowing myself:

Birchbox

Gifts for my secret santa and secret santa for nails

Necessary replacements in the VERY unlikely  event that I BOTH use something up AND can't replace it with anything from my stash.

I just got some stuff from the Julep Secret Store and have made WAY TOO MANY nail polish purchases this past month, so I am on a definite polish NO BUY.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by tulosai /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Necessary replacements in the VERY unlikely  event that I BOTH use something up AND can't replace it with anything from my stash.


Ha ha, been there :)

 
After my minor screw-up in October, I'm back on the no-buy wagon for November.  I just left my job, so I'm trying to save money, and I will have more time to experiment with fun looks with the makeup I already have.  I've already been tempted by a good nail polish deal, but deleted the cart/offer.  

My plan right now is: 

no makeup/soap/shower gel purchase until January (I have enough to last)

make this my last month of Birchbox--I have a pre-apid yearly subscription, so I will not renew when it comes up at the end of the month

continue to use things up

allowed to get a hair cut this month (I usually do this once every 2 months)

allowed to buy one solid shampoo from LUSH mid-month when my last shampoo sample runs out

when I get a new job, allowed to splurge on a perfume

 
Le sigh. November is a bad, bad month for me. It's probably going to be my f***-it month, in which I get extremely stressed out at work and order a whole bunch of makeup so I have *something* to look forward to. I had planned in this being a complete no-buy, and then I looked at the calendar and thought, "Well, makeup is probably cheaper than large amounts of booze, and it's definitely healthier."

 
I'm on a no buy for November too. I'm dying a little at missing the ILNP preorder today, but I just went over my budget spreadsheet and my holiday expenses spreadsheet and I'm doomed. Dooooommmmed :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Probably no buy (except for Julep boxes) until January.

 
I am also on a serious no-buy for November. I went CRAZY in September and October. I told myself that after the ILNP preorder I wouldn't buy any nail polishes or beauty products. One of my subscriptions automatically cancels after 3 months, and another one I just unsubscibed to last night. So right now I have Ipsy, Julep (which I can always skip) and PISTOL polish. I may or may not let myself get a Polish Addict Mystery box if they have one for this month. I have a $300 bill due for my credit card and $10 to my name until Tuesday. Christmas is coming and I really need to start saving! Also, my credit card expired this month, and I have a new one but I'm not going to activate it until December. Good luck everyone...we can do this! (edited to remove personal/blog info, thanks! -magicalmom)

 
I need to join. I went a little bit nuts and ordered a lot of sub boxes in October.  Most haven't arrived yet, but it should be enough to give me the thrill of having a package to open without buying more!

I also need to join the use-it-up thread...it would be nice to end the year feeling "cleaner" and "lighter" in the product hoarding department!

 
I'm screwed this month, so I won't try... It's my birthday month, and I'm going BF shopping with my bday money. Plus today I ordered the iPhone 5S. So I'm not going to give myself restrictions until after the New Year. After all the holidays, I'm on a low buy for a while. I'm not going to spend recklessly, but I do know just on BF I'll be spending about $250. (I'm a student, so for me that's a lot). Luckily I ordered the 16GB phone so it was only $200... still a lot but I will have it forever.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by elfbarbie07 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I'm screwed this month, so I won't try... It's my birthday month, and I'm going BF shopping with my bday money. Plus today I ordered the iPhone 5S. So I'm not going to give myself restrictions until after the New Year. After all the holidays, I'm on a low buy for a while. I'm not going to spend recklessly, but I do know just on BF I'll be spending about $250. (I'm a student, so for me that's a lot). Luckily I ordered the 16GB phone so it was only $200... still a lot but I will have it forever.
Heh.  I initially thought "BF" = "boyfriend," and that was a *really* interesting way to read these sentences.

As I think I stated in the Recent Purchases thread, I've also given up on keeping things sedate for November.  I'm calling this my "f***-it month."  It's going to be super stressful, and it's buying makeup or alcohol, and makeup will end up being cheaper (drinks around here average eight bucks a pop, and then there's bar food, and then there's the post-bar-hopping Voodoo Doughnut binge) and much better for me than booze, so more eyeliner and blush it is.

 

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