I’m currently drafting this post on Sunday afternoon from under a throw blanket on my couch; Elune dozing at my feet. I’m recovering from a 13-kilometre long run I went on this morning. I drove down to the Toronto Beaches for the run, which was a nice change of scenery but much colder and windier than I imagine it would have been elsewhere in the city. Thank God the weather is starting to improve- I’m so excited for spring! As much as I, and everyone else, loves autumn, nothing compares to the breath of fresh air that spring brings after a long, cold winter.
Today marks the end of the third week of my low buy challenge, which is what I want to talk about here. In total, I spent $174.71 this week.1 Funny enough, from Monday to Friday, I only spent $46- the vast majority of my expenses were incurred over the weekend. All in all, I spent $30.88 on groceries, $69.45 on transportation (refuelling my car and paying for parking once), and $55.33 on dining in at restaurants twice (both for social occasions). I bought my cat a gift on Valentine’s day for $3.20 (a little heart-shaped toy) and I had one subscription service renew at $15.85 (I subscribe to the Patreon of one of my favourite YouTubers).
I think I managed to do so well this week primarily because of work, and the location I was working from. My job has two different offices: one in downtown Toronto (an hour commute away from my apartment) and one in North York (20-30 minutes away). The location I physically work from switches on a weekly basis. This week I was at the North York office. I find there to be much more of a pull to spend money on days when I’m stationed at the downtown office, probably because the workdays are much longer with the added commute. This coming week, I’m actually on vacation, so I’m curious how not being at work at all will impact my spending.
Something I’ve been thinking about lately is whether I want to extend my low buy beyond the month I originally intended. Last week, the first time I received a paycheck since starting the challenge, I was really pleased with the amount of money I was able to save. I definitely think I’d like to continue my low buy for a few months, but I might modify some of the rules to make it more sustainable in the long term. For example, in the next month or so, I know I have some things I need to spend money on that don’t strictly fall into my low buy rules (for example, a haircut, a new dress to wear to a wedding in April and printer ink). What I might do moving forward is give myself permission at the beginning of each month to purchase 2-3 specific items falling outside of my low buy rules.
All of these good things being said, I also wanted to note that something I struggled with this week was boredom! I felt constrained- as if by not letting myself spend money mindlessly, I was placing limits on what I could and couldn’t do with my time. To keep myself motivated, I’ve been watching vloggers on YouTube who have made videos about their own Low Buy and No Buy challenges- it’s really helped. Since I’m hoping to continue this low buy challenge for a while longer, I’m hoping that my rules eventually come to feel less restrictive and more like day-to-day habits I don’t have to put much thought into.
Talk to you next week,
Laura Kate
- Not counting my phone and internet bill. ↩︎
Laura Katherine 