2025, low buy rules
taking what i learned in 2024 and creating a new and improved (+ very detailed) set of guidelines for 2025
The one thing I learned about my 2024 Intentional Buy was that there weren’t rules clear enough to delineate what was counted towards my limit of 36 purchases — though I stated that they should be “non-essential” in its essence, there were a lot of purchases that landed in the grey area, especially as a result of adopting new values and engaging in different hobbies.
I posted this (below) on Instagram on December 12th, and all the rules remain intact.
However, as we all know, spending challenges need more structure than just delineating items in the green, yellow, and red light categories. Many items, I’ve learned, from 2024, have fallen through the tracks without any category to define them by — this post is an attempt to cover all my bases. Here are some general rules before we get into the specifics:
Thirty day waiting period. No. Exceptions. I’m afraid I didn’t follow this in 2024; items I came across while window shopping were instantly added to cart and checked out. Occasionally, I’d wait for a day or two before buying, but that’s just not enough time. I find that there are a few times throughout the year where my minimal and financially intuitive brain goes dormant, and I somehow justify my wants as needs. This needs to stop. Of course, I will be using my Notion Wishlist Tracker to ensure that at least 30 days has passed before purchasing.
Stick to my usuals, and limit experimentation if what I already own is good enough. Trying new products has wasted lots of my money in the past, and I’d like to avoid that as best as possible. Even with extensive Reddit and online researching prior to purchase, some heavily-researched yet experimental purchases just don’t end up working out.
All non-essentials must not exceed 24 items. 2024’s number was 36, and I’m severely chopping this down to 24. I am confident about this.
Clothing
See here for a detailed look at my clothing-related rules.
Cleaning Supplies
I hate to say that cleaning supplies was a tricky category for me, because what kind of wacko is getting excited about dish washing soap? I fell deep into the cleaning community on social media (CleanTok), and began to add a bunch of new cleaning supplies to my wishlist — this included a $80 bucket mop, magic erasers, and soaps from a sustainable brand in Australia. While cleaning items in general aren’t non-essential in their inherent nature, since I do have to clean my apartment with solutions other than water, I fell into the trap of buying before running out of what I already owned.
The rule for cleaning supplies is that I am able to buy replacements only — even if the replacement is a more luxurious, expensive item, it will be considered an essential item if I’ve run out of it. If I have over 25% left of a product and buy something new that’s within the same category, then that will have to be categorized as a non-essential.
For cleaning gadgets, such as mops, vacuums, or scrubbers, if they are machine-based (e.g. needs recharging, doesn’t need replacement), they need to be multi-purpose in either of two ways: 1) there are multiple functionalities within the gadget, such as scrubbing, heating, dispensing soap, all in one, or 2) the gadget could be used in multiple places; a mop, for example, can clean floors in every room, instead of just one room.
Beauty
This category encapsulates makeup, skincare, haircare, and bodycare products, and all of its gadgets. Some categories are more enticing and exciting to purchase from than others — I mean, who is yelling in excitement over buying Sensodyne compared to a new fragrance? Not me. Generally, the rule for all of this is that the item is considered essential if it is a replacement of an emptied product. Of course, there are some caveats and situations where the product isn’t categorized as an empty.
Makeup: Because I’ve stopped wearing makeup, all new makeup purchases will be considered non-essential. Even if, for example, my foundation starts smelling funky, buying a replacement for it will be a non-essential item. If I somehow start getting back into the makeup grind next year though, I might revisit this rule.
Skin: I haven’t had an issue with over-buying skincare in years. Anything outside of my usual holy grail trifecta of my La Roche Posay cleanser and moisturizer + Aquaphor will be categorized as non-essential. However, in the situation that LRP decides to flare up my rosacea (let’s pray that doesn’t happen), the new cleanser and moisturizer I purchase will still be considered essential. All serums, retinols, toners, and location-specific (e.g., neck cream, eye cream) creams will be considered non-essential.
Hair: Essentials include dandruff shampoo, a gentle shampoo, conditioner or hair mask, leave-in conditioner, and a pre-wash hair oil. I currently do not own a pre-wash, but if I were to want one down the line, I would consider that essential. Any scalp serums that make hair growth or reduce dandruff claims will be categorized as non-essential.
Body: Essentials include fragrance free bar soap, body wash, and lotion. In the situation that my current exfoliating cloth breaks down, the replacement will be deemed an essential. Hand soap in liquid or bar form is essential, but should only be purchased one at a time (e.g., use up bar soap before buying liquid, and vice versa). Body oils or scrubs are non-essential.
Hygiene: I should only own one deodorant and one perfume (my trip to Taipei has bumped my perfume count to 2 — sigh). I was gifted a Leaf razor in PR, so once I use up all my razor heads, switching to the Leaf and purchasing any blade refills will be essential. With that being said, no more experimenting with dental care. I purchased toothpaste tabs from Bite and noticed that they weren’t cleaning my teeth as well as Sensodyne was. All dental care products, including toothpaste, floss, and mouthwash, are essential. Dental care gadgets, on the other hand, are essential only if it fills in a gap in my dental routine and can significantly improve my dental health. I’ve had my eyes on a Suri Toothbrush for the longest time (looks way more sleek and travel friendly than the one I own at this moment) — this would be a non-essential if the one I currently own is still functioning.
Health Adjacent
Every health-related expense has been automatically categorized as essential without question. However, there are some over-the-counter items I purchase for my health, with some being essential and some that aren’t.
Essential: multivitamin, yeast infection related pills (e.g., pre/probiotic, boric acid suppositories), medicine for any type of sickness (e.g., cough, flu, sore throat), bandaids/gauze, melatonin
Non-essential: vitamins for hair/skin/nails (because they’re all a scam), supplements for stress/anxiety relief
Kitchen Cookware
Ever since I started taking cooking more seriously, I’ve been feeling the urge to upgrade my existing utensils. While some made last year were absolutely necessary for our health (e.g., plastic spatulas were melting, so I replaced them with food grade silicone ones), I can admit that some others weren’t (e.g., W&P freezer cubes because the lids on those are so flimsy). What will differentiate a kitchen cookware from non-essential or essential is 1) how it affects my personal health, and 2) how much of an impediment it is for my sustainability efforts, and if buying the item is more sustainable than using what I own.
Eating Out
This is a tricky category because lately, Mr. Beans has been covering my portion. I also want to be able to try new restaurants and cafes in moderation.
Friends: I don’t have many friends to begin with, so weekly social outings aren’t commonplace. However, I am limiting one meal and one drink/dessert for each person on a monthly basis. This also means that if I hang out with nine different people, all of those dining out spends will be considered essential. However, if I seen Bumble Beans twice in one month and I dine out with her both times, the first time will be categorized as essential while the second time will be non-essential.
Mr. Beans: I am limiting this to no more than four outings each month. This averages to an outing per week, which I think is reasonable considering we’re trying to be healthier and cook at home more often.
Gifts
Last year, I wrote that I didn’t want to purchase physical items as gifts. That was a big mistake, because I actually do like giving physical gifts to people. My gift guide has great guidance on how to give the “perfect” gift to someone. With that being said, all gifts are considered essential because I never give a gift just for the sake of gift-giving. In addition, it is my way of expressing gratitude to the people in my closest circle.
Travel
Most travel-related expenses will be considered essential—hotel, flight, transportation, sightseeing tickets, and dining/drinks (non-alcoholic). As for non-essential, anything for myself will be considered non-essential; any gift will be considered essential. Prior to the trip, packing related supplies, including luggages, toiletry bags, toiletry tubes/containers, packing cubes, luggage tags, and such will be categorized as non-essential. I already have enough, and any more is just an add-on to make things marginally easier.
Hobbies
All hobby related gear will be considered non-essential. There shouldn’t be any exceptions to this rule, as I currently have all that I need for my current hobbies. If I were to take up a new hobby, it will be added to the non-essential list.
Subscriptions
My current subscriptions include Canva, Spotify, and Sunsama. Similar to 2024’s rules, a subscription is essential if it is the only one within its category. For example, subscribing only to Netflix would be essential. Adding HBO Max would be considered non-essential.
Groceries
This is a tricky one, since I’ve made my fair share of impulse purchases last year, whether it be a condiment that I’d only use for one recipe and never again, or a bunch of snacks that inflamed my angular cheilitis. To avoid a headache, groceries won’t count as part of my 24 non-essentials rule, but instead, reframed through the following set of guidelines that I would like to adhere to strictly (but no consequences if I don’t).
Stick to a grocery list. I was pretty good at this last year, but had the occasional slip-ups. I want to be better at this.
Buy produce in smaller quantities. Is it just me, or is produce getting moldy faster? Maybe I’m not great at storing them, but the amount of produce I’ve had to compost is appalling — not only for my wallet, but also for the planet.
Consider health in mind when buying snacks. These shouldn’t be regular purchasese, but rather, occasional “treat yourself” ones. Truthfully, I don’t deserve a little treat in the form of chips that will cause me pain.
Grocery delivery services are okay, but play by ear. I’ve always known that grocery stores fascinate me more than malls. I love reading labels of items, seeing how creative small businesses can be when creating veganized versions of non-vegan products (e.g., mushroom jerky, tofu cheesecake). When I go into a store, I’m tempted. However, using an app like Instacart removes this temptation completely. All I can do is search + add to cart. And no, the experience of scrolling on Instacart is nothing like scrolling on a clothing app. You will never find me lusting over tomatoes.
The r/nobuy Subreddit is a gold mine. This thread, Use what you have, has inspired me to create a list of things that I need to use up before buying new. This practice is similar to asking yourself — “Do I actually need it? What is the argument for not making this purchase?” With it, channeling my inner-Papa/Mama Beans, since they’re always so good at telling me I shouldn’t waste my money on frivolous items. This practice is similar to the content in my Anti Haul series, where I talk about the items I’ve de-influenced myself from purchasing.
I won’t make this complicated. I will be allocating $20 each month into my Low Buy sinking fund on YNAB. Whether or not this will be enough, I will adjust accordingly, of course. I want to be better at moving my money around to ensure that I am actually able to spend the money, instead of buying the item first and then figuring out which categories to pull from to cover that expense. For full transparency, that is exactly what I did last year. While I never went into debt doing this, it is a risky way to approach non-essential buys. I also never pulled from my emergency fund to fund these expenses — a rule I firmly stand by and would never allow myself to do.
I love this. I read a year of less by Cait Flanders and work hard towards my spending and debt every year. This is a good reminder.
I too love learning about others' low buy rules! I love how thoughtful you've been. Best of luck!