Do you feel like you’re drowning in advertisements, clutter, or debt? A no-buy year could help. In a capitalistic society, we're brainwashed to default to buying our way out of our problems. That's what makes a no-buy challenge so much more than a New Year's resolution or an extreme budget.

A no-buy or low-buy challenge not only gives you permission to hop off the buy-buy-buy hamster wheel — it also makes you more privy to sneaky marketing and helps you put your money toward what actually makes you happy. These are the kinds of mental shifts that could stick with you for life.

In this episode, we hear from listeners about the different ways to do a no-buy or low-buy year, and what they've learned about themselves and their finances in the process.

🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.

📞 Want to submit your Community Classified? We'd love to hear from you!

📱 Want to try no-buy challenge join the Commons community, download the app.

📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.

Episode Credits

• Listener contributions: Amandine Thomas, Cara Sanford, Daria, Justina, Melissa Tan
• Editing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍
• Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham

• (00:00) - What is a no-buy year?
• (03:18) - A no-buy new year’s resolution made Amandine more stylish and saved her lots of money.
• (06:43) - Melissa has found freedom and simplicity in her no-buy challenge.
• (11:20) - Daria’s secondhand challenge rippled out from clothes to other parts of her life.
• (13:15) - After switching to part-time work, Cara was still able to live comfortably due to the success of her no-buy challenge.