Hi lovelies,
Happy New Year to everyone! I was thinking about joinning a “no buy” year than I was convinced that I am not ready for it and I would fail like in the first month for sure, which has no sense and would made me pissed off, so I want to make a sustainable low buy year. That would mean to try to use up, specially make up , however I do not have a crazy amount of it but still have more than an average people would need, so I want to decrease it a tiny bit (of course I had, have and will have a box full of makeup). Second reason is to keep my skincare and haircare routine as simple as it is now, because they do work for me. Thirdly is to upgrade my clothes, shoes and accessories in quality. The other main reason of course is to save for our future plans.
Budgeting:
Let’s start with the budgeting… I think the Atkins budget: 50-30-20 rule is not a new thing, but that is going to be the first year when I will start to follow. Yes it is more written for the USA and it is harder to adopt to the rest of the World, but I want to try.
Now let me to persolize:
Firstly it is the hardest thing to set what is the budget as my payment is comes from a fixed part and commissions after sales, so my monthly salary is changing months by months. Here in Hungary we do have quite low salaries, but there is a “cafeteria” system in which the employees can gain some extra money for extra spending: local restaurants, cinema, gym, spa, accomodation ect. I just will set a minimum, which would be equal my minimum net salary: 220 000 HUF (ca. 665 EUR). On the top of that I want to save for our flat goals, which we still not finished- specially our living room: no TV and its furniture, a rug is missing so much.
SAVINGS: (20%)
Last year I had to pay off 38 500 HUF (ca. 120 EUR) per month to the taxation company as a sales tax after our flat, which is thanksfully over this year. Last year I was able to take only my retirement fund and my healthcare fund- these I would higher up a bit and take rest to my security fund. Yeah my first financial goal is to build my security fund upto 6 months. Now I only have it for 1 month, but by the end of the year I would love to have it for at least 3 months.
WANTS: (30%)
That is the category that I will totally need to change. Cut back on those impulsive purchases and carefully considering what I want before I pull the trigger on a purchase on things that I really love. This is were I should keep my annual budget the most. So I am settling the followings rules:
- One fresh beauty products per month! Rather try to use up and enjoy my current items and panning them, specially my eyeshadows. I think it will have a seperate post soon about it.
- One in and one out skin care, body and haircare products, that what I am already doing but it is better to remember myself I can only buy one if I completely finished it and do not have anything to replace it. At the moment I do have everything works for my skintype.
- One new addition to my closet per month: including clothes + maximum 6 shoes and accessories! Probably will be the hardest to keep but I think I will be able to buy more of better quality stuffs or second hand (at least 3 of them should be that) and at least one from a local designer and 1 from an etnical brand!
- Magazines and books: books I must not buy until of 6 will be read from my bookshelf, while magazines I will strict to one per month.
- Gift cards and gifts are exceptions- finally I will have a wishlist for my birthday and nameday.
- Only one treatment is allowed per month: beauty salon, massage, hairdresser ect.
- Keep a no buy day per week.
- Do decluttering per seasons.
- do a month of no Buy like last year:
A month without extra spendings
NEEDS: (50%)
I mostly counted my fixed charges here: common cost, electricity, gas, water, mobil bill, internet and Apple. These would be already 60% of the needs budget. I am not sure that if I can fit my grocery into the 40% of it but we will see in January. Also at the grocery I have to be more mindful, but still do not want to suffer.
In the beginning I have written that this is only my minimal budget, so what about the rest? That what I want to use for our flat improvement, our common goals with my husband or holiday. Yeah my 2020 plans are just upcoming a few days.
Xoxo,
Low buy lifestyle on bike 