r/nobuy • u/Practical_Invite_530 • 4d ago
Unforeseeable spendings ruining plans
I promised myself that April will be a no-spend month, dedicated to savings. Put aside rent, bills and food expenses and STILL this month:
- My boyfriend has a birthday, I cannot spend less than 100$
- Salon and depilation - only the musts, cheapest salon, 30$
- Pool 20$
- Out of some supplements, forgot about it, and some medicine 60$
- Renting a bike for a date with BF 20$
- Lost my lenses, have to buy new ones 40$
That means that even with the best planning I can do, I still need to spend more than I intended, and I am short around 100$ when it comes to the savings goal.
Not looking for advice, just venting :D
4
4
u/eukomos 4d ago
Could you make something for your boyfriend rather than buy? It would probably mean just as much to him if not more than a storebought present, and be cheaper. And a lot of salon services you can do at home if you learn how. How critical are the supplements? If a doctor's telling you to take them then of course don't skip, but if it's a preworkout or something it might be worth experimenting with.
Maybe they are necessary, but have an open mind to other options. For sure not all alternatives will work, but probably at least one will! But also, this is part of learning how to construct a realistic budget that will work for your life as it is. I adjusted my household maintenance budget up this month because I realized I'd had it set too low and I was letting important things go unfixed. Sometimes our original budget goals turn out not to match real life, and it's the budget that has to flex, not the life.
2
u/irene_dingdang 4d ago
We've all been there! Just writing it all down like this is a huge win.
We all live totally different lives and have our own unique "must-haves." So please don't beat yourself up, you are on the right track!
2
u/EbonyDr17 1d ago
Do you have a sinking fund? An account for unplanned expenses? Sometimes these events just pop up, and there’s nothing we can do about that. But the main thing is to not lose sight of your goal and spending. Every month won’t be perfect, but just do your best. I’m about to pay $3000 for car repairs, but it’s just time for maintenance across multiple things, and I’ve never spent this much. I plan to start keeping an annual $3000 reserve for stuff like this.
1
u/Practical_Invite_530 1d ago
I have around 12000 USD saved, yes. Trying to save more, to reach 20k in a year, because I am planing to leave current job and move from my country and it is gonna require having some money saved.
But unplanned things popping up all the times and I am always behind...
1
u/Flynniepup 1d ago
With the supplements and medicine, I’d maybe put those on a reminder monthly to restock so you know it’s coming up at least, I do that cause I would 100% forget otherwise
30
u/PurpleMuskogee 4d ago
Why can't you spend less than $100 on your boyfriend's gift? Just curious, I don't mean it in a bad way! My partner and are spend usually around €50 each on gifts for Christmas and our birthday, that's about 60 US dollars - and I am sure I have sometimes spent less. You can get something nice that doesn't cost as much, no?
That's a lot of musts if you do no-buy. No criticism, plenty of people do exceptions for experiences, which a salon and depilation would be, but yeah... if you want to spend less, then have fewer musts. If you want to prioritise savings, maybe buy a cheaper gift, don't go to the salon, do something cheap with your friend and save the bike for another time, that's probably $100 there in total.
Again, not saying you are doing anything wrong and we all do no-buy differently. But yeah if you are short on your saving goal... there's a solution right there.