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Now that it is officially 2025, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at “What I’m Not Buying in 2024“, a post I wrote this time last year. Let’s see if I made it through 2024 without purchasing any of the items on the list.
A Look Back at “What I’m Not Buying in 2024”:
What I’m NOT Buying in 2024:
- Coffee shop drinks. It is so much cheaper to make a pot of coffee at home. {Check! Not a single one.}
- Streaming Services. Between sharing services with friends and family and free streaming services, we don’t have to pay for any tv service. {Check! Still mooching off other people, using free services or going without.}
- Jewelry. I have a serious addiction to shiny objects and have so many pieces of jewelry that I don’t wear. I need to get rid of some, not purchase more. {I made it all the way to December 31st! I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket and I caved and bought a necklace and earrings. I will say though, that I did purge a lot of underutilized earrings earlier in 2024.}
- Holiday Decor. We don’t decorate a lot for the holidays so no need to buy more, even though every Fall I see so many cute pumpkins. {Again, I made it to December 31st at which time I bought a Christmas tree ornament with that same gift card.}
- Candles. I have a surplus of candles that I have received as gifts so I don’t need to purchase anymore until I have used up what I already have at home. {Guilty! I did purchase 2 or 3 candles this Fall. It was hard to resist the new Fall scents.}
- Magazines. I fall into the trap of buying magazines, especially while on vacation and they are never really that good, just mostly advertisements. I canceled my subscription to Pioneer Woman and Magnolia Journal this year since Amazon no longer sells their subscriptions. {Check! Even though I canceled my subscriptions, I still receive Magnolia Journal, for free, so that’s on them, lol.}
- Coffee mugs. Like seriously, how many coffee mugs do 2 people need? We do not need any new ones. {I bought one coffee mug for my bestie for her birthday, does that count?}
- Paper Planner/ Calendar. I have transitioned over to an all electronic calendar system via Google Calendar. Plus we received a free one from our county, which may not be cute, but it is loaded with coupons for local businesses. {Uh, Guilty! I bought a new paper planner for 2025. And stickers, but that is neither here nor there. I just love old school pen to paper. We do still actively also use an electronic calendar as a family.}
- Sale Items. I will not buy anything just because it is on sale. It has to serve a purpose in our home or replace a worn out item. {Check! This one was not hard simply by asking myself, “What am I really going to do with this”, or “Where will this go in my home?”}
Although I didn’t stick to my 2024 no buy list 100% of the time, I think overall I did pretty well. Have you made a no buy list for 2025? If so, what’s on your list? What are your best tips for living a more frugal life? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
