Stuff I didn't buy in May
And lessons from my first no-spending challenge of the year!
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The rules of the challenge
Early this year, 90% of my purchases were influenced by Instagram ads. Before that, TikTok was my biggest trigger for purchasing stuff until I deleted the app for good. In May, I decided to do a no-spending challenge for the first time in a very long time.
The rules were simple:
Can spend on:
House essentials — groceries, my rent share, etc
Subscriptions — Substack publications and Spotify
Experiences — concert tickets, brunch with friends
Can’t spend on:
New clothes or new shoes
New brands of skincare/hair products (where most of my paycheck goes monthly tbh).
Coffee outside (unless I was working on freelance projects)
Being international with my spending in May allowed me to stop and evaluate where I really need to be investing my money at this point in my life. I want to live a life where I get to control where my money goes instead of letting ads or people on the Internet influence my decisions.
As I was writing this issue, the Substack universe sent my way Totally Rec’s issue ‘It Costs A Lot To Look This Poor’. This quote resonated with me for days and days:
Rich people create products for us to consume, and we purchase them, feeling wealthier without realizing that we're actually becoming poorer. We’ve lost the ability to think clearly and rationally: Would you prefer to own a $1 bag with $10,000 in your bank account or own a $10,000 bag with only $1 in your bank account?
To be fair, I try to live a pretty frugal life and I’ve learned to be a conscious consumer whenever I can. I also don’t have a pricy Gym subscription —I mostly run and do workouts at home (shout out to Nicole, you have changed my life!). I do my nails maybe once a year, I learned how to laminate my eyebrows and cut my hair and bangs at home. I am, as they say, ‘low maintenance’. Up until last year, the only hair product I used was a single solid shampoo bar that I shared with my husband.
Still, ultra-targeted ads get me and I end up buying shit that I don’t really need way too often.
So without further ado, let’s get into the juice of today’s newsletter and show you all the nice little things I didn’t end up buying in May.
Stuff I thought I needed!
Everything from the Collina Strada’s Spring Sale 💔 — I have been eyeing a few pieces for months but spending that amount of money on a skirt makes me feel guilty. When I saw that some of my favorite items were 40% off I gagged and almost convinced myself that I needed the things. This is what I left on my cart.
This water bottle — The influencers I follow haven’t stopped promoting this brand for the past 12 months and claiming that they have been drinking more water since getting it. I doubt that a water bottle will give me the willpower to hydrate that I am lacking, but honestly the brown 27oz one is to die for and I might give up on its charms one of these days.
3. This scrunchie — I didn’t know a scrunchie could be this beautiful but here we are. It has everything I’ve been loving recently; the star shape, the color. It’s from a small but mighty Mexican brand that you should check out.
Ikea’s TESAMMANS collection — It took all the power in my being not to shop any of the items in this collection because all of them scream my name.
Hotel Ceramics Mug — The key to my heart is a good ceramic mug. I’ve been eyeing Sara’s work for years I hope I can make the drive down to Portland, visit her studio in person and get one or two of her iconic mugs.
Stuff I bought and don’t regret
The Baggu pop-up tent — I evaluated this purchase for quite some time and concluded that it’s worth it. Baggu’s items are pretty good quality, so I am hoping this tent will serve us for many summers. Can’t wait to go to the beach and nap under the shade of this baby!
via Baggu.com My first Tekla piece — I was skeptical until I had the chance to touch and feel their towel collection at Neighbour. I got one small towel and it’s the softest, fluffiest thing ever and I am obsessed.
3. Tickets to see los Hermanos Guitérrez this summer — Their music has been one of the most beautiful discoveries for me in the past couple of years and they are coming to Vancouver to play in the Vogue theatre (!!!!!) this summer. I haven’t been to a concert in ages so I am beyond excited to see them in this iconic venue.
Last remarks
As cheesy as it sounds, the best things in life are free. Doing this challenge made me realize how many of my purchases are emotional and triggered by things like stress or anxiety. An outlet to distract me so I don’t deal with the real problem. At the same time, I don’t believe in a life of restriction, and finding a balance is important.
Thanks for reading this issue, a bit different from our normal programming but let me know if you liked it. Talk to you in the next one ❤️
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I, too, am conscious about my spending and pretty "low maintenance" as well. this was a great post-- it should be a monthly series! :)
sighjjjj collina strada also had me in a chokehold… loved reading about your curation