At the close of 2018, I had every intention of doing a yearlong Beauty No Buy. Having successfully completed a 6 month No Buy in years past, I felt like this challenge would be doable for me. Instead of complete deprivation, I am moving ahead with a beauty low buy. Please keep reading to read why I’m doing this challenge. Also, please keep reading to learn more about my Project Pan 2019 Goals.
Leading up to my Beauty Low Buy
The more I thought about doing a yearlong No Buy, the more anxious I became about my spending. The more I thought about doing another No Buy, the more I started to spend uncontrollably.
Instead of a Beauty No Buy, I have decided to try a Beauty Low-Buy this year. My Beauty Low Buy Year officially started on May 1st and will run through December 31st.
Unlike previous year’s Beauty No Buy rules which dictated that I could not purchase anything new unless it was a replacement, this year’s Beauty Low Buy will have different rules.
Beauty Low Buy vs. a Beauty No Buy?
A No-Buy is a shopping fast that involves someone refraining from shopping for a set period of time. This may vary from one month to a year. Although this tactic can be used to reduce spending across a wide variety of categories, it is most popular within the beauty community for shopping-obsessed beauty enthusiasts.
Although the concept has grown in popularity as the beauty community has grown, one common complaint about Beauty No Buys is that fasts are essentially the “spending” equivalent to a crash diet. Thus, some individuals argue that these are not always the most effective method for making sustainable shifts to spending habits.
In contrast, a Beauty Low Buy is akin to a shopping diet. Rather than “starving” yourself from shopping entirely, an individual on a beauty low buy sets shopping parameters. Rules can be based on the number of products that can be purchased or the dollar amount that can be spent during a given time period.
Proponents of this type of shopping challenge argue that Beauty Low Buys are more sustainable in the long run and can still influence positive changes. Detractors argue that Beauty Low Buys don’t really do anything.
Beauty Low Buy 2019 Rules
- I cannot spend more than $75.00 on NEW cosmetics in a given month
- Dollars not spent in a given month can roll forward, but I cannot borrow against future budgets
- Ex. If I want to buy a $90.00 eyeshadow palette in May, I cannot pull $15.00 forward. I would need to wait until June to buy the palette.
- Exclusions: Items received via influencer networks, as gifts, or purchased via gift cards do NOT count against the dollar value
Although this challenge may seem laughable to some, I’m hoping that this will be a good detox. I’ve been spending far more than $100 a month since October 2018.
I am hopeful that once I start this challenge, I’ll feel encouraged to extend it. In an ideal world, I’ll maintain this strict budget indefinitely, but I’m just not sure how realistic that will be for me.
Project Pan 2019 Goals
My current beauty collection is comprised of 350 products (valued at approximately $6.1K). In an ideal world, I’d love to cut my collection in half by the end of 2019.
My Project Pan 2019 Goal is to finish or declutter 50% of my collection, or 175 products. Knowing that I finished or moved out more than 250 products in 2018, this challenge should be doable from a volume perspective.
Realistically, knowing that my spending was off the wall this Winter, I may struggle to get to this goal. I received so many goodies at Beautycon NYC, so reaching the 50% goal may be a struggle.
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Are you doing any sort of spending detox or project panning this year? What is your project pan 2019 goal? Please let me know in the comments below.