50 THINGS I DO NOT BUY | Minimalism & Saving Money

hey everyone welcome back today we're going to be talking about 50 things that I stopped buying a few years ago I began adopting a more minimalist lifestyle and went from something of a Shopaholic with things literally bursting out of every closet and drawer that I had to really just being able to buy less but buy better and these are all items that I've invested in in the past but have just come to realize that either for the sake of simplicity or for saving money I no longer need to buy them so I'm excited to dive into this but before we do if we don't know each other yet hi my name is ashlynn and I make videos every week on this channel about minimalism decluttering and intentional living so if that sounds interesting to you be sure to hit that subscribe button below but let's get started with the first thing that I stopped buying and that is concealer and I feel like when people talk about your essential makeup kit concealer is always on that list of things that you must have but for me personally I like using makeup to accentuate my favorite features not necessarily to hide anything and what I found is in the past when I did own concealer I would never really use it that often plus I would just prefer to allow my skin to breathe naturally by not covering it up with a thick product okay number two is food delivery services and I have used things like doordash or print so delivery in the past but what I've just discovered is that you pay so much extra to have that item delivered to you then you ever would if you just went to the restaurant or went to the pizza place to get the food that you're after with all of these food delivery services you really are paying for convenience and personally I would rather just have that money in my wallet then sacrifice a few minutes to go and pick up the food number three is a face exfoliator and when I switch from having my entire skincare regimen to using a towel water and a moisturizer my skin actually improved dramatically now that might not be the case for everyone but it certainly was for me so any kind of facial exfoliant it just doesn't make sense for me to invest in next up is dryer sheets and this is an area where I made a one-time swap that has allowed me to save money long-term I invested in some wool dryer balls which I believe I got from Trader Joe's they cost like 399 for four of them now I never have to go and buy dryer sheets they work pretty much exactly the same way but it was a one-time swap that I was able to make so that I don't have to go on and buy dryer sheets for years upon years number 5 is healed and specifically stilettos I have never been able to walk in a thin Hill not to mention that it's not great for your feet either so I have one pair of black heels and windows right now I'll probably repurchase another pair of black heels for things like weddings or when I'm trying to get it a little bit more dressed up but when it comes to stilettos they're uncomfortable I have a hard time walking in them and so what's the point ok number six is mouthwash and this is something that I bought a various point in the past thinking that it was a staple and that I needed it but in reality I just never used it when I had it brushing my teeth flossing those are habits that I do regularly but using mouthwash isn't ever something that I've really found necessary and when I've owned it I haven't used it often so it just doesn't make sense for me to continue purchasing it ok number seven is mass-produced art and don't get me wrong here I love art my husband Christopher is an artist we have his paintings throughout our house but when it comes to what I would display on my walls I want those art pieces to have meaning something that was mass-produced by the thousands doesn't have that same expression of personality and meaning as something that a actual human being poured their time and effort and attention and detail into that's something that I wanted to display on my shelves not necessarily some kind of painting or a picture that I can pick up in Ikea okay number eight is DVDs and even though Christopher and I love watching movies what we'll typically do what if we're wanting to watch a movie is just a rented oftentimes with movies we're not going to watch them more than once and so financially speaking it just makes more sense for us to rent it for $4 per view than for $12 to buy the DVD the one exception to this of course is the Lord of the Rings trilogy Christopher and I have the extended edition of all of the Lord of the Rings movie have it in this nice little fancy pack and those are our favorite movies since we know we're going to watch those again and again over the years it made sense for us to invest in those but for literally any other DVD we just don't buy them so I think it's been two years since I bought a DVD and that's the only one I thought number 9 is face toners and unlike exfoliants which actively do bad things for my skin my issue with face toners is that when I've owned them in the past I never really found that they do anything for me I think there are definitely some beauty products out there that do more for you mentally than actually physically have an impact on your skincare and for me at least I think toners are one of them I didn't really ever find that they did anything for my skin when I owned them so I just couldn't find them number 10 is cheaply made jewelry and even though I'm a big fan of necklaces and rings what I've found is that cheaply made jewelry it really does tarnish quickly I would far rather invest in a few pieces of high quality jewelry that are going to last for years then a whole bunch of low-quality pieces that are going to start discoloring after just a few wears okay number 11 is salad dressings and with this one I have just discovered that making my own is not only a lot cheaper but also that they taste a lot better too probably my favorite salad dressing in the world that is incredibly easy to make is just a combination of balsamic vinegar olive oil salt and pepper it's incredibly easy to put together it takes ten seconds but really is so much better than any dressings you could buy at the store number 12 is drinks at restaurants and this is very much a money-saving oriented one for us if you go to a restaurant a pop or a soda it's going to cost you between two and three dollars and because I'm married and I'd be going with Christopher to the restaurant most likely that's five dollars that we're able to save every time we go to a restaurant simply by choosing not to order drinks and that's not even counting ordering alcoholic beverages which can be five to fifteen dollars a piece so that's anywhere between five and thirty dollars that we're able to save every time that we go to eat simply because we drink the free water that is realistically speaking healthier for us anyways okay number 13 is swimsuits and I know a lot of people who own 10-plus swimsuits and are constantly buying new ones but I think for me bathing suits are just more of a practical item than anything else and so yes if one of my two bathing suits does wear out or break I will go ahead and replace it I'm not going to go out and buy bathing suits just for the sake of having different color combinations or options have what I like and I don't feel the need to go and invest anymore number 14 is cookbooks and there was a point when I did own invest in several cookbooks but what I found is that I hardly ever actually referenced them I had a few family recipes that were tucked away in a little recipes box that I used and referred to frequently but apart from that I would mostly look online for the recipes that I was using so a couple years ago I decluttered all of my cookbooks and really haven't found a reason why I would want to repurchase one since number 15 is Foundation and just like with concealer I'm not a fan of putting on a thick cover of any kind on my face so a few years ago I made the switch from using concealer and foundation to just using a tinted moisturizer which is light and moisturizing and far more about evening out my skin tone than it is about trying to cover anything up plus tinted moisturizers and BB creams on the whole tend to have a healthier and safer ingredients in them and so I think that switch additionally helps my face to number 16 is magazines and there was definitely a time in my life when I was a huge magazine aficionado and would go to the store every single month and buy the latest edition of my favorite magazine but what I found over the years especially as I've tried to make more intentional purchasing decisions is that magazines often are trying to incentivize you to buy more things which is pretty counterproductive for someone who's trying to live a more minimalist lifestyle number 17 is bread and a few months ago we were actually given a bread maker by friends of ours who didn't use theirs but since it was given to us we've actually used it a few times a week and it's been a fantastic replacement to the store-bought loaves of bread which we found we're too big for us to actually eat regularly we would often run into the issue of some of it going bad but by having our own bread maker we're able to make smaller loaf sizes so that we're actually eating all over the bread that we have without it going to waste so there have been so many benefits to this swap we're not having to buy bread from the store we're able to control the ingredients in our bread now so we're having healthier bread to eat on a regular basis and then we're also not creating food waste number 18 is professional clothing and I've been working remotely now for 3 plus years and so for the longest time I held on to and even continued investing in professional clothing thinking oh one day I might have a job where I'm working in an office where I'll need this but what I've come to accept is that I don't work in an office and so what's the point in owning and buying professional clothing I would rather invest in a few versatile pieces that can be worn in a professional setting but also a casual one then items that are specific only to one situation which I find myself in only a handful of times a year number 19 is impulse purchases and this is something that I've actually had to fight pretty hard to stop buying because our natural inclination is often to make impulse purchases but it's something that's allowed me to save a lot of money as well as reduce waste and clutter number 20 is eyelash curlers and I've invested in several of these over the course of my life but what I really discovered is that when it comes to my makeup I like simple so decluttering and choosing not to reinvest in an eyelash curler was just one extra little way that I was able to simplifying my makeup collection number 21 is batteries and once again we made a very simple swap with this one we simply use reusable batteries now instead of disposable ones honestly I think the only thing that we have that might still run on batteries is our TV remotes but when they run out of a charge we can simply plug them into the wall and recharge them rather than having to go out and invest in a pack of new ones number 22 is q-tips and this is something that I bought in the past but never actually used when I finally came to the realization that this just isn't a product that I use I did end up giving all over the remaining ones I had away it doesn't make sense to buy something you won't use but I think sometimes we can fall into this trap of thinking that it's a staple that we should have and for that reason buy that item but when it comes to q-tips spices you don't like or any other staple that people might tell you is required if you're not going to use it there's no point in buying it number 23 is fabric softener and this is never something that I found made a huge difference in my clothing for me something that works equally as well is just to pop my clothing in the dryer for 15 minutes to get out the wrinkles it softens them a bit I find that works equally as well and it's just one less product I can invest in number 24 is those packs of makeup remover wipes and yes I did used to use them regularly but what I found is that not only are they fairly wasteful but also using water a towel and a little bit of coconut oil it's really all I need to remove my makeup 25 is tampons and sanitary napkins and I switched to using a menstrual cup about three years ago and it was an absolute game changer for me when it came to my period it's a lot less expensive because I'm not having to invest in those products on an ongoing basis menstrual cups can last for years but also it takes away the pain of having to remember to take tampons with you as you go out of the house we're trying to calculate how many that you'll need when you go on a trip it is so much easier just to have one product that you can use and reuse ok 26 was a big one for me and that is clothing outside of my comfort zone if something is too far out of my personal style or my comfort zone I'm not going to use it and so even though an item might look good in a picture or on someone else I don't want to spend my money on an item that's going to sit in my closet and never get worn so if it's too far out of my comfort zone it's just a new number 27 is expensive classes whether this is an $80 art class or an expensive cooking class I have a lot of friends who use things like skill pop and other surfaces to take these fun sounding classes that I think might be a little bit overpriced considering the fact that Christopher and I are currently trying to save up for a down payment now obviously how expensive something is is relative to your own personal income but for Christopher and I currently spending 50 or $100 on a class it's just a significant enough amount of our income that we would prefer to put into savings and of course I am a big fan of experiences so long-term that might be something that I occasionally want to invest in but right now for where Christopher and I are at currently and what goals we want to achieve it just doesn't make sense to invest in those next up if any kind of fancy nail paraphernalia whether that's base coats top coats french tip manicures I do like nail polish and we write decently often but for me a simple polish is really all I need the idea of putting on three or four layers of nail polish really just doesn't sound fun to me and while I do like the way that a simple clean nail polish can look I've never been a big fan of the crazy bedazzled nails number twenty-nine is bagged tea and if you've been following my channel for a while you probably know that I'm a massive fan of loose it's more sustainable the flavors better and there are a lot more options for what kind of tea that you want to drink so in my opinion loose leaf tea is something that is just so much better than buy tea that I've stopped buying bag tea entirely number 30 is stain remover for clothing and I used to be a huge aficionado of shut wipes or tide to go pens but what I found is that using just a small bit of laundry detergent can work really effectively and removing those stains so I've stopped buying those stain removal specific items and continue to invest in a single laundry detergent number 31 is seasonal decor and I have friends who'll decorate for pretty much every holiday imaginable Halloween Easter Valentine's Day Independence Day here in the states you name it they decorate for it but I think for me I prefer to enjoy it and celebrate holidays without necessarily having to decorate for every single one the only real exception with this for me is Christmas I do like having a few tasteful Christmas decorations because it is by far my favorite holiday with that being said I'm still not continuing to go and buy additional decor items I already have what I like and what I want to be able to decorate for Christmas and so there's not a need for me to go and invest in additional items 32 is bulk groceries and for larger families I do understand the rationale behind this one but like I mentioned my family consists of just Christopher and I so when we first got married I did actually invest in a lot of groceries which unfortunately mostly ended up going bad because we weren't using them often enough I would far prefer to go to the grocery store a few times a week and buy things as we need them rather than buying everything at once and constantly trying to fight this battle of not having food go to waste on you number 33 is souvenirs and when you visit a souvenir shop pretty much anywhere in the world they consist of the same useless knickknacks shirts that are pretty ugly and generally items that you're never going to use trust me on this one pictures are the best souvenirs you could possibly take home with you from your travels there's something that's going to last and that you can treasure for years number 34 is shaving cream and there is a pretty simple explanation for why I don't buy this one I just used soap instead number 35 is greeting cards and most stores in the United States that Lee is to have an aisle or two dedicated just a greeting that are filled with kind of meaningless statements that sure love and affection I think when it comes down to it for me at least a thoughtful handwritten letter is always going to mean so much more than the most expensive generic greeting card you could possibly send and so when I want to offer someone congratulations or condolences I would far rather just write something meaningful and personal and send that to them and to buy a five or six dollar greeting card that really has no real meaning behind it just had to put my hair back for a moment because it was driving me crazy but number 37 is disinfectant wipes and this is another one of those items where you're paying for convenience it is easy and it can be tempting to want to just use one of those single-use wipes to clean a surface but there are a long-term costs that do add up over time with these not only are they just inherently more wasteful than being able to use a multi-purpose cleaner and a cloth to clean that same surface but also even those single-use swipes might not seem expensive on the surface they do add up over time so from a cost perspective a waste perspective and also just a desire not to have one more thing in the house it makes more sense for me not to buy these number 37 is prepackaged food and once again you're paying for convenience with this and sometimes it's an awful lot that you're paying too for things like pre sliced watermelon or pre sliced mango you can be paying anywhere from one to three dollars more for those items it's a long-term it is so much more cost-effective just to spend a couple of minutes to slice those items yourself number 38 is single-use clothing and this might be something that you'd wear to a wedding or once I was invited to a gala I know that I'm never going to wear those items of clothing again and so for me I would rather rent that item borrow it or even buy it from a thrift store and then read donate it afterwards then invest a lot of money in something that I'm going to wear once and never wear again number 39 is a pretty straightforward one I've stopped buying bottled water using a reusable water bottle is better for the environment it's cheaper and really it just makes sense next number 40 is Miche kitchen appliances so for this one think airfryer's pasta makers panini presses what I find is that these types of appliances 10 take up a lot of space and not get used very often which is basically the opposite of what I look for when it comes to things that I want to invest in in my kitchen I'm looking for things that are multi-purpose and then I'm going to use regularly number forty one is air freshener and if I ever feel the error in our home feeling stale I will sometimes light a candle but most frequently I like to open up a window and just let fresh air in I would rather make our house smell good naturally than artificially so for me this is just a common sense swap number 42 is any clothing items that don't fit perfectly or uncomfortable I think in the past I would tend to make excuses for the clothing like it was almost good enough or maybe if I've lost weight or gain weight it would fit me better but over the years I've come to terms with the fact that if something doesn't fit perfectly or I don't find it comfortable I'm not going to wear it and I don't want to waste my money buying something that's going to sit in my closet and never get worn so if it's uncomfortable or it doesn't fit well it doesn't belong in my closet number 43 is shower gel and with this one I just like to use soap as an alternative number 44 is fast fashion and as I've become more familiar with some of the in justices and atrocities that have happened within the clothing industry I've become increasingly hesitant to buy from fast fashion retailers in fact I think it's been a couple years now since I've bought any fast fashion what I now do instead is what I need clothing I'll look at secondhand stores as well as ethical and sustainable brands I know I've shared some of these brands on my channel before but a few of my favorites are everlean for clothing organic basics for undergarments like bras and underwear and a solo for sustainable shoes number 45 is music and I stopped buying CDs several years ago and just recently cancelled my Spotify subscription and even though I like music and do listen to it somewhat regularly I think I did the math of just how often I actually used Spotify and for me it wasn't worth it to continue paying towards a subscription service every month that I just wasn't using enough to justify it I can still listen to music albeit with a couple of ads but I think long-term from a money-saving perspective it just didn't make sense for me to continue investing in something that I wasn't using quickly enough to justify number 46 is manicures and pedicures I know that for some people sitting down in a nail salon and having somebody else do your nails is a really relaxing experience but for me I have a hard time relaxing in that type of environment so if I'm going to paint my nails I'd rather do it myself number 47 is pre-made mixes so this could be a bread mix of pancake mix a muffin mix and he kind of pre-made here's the mix throw in water type of thing I'd consider myself a pretty good cook and so John really I'm going to prefer a recipe if I make it myself from scratch rather than relying on a premade mix I can't control the ingredients a lot more that way it tends to be cheaper and tastes better too number 48 is bath bombs that's salts bath foams I don't really take baths I like the idea of taking baths but in practice I don't actually enjoy them all that much and so while I bought all of these products in the past thinking that I'd use them I've just come to the terms of the fact that I'm more of a shower person than a bath person and I'm okay with sticking with that and not investing in bath products but I'm never going to use only two left here number 49 is new vehicles and cars tend to lose a significant portion of their value the moment you drive them off the lot and so even if it is just a few years old I would far rather invest in a pre used car that has already had some of that depreciation take place so I'm not taking all of that hit I can still buy a nice car but by buying one that's just a few years old and that's pre-loved I can get the exact same value from the car for a whole lot and then finally let's finish with number 50 and that is underwire bras and I am a pretty small chested person and so underwire bras are unnecessary for me number one and number two extremely uncomfortable in the past couple of years I switched completely to using bra let's and I believe one strapless bra which still doesn't have an underwire and this is a decision that was initially a very practical and comfort based decision for me but what I discovered in the process is that bralette can be a lot less expensive than with underwriters so the decision for me to stop buying underwire bras was on that brought a lot of comfort joy and savings into my life and one that I'm really happy with well that's it I know that was a lot of items but these are all things that I've stopped purchasing in a desire to save money to look more intentionally as well as just to not bring unnecessary clutter into my life I hope that you found this list helpful though and then maybe gave you some inspiration for items like maybe you could stop purchasing whether that's to save money or to reduce clutter or simply to just enjoy the benefits of less I would love to know that what you've stopped buying was it something I mentioned or maybe something else comment that down below and like I mentioned if you're here for the first time and you enjoyed this video and want to see more like it be sure to hit that subscribe button below from our minimalism decluttering and intentional living videos coming at you twice a week that's it for today's video though thank you so so much for watching I'll see you in the next

Channel: Ashlynne Eaton

Views: 195,793

Rating: 4.8883071 out of 5

Keywords: Things I stopped buying, things I don’t buy, saving money, how to save money, things you don’t need, minimalist, minimalism, simple living, slow living, declutter, decluttering, ashlynne eaton, charlotte nc

Id: HtTo-lvIewI

Length: 22min 42sec (1362 seconds)

Published: Tue May 19 2020