If you’re like me, your social media feed was packed with people who were trying to lower or not lower the Buy challenge at the beginning of the year. They were tired of overconsuming, so they set rules for themselves and do much less or nothing at the required cost.
Scrolling through these videos made me think about my spending habits and the goals I wanted to set for myself in 2025. Reducing financial stress, a more thoughtful and curated life, and the freedom to plan new experiences without guilt.
So I decided to start my own low shipping experiment in January and asked the experts for their perspective.
Be authentic about your spending
The goal of a low-shipping or no-by challenge is to break the cycle of overconsumption by reducing essential spending during unset periods.
“Social media has made it popular for doing bails and low bails, but honestly, as a financial expert, this has been a phenomenon that has happened every year for the past decade.”
With a low challenge, people looked back on what they bought last year and set rules based on their biggest financial struggle, she says. The goal is to redirect saved funds towards meaningful financial goals and move towards unrest.
Identify the problem
The challenge is to rethink your spending, especially if you tend to buy things that are messy and stressful in your home. Finding your home or the area of living that will overwhelm you to identify purchases to cut back, Florida-based content creator Amanda Lakochee says he paid off his $50,000 credit card debt last year.
For example, if you trip over a child’s toy or can’t find storage for an unused home decor, these types of expenses are worth trimming, for example.
New clothes were becoming a budget breaker for me. My closet felt like a mashup of trends, cheap clothes and postnatal essentials online buying that didn’t reflect my personal style.
For Rakoczy, beauty products were her evil. “Before I know that, I have 20 lip gloss by four different brands,” she says.
Rakoczy is currently working on the low shopping challenge with her family.
Personalize the rules
Practicality and realism are key to success. “Most people fail to do no-by or low shipping because the rules don’t work for them,” Sokambi says.
I know that not buying clothes for a year is not realistic for me. So I allow myself to buy second-hand clothes, but only clothes made of superior quality than what I already own are 100% cotton, wool, cashmere, silk and denim.
I broke the rules once and broke my rules to buy shoes that I had been paying attention to for months, but they were deeply discounted and the purchase was impulsive or unplanned. I relied on the new consumption habits I was trying to form, and this one purchase failed to open the lock to more spending.
Your rules can also be adjusted to suit the season of your life.
Rakoczy and her husband decided to split their lower years into quarters. Each quarter has different rules for seasonal costs, which helps the challenges fit better in life with two young children.
This quarter focuses on saving money at grocery stores. “We felt there was a lot of waste, so we were able to cut almost $400 in grocery bills that month,” she says. They simplified the shopping trip and allowed the kids to choose one snack per week rather than many.
There is another advantage to breaking the challenges of longer low shipping into smaller parts. It’s your chance to start something fresh. If you slip, the whole experiment has not failed.
Track your progress
Sokunbi recommends tracking what you have purchased or not purchased using your spending journal, spreadsheet or smartphone memo in the initial low shipping date or weeks or weeks. Focusing on what your spending is triggered can help you understand habits and make better choices.
Track out days without spending on a paper calendar and leave a note on your phone with a list of all the things you want to buy but didn’t. At the end of the month, I tally my expenses to get a sense of what I saved.
Certified Financial Planner Dawn Abernathy suggests using the budgeting app to categorize spending and provide insights.
“It gives you a real-time understanding of how you’re spending,” says Abernathy, based in Chesterfield, Missouri. “Then you can adjust your actions and learn about what you really are doing, not what you think you’re doing.”
Remember your “why”
For some, the challenge of low shipping or non-shopping is how to achieve your financial goals, such as paying off your debt or saving on your down payment on your home or car.
The challenge of low shipping or non-shopping is also a great way to build an emergency fund, Abernathy says. She says that having 3-6 months of required costs can provide a sense of financial security and control.
Reducing consumption can also reduce financial stress.
“I was worried that there might be another emergency or another layoff.
But now I feel that’s different. “I buy things to live the life I want to live. I’m in charge and I feel like I’m back in the driver’s seat,” she says.
The challenge has improved her marriage and increased accountability and teamwork, she says. Her kids are catching up too. Her son sought a family trip in place of a birthday party with presents. It feels like a cultural change in their families.
Focusing on your “why” can be the motivation you need to stick to your goals, Abernathy says.
“It’s really easy to say, ‘Oh, I want to save for the future.’ “But when there’s the cause behind why you’re doing it, it means a lot more to you, and it makes implementation much easier,” she says.
My “why” is clearer every day. I was less financially stressed and easily managed some unexpected costs that I would have tripped up before.
I watch my savings grow and I am not very sensitive to it. I am creating space for more conscious consumption practices while being content. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings.
More about Nerdwallet
Amanda Baroso writes for Nald Wallet. Email: abarroso@nerdwallet.com.
Low buying in article, big impact: How I reduced my spending and stress originally manifested in Nald Wallet.
Original issue: February 27, 2025, 3:08pm EST
