5 Things I No Longer Buy

っ(◔_◔)っQuestion: What are some items that you no longer buy?

A few months ago, I stumbled upon this blog post which made me reflect on my own life and spending habits. My intention was to answer her question in a timely manner, but we all know how long it takes me to post a blog post response. Bee is a 30-year old blogger who runs a popular blog called Mind. Beauty. Simplicity. She writes blog posts about intentional living, self-growth, lifestyle, and anything in between. I recommend checking out her blog and following her if you haven’t done so already.

These days, I am on a similar journey as Bee. When it comes to living intentionally, I am still far from perfect but I have learned to be more mindful about my spending and to avoid buying things that aren’t going to add value to my life. Keep reading if you are interested in learning what I added to my list! 🙌

•✽ 5 THINGS I NO LONGER BUY ✽•

1. Bath & Body Works I have nothing against Bath & Body Works. In fact, it is a great store and I still like their products. I am wiser now that I am older, but when I was a teenager, my life revolved around this store. I was in love with their products and the shopping addiction got pretty bad whenever there was a sale, which was pretty much every week 😆 I would buy all sorts of things: lotions, shower gels, candles, fragrance mists —you name it. When I couldn’t go through the products fast enough, I would make lists of the products that I wouldn’t have to replenish. The lotions and body mists lasted so long to the point where they would expire and end up smelling horrible. Once I realized that I was wasting money, I stopped shopping at Bath and Body Works.

2. Subscription Boxes These days, subscription box services are catering to everyone’s tastes. You can pretty much guarantee that the subscription box model isn’t just limited to food and books – there are monthly boxes for everything from candles to clothes. Want new socks and underwear but don’t want to think about it? There’s a box for that. And as tempting as these subscription boxes are, it is important to note that these services usually charge an upfront fee as well as recurring fees each month. I cannot justify paying a high price for items that I might not even like or use! 🤦‍♀️

Note: I want to make a clear distinction between subscription boxes and subscription services. We have access to Netflix and at one point, we paid for a Spotify account. We are thinking about renewing the Spotify subscription since my husband regularly uses that platform. We also have a Costco membership and I finally upgraded to a Premium WordPress Plan last year. When I was in nursing school, I subscribed to www.nursng.com after failing a clinical rotation in Spring 2019. At one point, I also subscribed to www.coursehero.com and even uploaded my own summary notes to share with other students. Subscription services are valuable tools when used for their intended purpose.

3. Bottled Water When you stop and think about it, it is pretty insane to pay for water when you can get it for free out of your tap. Sure, bottled water isn’t bad for you; there are worse things that you could be drinking such as soda or beer. If you are not active enough to need a drink with extra electrolytes and if drinking from a reusable bottle helps reduce your plastic consumption, then why would you bother spending money on something that is so easily accessible? The water you get from your faucet is much more affordable and safer for you. Also, by using a reusable water bottle like this one, you’ll be saving money as well as doing your part for Mother Earth. 🌎

4. Starbucks Did you really think that I was only going to throw shade at Bath & Body Works? I also like the fancy coffee drinks from Starbucks, especially their Frappuccinos. The vanilla whipped cream is absolutely divine! ❤ Plus, if you are anything like me, I do not go to Starbucks just to order a basic cup of coffee. I usually go to Starbucks to spend money on these fancy, empty-calorie Frappuccinos which typically cost around $5.50 -7.50 CAD. I prefer to save these treats only for special occasions rather than treat myself every time I go to the mall or local Starbucks coffee shop. ☕💕

If you are a coffee drinker like my husband, getting a good cup of coffee doesn’t require waiting in line. It just requires learning how to make a good cup of coffee at home. Next time you are shopping, skip the Starbucks line and make coffee at home. If Starbucks coffee is your thing (for the record, MCDs coffee is my thing), you can buy the coffee beans and make it at home for a fraction of the price. Even Costco sells Starbucks coffee beans. There is really no excuse to buy takeaway coffee anymore.

5. Alcohol This is an easy one to add to the list because I was never really a fan of alcohol. I don’t understand the hype around it, I don’t like how it makes me feel, and I don’t crave alcohol like some people do. Sugar on the other hand is a different story, which you can read about here. Personally, I think that there is too much sugar in alcohol, which is not limited to Vex, Smirnoff, and those cocktails with cute little umbrellas! I am tired of harping on the fact that alcohol isn’t good for your health and overall wellbeing. When you think about it, what kind of benefit does consuming alcohol bring? None that I can think of…. so yeah, I seldom drink alcohol 🙄 I would suggest cutting out alcohol from your budget if you are looking to save some money. It is an easy way to pocket extra cash without feeling like you are missing out on anything. There are other ways that you can socialize with people: going for walks, playing board games, or setting up a game night at home. Remember, you don’t have to stop socializing altogether.

👉 Image: I went on a trip to NYC with Nick and his friends, but I don’t remember what year this was 🤷‍♀️

Choosing to live a simpler, more intentional life is a conscious decision that affects each and every choice we make. Try thinking about the things that you can live without, specifically things that no longer serve a purpose in your life. What are some items that you no longer buy? Let me know by joining the conversation below ↓ I look forward to reading your comments.

Thanks for stopping by! ♥

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Published by Hilary Tan

I am currently in the process of finding my inner goddess as I search for inner peace, find mental clarity, develop mental toughness, and crush goals. Come join me on this journey so we can live our best lives!

55 thoughts on “5 Things I No Longer Buy”

  1. Liz says:

    I don’t buy food bags and I don’tdo alcohol..
    I don’t do any subscriptions of any kind.
    Bottled water I have never done and when I have bought a small bottle of fizzy pop, which isn’t often, I reuse the bottle.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Hilary Tan says:

      Food bags – that’s a good one. My family still uses them tbh. My husband doesn’t let me re-use pop bottles so we have a soda stream. I don’t drink soda except the flavored soda water variety. They charge for every can and bottle where I live so I’ve really cut back on buying these products. Unless we go to a recycling facility to recycle them, it’s not much of a deal.

      It sounds like we share a lot in common, Liz! Thanks for stopping by 😌🌺

      Liked by 1 person

      • Liz says:

        I do a lot of reusing stuff, that would otherwise go in a recycle bin. I looked back on my old blog posts on my WP blog and did an updated post on my blog I write at, at blogger, this year.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Third Culture Kid says:

    I so agree with you about bottled water. Actually, bottled water is bad for you because of BPA plastics leeching into it. Nestle is the company that always promotes bottled water and they use super exploitative practices to gain water rights around the world while also trying to make you think that tap water is bad for you. Once I learned about all that, no bottled water for me! Not that I drank bottled water regularly. Even so, Nestle is so slimy that I refuse to buy any of their products!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Hilary Tan says:

      I know people who still buy these water bottles and I’m like whyyyyy 😏 I thought we moved past that but people are still buying them. It depends on the tap water. I get that some tap water is questionable but for most people, tap water is okay to drink. Wow, I didn’t know that Nestle was so unethical… I still buy their products though (except the bottled water).

      Liked by 1 person

      • Third Culture Kid says:

        I have certainly visited and lived in locations where there is questionable tap water like LA and Texas. The reason why people haven’t moved on is Nestle has been manipulating people to buy bottled water by saying tap water isn’t safe. That kind of thinking is hard to crack

        Liked by 1 person

      • RoBIN 🪐 says:

        Haha, never trust a social media bandwagon regarding the plastics use issue. I am sure they must have a net positive benefit but a lot of it is also very superficial so it’s hard to gauge how much people actually change behaviours because of them. I tend to assume the worst with those and hope to be pleasantly surprised :D.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Ashley L. Peterson says:

    I’m totally with you on bottled water. I very rarely buy alcohol or Starbucks anymore. Subscription boxes are appealing, but like you, I can’t justify spending that much money on things I don’t need and may not even want.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. mindbeautysimplicity says:

    Thank you so much for the shoutout & finding inspiration to share your own list of things you are no longer buying. 🙂 This has inspired me to cut back on Starbucks [ i can’t totally give up that one LOL] & think about stop drinking. loved your post. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:

      Thank you very much for reading and commenting! 😄 I really liked your post and wanted to respond with a longer blog post, and giving credit is a must. It wasn’t my idea – it was yours! 🙂 Tbh I still love Starbucks but I don’t like the high prices.

      Regarding this blog post, I am currently dealing with some technical issues on the WP reader. Much of the blog post is highlighted, which is annoying, but the highlights are only showing up on the reader. Hopefully the issue gets resolved soon. 🙇‍♀️

      Liked by 1 person

  5. hiddenzzz says:

    This post just made me reflect on myself too. Ever since we were forced into quarantine, I actually stopped buying many packaged food items. Instead I would make them at home. I learnt how to make donuts, granola and other treats and hence stopped buying them.
    Starbucks is totally overrated. The first (and last) time I tried a drink from Starbucks, I ordered a café mocha and it didn’t taste anything like coffee.

    Love this post.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:

      Thank you so much! 😊💕 I love that you make DIY recipes from home now. People think that buying ingredients is expensive but it’s really not. I have almond flour, coconut flour, and other things that are actually quite affordable and much cheaper than buying pre-packaged snacks. I also find pre-packaged food unhealthier too. I would love to get your granola recipe. I have yet to find a DIY granola recipe to try!

      I’m glad that you can relate to my Starbucks rant. Tbh I don’t care for their hot beverages and find them way too sweet, and their coffee is way too bitter!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. hellosamanthadear says:

    This is great!!! I also no longer buy from Bath & Body Works because I had the same issue you had with getting lots and then they expire (plus, the smells just didn’t last long on me). I recently have gotten a Starbucks coffee bag that enables me to re-create the iced mocha I so dearly love (as you know now!!) Although I admit, I still go to Starbucks a few times a week, because I love the ambiance and it gets me out of the house (I work from home), and since I have no social life, the regulars I see at the Starbucks’ I go to are a nice treat! Excellent post, thanks for sharing! I want to try tap water now!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:

      I can relate to this on so many levels, Samantha! 😊 I have no social life either, the only socializing I do outside the house is walking to Tim Hortons after I drop off my daughter at the bus stop. If forces me to get out of the house and spend some time outdoors. Even steeped tea is kinda expensive now, but I can justify buying it because it’s a teeny tiny fraction of my paycheck, plus it brings me joy. I work weekends and evenings so my schedule isn’t the traditional 9-5 Monday to Friday.

      I had the opportunity to work from home last year as a contact tracer, so I get what it’s like being at home all the time! There are definitely more advantages to working from home imo! 🤗

      Liked by 1 person

      • hellosamanthadear says:

        Exactly!!! That’s how I see it too; if it brings me joy and provides a good ambiance, why not!! Definitely, working from home has a lot of advantages! And it’s great to get out of the house and see fellow civilization, LOL! I feel the same way. 😃

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hilary Tan says:

        I’m working this weekend and rather be at home. On my days off, I’ve been at my computer several hours a day and need a break from that.

        At the same time, I rather just hide under the covers and not have to drive to work, think about work or deal with anything related to work! 🙇‍♀️

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hilary Tan says:

        I have some time off of work. This week is stressful so I’m glad that I am not working. It is hard for me to focus on anything so I am trying to get through this week, one day at a time. I still haven’t been to Starbucks but I make a point to get steeped tea on my days off when the weather is nice. It’s the small things that bring us joy 💖

        Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:

      A kindle seems like a great alternative to paper books. I don’t own a kindle so I don’t know what I’m missing out on lol 😂 Fresh flowers are lovely… too bad my cat eats them. I can find flowers at a reasonable price at Costco.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Kate Duff says:

        You give up the sharing – It annoys me when I read a great book I can’t immediately pass it to my best friend and say “here, give this a whirl” but I love I can load my kindle up and take it with me wherever and it’s light, waterproof and has good charge longevity.
        I love flowers but there are other things – my husband bought me back some sea shells from the beach when he went away the other day. I can have them forever.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hilary Tan says:

        My daughter collects everything from pine cones to stones to sea shells! I have a thing for sea shells too – I really like them, especially the bigger ones that sound like the ocean 🌊

        I can see why a Kindle would be a great alternative to paper books. Trying to remember who you lent the books to is annoying, and what’s worse is when the books go missing or end up damaged. It drinks me crazy!

        Liked by 1 person

  9. buddy71 says:

    i could never understand the hype about bath and body works.. i use to get the sunday paper, mostly because of the ads, but they stopped placing store ads as the stores went digital. lol i have no online sub services. i do have costco and i did upgrade wp mostly because i needed more photo space. lol as for bottled water, i have the large 3 gal bottles delivered as i drink that bottled water since i have a well and the water is not treated like city water. i rarely drink alcohol so that is not an issue. i do visit my local starbucks but it is in the grocery store i shop at and i will get a cold drink. since my truck does not have a cd player, i rarely visit the local barnes and noble any more to get new music or magazines. yep, i became even more boring than i was. lol

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hilary Tan says:

      Yes, the photo space dilemma on WP. That’s a perfectly understandable reason to upgrade. I think I was only at 11% storage space with the free plan lol I upgraded because I wanted more editing features and needed columns which turns out, makes a huge difference when it comes to displaying things on a blog.

      The only grocery store that has Starbucks here is Safeway. Safeway is expensive so I try not to shop there. I think Target has Starbucks but Canada doesn’t have Target anymore… it didn’t survive here and a lot of people were upset about that.

      Magazines, that’s good one too! I stopped buying magazines. It didn’t make the list because I buy the Chirp magazine for my daughter. I honestly don’t think it’s worth it because they haven’t been delivering it each month and I thought it was monthly. I can’t justify the cost, and that was after we applied a coupon. Some subscriptions just don’t make sense whereas others do.

      There’s nothing wrong with being boring and/or “behind the times”. Thanks for reading! 🙂

      Like

  10. Pooja G says:

    I completely stopped buying subscription boxes a couple of years ago because like you said they cater to everyones needs and not your own which means a lot of the stuff you get is things you wouldn’t buy for yourself. I used to be subscribed to one for makeup but what ended up happening was that I would get one or two things I liked and most of the other things were products I wouldn’t have really bought for myself which is why I ended up unsubscribing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:

      I believe some of these subscription boxes are still popular such as Ipsy and Birchbox. Yes, I can totally see the appeal of these subscription boxes; alternatively, I will buy back-to-school boxes of items I actually use from Shoppers. These boxes are much cheaper than buying the items individually and you can actually see what is inside! I actually use 90% of the items in these boxes.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Pooja G says:

        Yeah I was using Ipsy and that’s the one that i found wasn’t working for me. It’s definitely still very popular It’s just not for me I guess 🤷🏽‍♀️

        Liked by 1 person

      • Hilary Tan says:

        I’ve watched so many unboxing videos on YouTube because I find them oddly satisfying. At least you know that it’s not for you so you can spend your hard-earned dollars on things that you actually like!

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Becks says:

    I think so many expenses in life are for convenience or ‘fashion’, and by that I mean it’s fashionable or trendy to have subscription boxes, have Starbucks etc. I am definitely guilty of spending too much on coffee, but I cut back in other areas so it’s all about balance haha!
    I’m probably lucky that we didn’t have bath & body works in the UK when I was growing up otherwise I would have 100% been the same as you!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Hilary Tan says:

      Hi Becks! Thank you for reading and commenting. You make a great point about what’s fashionable/trending. People want what’s popular but what’s popular might not be the thing that they can actually need. I find that these trending items tend to be “wants” rather than “needs” (the majority of the time).

      Like you, I have cut back on my spending in other areas of my life so I can still enjoy my daily steeped tea without feeling guilty about it. It’s one of those little things that I look forward to and there’s something very comforting about having a hot beverage in my hand. ☕️💕

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hilary Tan says:

      By not drinking alcohol, we end up saving a lot of money. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything either!

      I started increasing my water intake and carry a reusable bottle wherever I go. Thanks for reading!

      Liked by 2 people

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