My Low Buy Year (and Appreciation for What I Already Have)

(If you want to skip the boring personal stuff and go straight to my No Buy list, click here.)

Introduction

I’ve been interested in a “low buy” year for awhile now, and not just because my financial situation demands it.

For the past year or so I’ve undertaken steps to become more minimalist. Last summer I moved back into my mom’s house to save money and pay down debt.¹ I started going through my things a couple months beforehand in preparation for the move, and I was taken aback by how much random junk I had. This experience set me down a path of discovering minimalism and unlearning consumerism that I’m still on today.

Where I Started

Overwhelmed by my material possessions, I started bingeing YouTube videos on minimalism and combating overconsumption for inspiration. This sudden interest was aided by my algorithm, which came pre-loaded with content on minimalist travel, packing, etc.²

After being in an international long distance relationship for nearly 5 years, I’d learned to pack light and bring carry-on luggage only. Every trip to visit my partner, Jem, in England was an exercise in minimalism.

Applying what I learned abroad to my habits back home wasn’t too much of a stretch. I started with the most tangible stuff: clothes.

My Capsule Wardrobe

The thing about traveling light is that you have to cut down to the essentials. When it comes to clothes, simple garments that are easily interchangeable work best. Some people call this a “capsule wardrobe”; you can find loads of videos³ about it online.

With every trip to visit Jem I parsed down my wardrobe more and more, eventually developing a system that worked best for me: one of each “staple” garment (such as trousers, a jacket, a sweater, etc) with multiples of base layers like t-shirts, long-sleeve undershirts, and socks and underwear—generally in twos or threes.

Eventually I realized that I didn’t wear much else when I was home, either. My closet was full of clothes I hardly wore. I only ever reached for the same handful of items; the rest sat unworn.

I ended up filling an entire spare room with clothes. Some stuff was hard to let go of. But recognizing the fact that I was only keeping things just to know that I had them made it so much easier.

I didn’t wear 90% of what I got rid of; I’d just glance at it hanging in my closet, only to forget about them whenever I shut the door. The other 10% was stuff I had duplicates of that I liked better and chose to keep instead.

I’m really happy with what I have left, and I don’t ever see myself going back to owning a crap ton of clothes. Eventually I plan on making a separate page here on my website dedicated to my capsule wardrobe and showing off the different outfits I make!

I’m a Minimalist Now! There’s Just One Problem…

Emboldened and invigorated, I took the same approach to the rest of my things. I’d say I’ve cut down on about 80% of what I once owned: clothes, books, video games, tech, sentimental keepsakes, and more.

Even now, I still notice things that I want to get rid of. My goal is for everything I own to have a purpose and a place, and to be able to see it all at a glance—no extraneous junk hidden in closets, boxes, or storage. Knowing exactly what I have and where it’s at has been something I’ve aspired to since I was younger.

There’s just one problem: I don’t buy like a minimalist.

That isn’t to say I’m a shopaholic or burning through my paycheck as soon as it hits my bank account. But I’m not nearly as mindful of acquiring new things as I am itemizing what I already have. (Althought I’ve gotten a LOT better now that I’m older.)

I have a family history characterized by addiction. I’m sober now, so I’m not prone to addictive behavior toward substances, nor am I addicted to self-harm like I was in my teens. But that harmful cycle of cheap dopamine hits and subsequent withdrawals keeps cropping up. It takes on new formats and creative disguises—phone addiction, doom scrolling, online shopping, etc—but always the same mechanics underneath.

I cringe to imagine how much money I’ve wasted on impulse buys. It was especially bad during my early twenties. I genuinely have no clue what I spent half my money on now, which proves how pointless all those purchases were.

We live and we learn. I think for many people—especially Americans like me, who live in a country with rampant consumerism—fiscal irresponsibility is a rite of passage for young adults.

Moderation is Key…

Sometimes you have to make mistakes to learn how to prevent them. But what seems like a good solution can end up becoming just another problem.

I quit many of my past addictions cold turkey, so I took the same approach to shopping. Except this just made me spend more later on. I guess I felt that I “deserved” to buy things after holding off for so long—nevermind the fact that I had just spent the money I put so much effort into saving.

Again, I’m not talking ridiculous amounts of cash, but just the overall patterns I’ve noticed in my relationship with money and shopping. So that’s why I’m not doing a “no buy” year. I know myself enough to know that would end in disaster.

I think I have so much financial anxiety that holding onto money and itemizing every single one of my expenditures makes me wig out. I just end up offloading it onto random crap whenever I get hit with anxiety attacks or depressive episodes.

In my experience a happy medium works best for me. I’m not totally careless with my money, but I’m not withholding myself from spending, either; nor am I using any budgeting apps⁴ or building my own spreadsheets, trying to account for every single dollar I spend like I have in the past.

…and Patience is a Virtue

Basically I try to stick to necessities only: food, gas for my car, anything my cats need, and bills. If I want to buy something, I put it on a list in my notebook and sit on it for awhile. Excluding the Needoh I bought a few weeks ago at Walmart—best $6 I’ve ever spent tbh lol—whenever I buy something that isn’t a necessity, it is going to be from this list (and which I then move to my list of purchases.)

Sometimes I’ll really, really want something for a short time, only to eventually forget about it and move onto something else. That’s why it’s nice to keep a list like this. I will revisit it from time to time, and if there’s something I haven’t thought about in awhile, I just take it off because that means I didn’t really want it that much in the first place—it was just an impulse or passing trend.⁵

Cash, NOT Card

Before I get into my no buy list, I want to share a quick tip that’s helped me a lot.

First off: I no longer shop online unless I absolutely have to. This means I drive out to stores in the next town over, thrift, etc. More time driving and money spent on gas is a huge deterrent; if I’m going anywhere to shop, that means I’m motivated and really want/need whatever I’m purchasing.

Since I’m shopping in person more often than not I have the opportunity to use cash instead of my debit card.⁶ I absolutely love it for multiple reasons:

1. Using cash means I have to drive to an ATM to pull some out of my account. Again, this is another deterrent. I’m not just going to pop into a store and whip out my debit card. I’m either going to use cash I have on hand or go to an ATM first—if I don’t feel like doing that, I’m not shopping at all.

2. I can better visualize my spending. My debit card is just a piece of plastic that connects to my bank account. When I use it, numbers go down on a computer somewhere that keeps track of the value of my checking and savings. It’s all very immaterial and automatic. But there’s no dissociation between yourself and cold, hard cash. I pull it out of my wallet and retrieve change leftover. If I’m shopping at more than one place, I can immediately see where I’m spending the most, and what I have left for the next store.

3. I can put hard limits on myself. For example: whenever I go grocery shopping, I try to keep it between $80-$100 depending on where I’m at in the month or between paychecks. Sometimes I go over and end up using my debit card to make up for what I don’t have in cash, but this usually only happens if I’m also buying medications or stocking up on long-term grocery items like coffee, etc. Otherwise, I stay within my limit. This stops me from picking up random snacks or one-off purchases.

4. Saving cash is more tangible and motivating. I actually haven’t started yet, but I’m going to make a savings jar for the one expensive thing I really, really, really want to save for—a Kobo Libra Color (and all the bits and bobs I want with it). I’m just going to take out $20 once or twice every paycheck and put it in a jar, watch it fill up, and eventually cash it in and spend it once I have enough!

This all sounds really simple, but I’ve found it’s helped me so much. I feel so much more in control of my money. It’s also helped me mentally and emotionally. I have a lot less financial anxiety because I know that everything sitting in my bank account is either going towards bills, debt, or savings. Nothing is sitting unused.⁷

My No Buy List

Video Games

If you’ve explored my site, you’ll see that I love my Nintendo 3DS. I’ve been playing it exclusively for about two years, and it’s now my favorite console of all time.

I hacked my original 3DS in 2022. In 2023, my partner bought me a Japanese New 3DS for my birthday, which I hacked and region switched. I’ve put in hundreds of hours into playing it and I’ve only just scratched the surface of the games I want to play. (There’s just too much to go into here; if you’re curious you can check out my 3DS shrine!)

Besides my 3DS, I sometimes play games on my PC—and I’ve got a backlog on there, too. Although I mostly just play Final Fantasy XIII (achievement hunting and completing the post-game), I picked up Fields of Mystria last year and want to play it some more. It’s so charming and sweet. Besides those two games, I also want to finally play Into the Breach, which I bought during the last Steam sale.

If I don’t feel like playing my 3DS or my PC, I could even dust off my Switch. I still need to finish Tears of the Kingdom after all.

The point is, I don’t need anymore video games, so I’m not going to buy any. The only exception would be for a game I can play with my partner—we’re long distance, so it’d be like going out on a date or something.⁸

Also included in this category would be video game consoles. No, I’m not talking the Switch 2—I’m too broke for that lol. But ever since playing my 3DS again, I’ve fallen back in love with handheld gaming, and I’d love to mod a PS Vita one day—I never played it or a PSP, so it’s a whole new library of games I never experienced before. But that will have to wait until next year!

Clothes

Despite enjoying my capsule wardrobe, I’m still tempted to buy clothing/accessories.⁹ But I don’t need any new clothes: I have an article of clothing for nearly every single use-case and plenty of base layers to work with.

I’m less tempted in fall and winter when I can layer and switch up between my flannel, sweaters, etc. It’s more difficult in the spring and summer when all I have at my disposal is a t-shirt and shorts.

Last summer I only wore three off-white t-shirts,¹⁰ a green short-sleeved button top, and a brown pair of cargo shorts. I got pretty bored. In the fall I ordered two Fruit of the Loom heather gray t-shirts; I don’t wear them much at the moment because I’ve coordinated my fall/winter pieces with my white t-shirts, but I imagine I’ll be grateful for them in the summer. I know how it sounds that wearing a gray t-shirt instead of a white one is pretty exciting for me—I don’t what my life has come to, either.

The only clothing I can see myself buying in the future would be:

1. A hoodie/jacket I can wear out of the house

Right now the only hoodie I have is a Hello Kitty hoodie from Walmart that I only wear inside when I’m having a lazy day. I don’t like taking it out and getting it dirty, etc. I have a couple sweaters, a flannel, and a nylon jacket, but none of them fill the same niche as a proper cotton hoodie/zip-up jacket.

I had my eyes on this hoodie I saw in the UK around Christmastime with Jem, but I’ve since decided against it due to the cost (spending ~$80 on a sweater + shipping makes my eyes water lol). I’m just gonna keep my eyes peeled for a brown hoodie/jacket whenever I’m at Goodwill, or go to Ross if I can’t thrift one.

2. “Nice” nylon shorts

The only pair of shorts I own are my brown cargo pants and some navy blue nylon shorts Jem got me last year. They’re nice but have since gotten stained, etc. It’d be nice to have a more “bespoke” pair to wear out and about—maybe in green? That way I can incorporate more color into my spring/summer wardrobe.

3. Another short sleeve top layer

I own one short-sleeved outer layer, a green buttoned top. I think it might be starting to get a little small; in any case, it’d be nice to have one more option to spice up my outfits.

4. A new pair of Vans

I’ve had my current pair (in red/yellow/blue checkerboard) for nearly ten years and they’re on their way out.¹¹ Whenever I get a new pair, it’ll either be in black/cream or brown/cream checkerboard. I can’t decide between the two haha.

Vitamins/Supplements

I’m not really big on vitamins and supplements etc, but I think it’s something that can snowball quickly, and often to diminishing returns. Whenever I go to buy my vitamins at a local health food, I always end up browsing their wall of supplements, thinking maybe I do need this, that, and the other.

When I first got diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis I spent the better part of a year trying out tons of different supplements, pills, and medications. It was awful. I don’t want to go back to those days, either.

As far as vitamins/supplements go, right now I take:

• Vitamin D
• B Complex
• Tumeric
• Desert Harvest Aloe Vera (for when my IC symptoms flare¹²)

I don’t think I need anything else at the moment. Unless a healthcare professional tells me I need to take something, I’m done experimenting.

Bags and EDC/Travel Gear

I have a bag and EDC obsession. It really took hold the first time I went to visit Jem in 2022. In preparation for the trip I researched travel backpacks (mostly on r/ManyBaggers), which opened up a whole new world.

I’ve loved bags my whole life. Buying a backpack for school was always a huge deal to me. I’d collect tons of bags from Goodwill and swap them out on the regular. During my pothead phase I carried around a fannypack with Marlboro Reds, a baggie of weed, and a hitter.

Nowadays at work I’m known as the “backpack guy”. I daily carry a custom-order Greenroom136 Northseeker 20L. I use it for EDC, travel, school, and work. It is my favorite bag of all time. (One day I’d like to buy a custom 25L version in EPX400 and use it as a travel bag.)

I also have a Greenroom136 Quickdraw. It’s my second-favorite bag of all time. I used it for EDC for a year or two. I switched to my Northseeker once I started going back to figure drawing classes; moving my things between bags before and after class grew tiresome, although I really miss using my Quickdraw! (Yes, I’m so much of a bag nut that I “miss” them.)

Besides these two main bags I have a small Jansport sling, as well as a North Face Base Camp Voyager Duffel 42L, the latter being a Christmas gift from my partner, Jem, and Jem’s family. I used it for the first time coming back to the US after Christmas (leaving my Travelpro spinner behind for Jem to use). I love it so much!!!! I know it sounds crazy, but I preferred pairing my Northseeker with a duffel over a rolling suitcase while traveling.

So in total I have four bags:

1. EDC and all-rounder backpack: Northseeker
2. Smaller EDC: Quickdraw
3. Bag for pocket dumps, etc: Jansport sling
4. Dedicated travel bag: Base Camp Voyager

Together, these bags cover all of my potential use-cases. I literally do not need any more bags.

I am going to repeat myself for future reference: I. DO. NOT. NEED. ANY. MORE. BAGS!!!!!

EDC and travel gear falls into this category by association. That includes pouches, packs, gizmos, and gadgets. I’ve got doodads aplenty. I don’t need fancy travel pouches, dopp kits, or ultra lightweight thingamabobs that will shave off 0.5oz from my total pack weight.

The only piece of gear I see myself buying is Matador’s toothpaste tubes; I use regular toothpaste in the AM and prescription-strength in the PM—lugging around two full-size toothpastes on top of my electric toothbrush is a huge pain, so these would definitely come in handy.¹³

As with any collectable hyperfixation, I know that I’ll buy another bag in the future. But for now, I’m done—at least until 2027…

Personal Tech

I’ve been on something of a digital minimalist kick for a couple years. I call it digital minimalism because their isn’t another popular term, but I believe a better phrase would be something like holistic technology—in that I am trying to diversify away from my smartphone, subscriptions, and social media.

This sounds good on the surface—and it is!—but it can become its own trap of spending and consuming. One of my favorite YouTubers, Shawna Ripari, addressed dumbphone/digital minimalism trends and how it can actually lead to more overconsumption of niche technology marketed as minimalist, as well as analog alternatives, if you aren’t being mindful.

That being said, I’ve found this to be a really fruitful effort. It’s improved my mental health and helped me reconnect with hobbies new and old. I have a much better relationship with the internet, news, online material, and technology.

Digital minimalism tends to go along with other lifestyle changes like slow living, frugality, etc. Which is great! I’ve noticed the same effect in my own life and I’m really thankful for it.

But it also causes a paradox. For example, I’ve spent hours watching videos about different dumbphones, MP3 players, super niche consumer tech, and other people talking about their digital minimalism journeys. In other words: I spend a lot of time online listening to people telling me to go offline. Isn’t that funny?

Spending to “pad out” your EDC with replacements for smartphones can be a slippery slope, too. Just check out all the dumbphone EDCs on Reddit. There’s CD players, MP3 players, a thousand different ereaders and e-ink tablets, 3DSes (which I might be biased toward…), PSPs, Android gaming handhelds, notebooks, fountain pens, pocketknives, digital cameras…you get the idea.

In the end, there is a reason smartphones cannibalized the personal tech market. Owning a huge array of dedicated devices can quickly become overwhelming. Despite being tempted by seeing other people’s EDCs, I’ve decided not to add anything else to mine lest it become another source of strife and clutter.

Here’s my current EDC/personal tech lineup:

1. MP3 player
2. New 3DS
3. Pocket notebook (vegan leather case + two Field Notes—one blank for sketches, one grid for notes, lists, journaling, etc)
4. Writing utensils
   • Pilot Kakuno (fountain pen)
   • Pilot Uniball One-F (gel pen)
   • HB pencil (eventually I want to upgrade to Mitsubishi pencils after watching this video lol)
   • three Stabilo boss highlighters (turquoise, red, and milky yellow)
5. CD player
6. Wired earbuds
7. Wreless earbuds
8. Digital camera

I think that about covers me lol. Anything new would just be redundant, and swapping something out for a “better” device materialistic, which is…sort of the opposite of what I’m trying to achieve haha.

Religious Items

I’ve been a Pure Land Buddhist for about ten years—although I’d say I’ve only been seriously practicing for the past two or three years, since “officially” becoming part of the Jodo-shu school. (I say officially in quotation marks because there isn’t really a refuge ceremony or perquisites to joining like in other Buddhist sects or different religions.)

Buddhism in the West is often presumed to be an ultra-Zen, minimalist faith lacking many outer accoutrements. And it certainly can be. But it has its own rich history of religious iconography and instruments that rivals even the most baroque Catholics—primarily in Vajrayana altars, for example.

Pure Land Buddhism has its own spectrum of decorum. Mainland schools—those practiced in China, Vietnam, etc—usually have more austere procedures, whereas Japanese schools (of which my school, Jodo-shu, founded by a monk named Honen, was the first) are comparatively simplistic.

Shinran, a disciple of Honen the founder of Jodo-shu’s successor, Jodo-shinshu, often encouraged people to revere calligraphy of the Japanese characters which make up the nembutsu¹⁴ over visual images that depict the literal Buddha.

Honen also made similar suggestions to display the nembutsu near the entry to your home. This page from jodoshinshu.org shows a wide range of Japanese-style altars, including figurative and calligraphic images.

In between stints of doubt with the Pure Land school I entertained latent curiosities about Vajrayana, specifically Gelug (His Holiness the Dalai Lama comes from this sect). Although I no longer follow Vajrayana practices or customs, I became deeply inspired by its wealth of visuals; Tibetan thankgas, for example, are widely renowned for their lavishly intricate compositions. I’ve also maintained a devotional practice with the bodhisattva Tara (pictured in the thankga print hanging above my altar), a popular deity among Vajrayana practitioners.

So my altar is a mix of simple Pure Land pieces and ornamental Vajrayana items. One day I’ll make a blog post explaining the different parts of my altar and describing each item. Until then, the photo included here will have to suffice.

With any religion, it’s easy to forget about actual practice and fall into a trap of intellectual study; Buddhism is no different. When I first began studying Pure Land in depth a few years ago, I amassed countless books. But you can’t study your way into a religious practice. Studies help prepare you for practice and understand its context, but results are only garnered when you put in the spiritual and emotional work.

It’s easy to think that if I just get another book, or a new pair of mala beads, or another print for my altar, that maybe my practice will improve. These assumptions not only rest on a misunderstanding of Pure Land Buddhism’s basic tenets, but further discredit the dharma¹⁵ in its entirety.

Regardless of school, Pure Land practice is founded upon two truths:

1. A Buddha named Amitabha created a noumenal “pure land” where beings can safely practice the dharma in a state of non-retrogression (i.e., no more reincarnating in phenomenal samsara).

2. To go to this pure land, all human beings have to do is chant Amitabha’s name and aspire for rebirth there, irrespective of their age, gender, sexuality, race, intelligence, morals, karma, spiritual aptitude, or cognitive abilities.

Developing faith in these two ideas ensures that upon death you will be reborn in the Pure Land. Rebirth is guaranteed through the transference of Amitabha’s merit to you. All you have to do is chant and “accept” his “offer”.

So to imagine that garnering more physical objects and materialistic things would somehow bolster this practice is just silly. It shows that I’m not really interested in my practice when I’m fixated on religious items; rather, I’m excited by the appearance of being a religious person.

During my stoner phase from 18 to 21 years old, I also went through a New Age phase (along with every other young adult during the late 2010s…). One of the problems I had with New Age practices was that it felt like the more stuff you have, the “better” your practice becomes—crystals, tarot cards, oracle cards, sage, incense, pendulums, books, jewelry, etc.

I know that not all New Age practices involve this stuff and it’s mostly a problem with how its portrayed on social media and in popular culture, but the impression has stuck with me all these years later.

The truth is that religious items are just aids in developing your practice. The practice itself comes from inside of you and grows through faith. All the rosaries in the world can’t get you into heaven; all the crystals won’t get you communing with Gaia; and all the mala beads, dharma books, and altar statues won’t take me to the Pure Land.

So I’m not going to be buying any religious items this year. No more massive books, altar items, statues, amulets, prints, posters, etc. The only item I’m really on the hunt for is a thangka print of Amitabha to “match” my print of Tara. Besides that, I don’t need or want anything else. Everything I need to practice is already within me.

Conclusion

So there you have it…my No Buy list for 2026. I’m feeling good about it. I think reframing it as an appreciation for what I have and focusing on things I want to do instead of own is helpful; turning something into a restrictive punishment/practice in abstinence never works out well.

I guess I’ll be back in 2027 with an update on how I did. Wish me luck! :)

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Footnotes

Footnotes

1. So far I’ve accomplished neither, unfortunately. Just how life works sometimes. I’ll get there eventually… ↩

2. Bags are one of my special interests. I can’t tell you how many videos I’ve watched about packing, travel bags, etc. ↩

3. One of the first I watched the inspired me was this one by Malama Life. Her channel is sooo relaxing and cozy. ↩

4. I tried You Need a Budget (YNAB for short) several years ago, and liked it well enough. I just didn’t keep up with it to justify the cost. That, and it was buggy with my bank account. ↩

5. And because I’m me, I keep a list of things I didn’t buy in my notebook, too. ↩

6. I no longer use my credit cards outside of emergencies (or for gas/food when my paycheck runs out lol). ↩

7. This is kind of a less complicated take on “envelope budgeting”, something I picked up from when I tried out YNAB. ↩

8. If my PC can handle it, we might play Dispatch together sometime soon! ↩

9. Mostly cool hats lol. ↩

10. My perfect t-shirt is the Comfort Colors G1717 in “ivory”. ↩

11. The other shoes I own are: a pair of non-slip work shoes, hiking shoes, snow shoes, ankle boots, Teva sandals, and some slides from Jem. ↩

12. At some point soon I want to write out my IC story and the treatments/lifestyle changes that have worked for me. Sitting down and writing all of that out though is going to uncork a lot of past trauma, so I’ve been procrastinating it. But it’s important to me to spread awareness, especially for other trans men since it was all a result of transition complications. ↩

13. As someone who only uses solid shampoo/conditioner and soap (Hibar and Dr. Bronner’s, respectively), I am also a big fan of their Flatpak soap bar case. ↩

14. Nembutsu is the Japanese word for the prayer/chant to Amitabha Buddha which all Pure Land Buddhists recite; in Chinese it is called nianfo. ↩

15. Dharma is a multi-faceted Sakskrit word referring to: 1. the Buddha’s teachings (its most common usage), 2. the ultimate truth of reality, and 3. the phenomena which underlies existence itself. ↩

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#2026 #buddhism #dharma-practice #featured #mental-health #minimalism #personal

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