No Buy Diaries Episode 1: January
the first full month of my year long no buy: what i spent, saved, ate, watched, read, did, and thought about
Welcome to the first episode of the no-buy diaries! Every month, I will write a newsletter talking about how the no-buy is feeling, any challenges, successes, and a round-up of what I consumed this month instead of physical items and shopping.
I don’t know what happened to me (I am usually a winter hater to my core), but I loved January this year. I’ve written about this here, but something shifted in my brain this month and I have been able to slow down and rest in a way I haven’t since before I started graduate school (in September of 2021). To be honest, I have done really well in graduate school thus far and it has mostly been the result of me working really really hard and constantly and quite aggressively chasing the next thing- the next milestone, the next publication, the next networking meeting, the next collaboration, the next award, the next fellowship. Now, I finally feel like I am settled into my PhD, and I am in a place where I can just work 9-5 on my PhD, work one shift a week in the ICU, and protect the rest of my time for me.
How the No Buy is Feeling
I have to be totally honest about the no-buy: I am so so so happy I am doing this. And for me, this month was really not that hard! My brain feels like it has been freed from a lot of toxicity and bad habits. Shopping made me feel itchy, never enough, always a little bit ashamed, and opting out of that has felt really good. The worst part of the experience was when I was doing my shopping for my trip to India for a wedding in my boyfriend’s family. I so desperately wanted to feel free from shopping and I had all of this buying to do. I did spend a bit more than I had budgeted, but I am really happy with all of the items I purchased and know that I will get a ton of wear out of them.
I expect that there will be more challenging times ahead- the no buy and I are totally in our honeymoon phase right now. I have planned for this! For now, focusing on the abundance of time, energy, and cash that the no buy brings into my life have kept me in a really positive place.
Challenges
I had a few unexpected things I spent money on this month- a therapy session out of pocket, a new pair of winter boots for my dog after I left his in an Uber, and a few convenience costs when I unexpectedly picked up an extra 36 hours in the ICU one week.
I’d just like to note that I haven’t tracked my finances in well over a year so I was not too strict with my spending this month- the main purpose of tracking was to collect data on my spending habits. I will be more locked in during the rest of the year!
Things I Have Coveted and Not Purchased
I think it’s helpful to keep track of the urges I have to shop and notice when they pass! A few things have been on my mind…
A black, chic pair of warm winter boots. I have perfectly good brown winter boots, and perfectly chic black dress boots. I would love to have something that meets both needs- but also a girl only needs so many boots! Something to ponder for 2026.
Cargo dress pants. I attended a public lecture this month and one of the panelists wore black cargo dress pants, a black sweater, and a (see above) perfect pair of chic, warm, black winter boots. I loved her black on black aesthetic and professorial style- but I don’t need new dress pants and keeping my commitments to myself feels better than a new pair of pants.
Baggy band tees for the gym. Girls look so cool squatting in their black mini shorts and big baggy Metallica tees. I genuinely love this look- but don’t need it!
No Buy Wins
A few little wins for the month- needing a hand mixer to make my boyfriend’s birthday cake and borrowing it from a friend instead of calling it a ‘need’ and purchasing one, cancelling my Amazon prime, coming up with a plan to participate in a Galentine’s day white elephant with homemade gifts, allowing myself some small conveniences (a few Ubers and paying someone else to groom my dog) guilt free when I picked up extra shifts, and cooking 95% of my meals at home!
January Favorites
things I consumed this month instead of the New Arrivals section of everlane.com.
Films: Queer (Daan de Wit was amazing, Daniel Craig gave me the ick, would not recommend), A Nice Indian Boy (saw this at TIFF Secret Movie club, it releases in April, I loved it so much everyone needs to see it!)
Books: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (glad I finished but do not recommend), Orbital by Samantha Harvey (love love loved this!).
Fun: A PWHL game, dinners out at Union and Dreyfus, and working on my Sophie Hood- I’m halfway done and can’t wait to share about this first knitting project when it’s over!
Thank you so much for reading A Life’s Work! I have decided to launch a paid subscription tier. I prefer not to paywall most of my work, but starting today I will be posting monthly deep dives into my finances and savings goals as I make progress on that in my no buy year. These posts, and occasionally some other posts, will be paywalled. If you don’t have capacity to become a paid subscriber but you want to support my work, please feel free to buy me a coffee! And as always, your readership is the greatest gift. Thank you so much for being here.
Financial Update
A few important pieces of context before we get into the numbers (breakdown of my spending and progress towards my savings goals).
I hold a competitive salary award as a PhD student that gets paid out quarterly. My target for this year is to live off of my income from my part-time jobs as an ICU nurse, teaching assistant, and research assistant, and therefore save everything I earn from the salary award. Every 3 months when I receive this funding, my savings rate is going to look a little bit crazy. January is a salary award month!
I will share detailed numbers breaking down my spending and progress towards each of my savings goals- this information is going to be paywalled for my privacy :) thank you for understanding!
With all that being said, let’s get into the numbers!