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February is over, and each month this year I’m trying to do a “low buy month.” This is not the same as a “no buy” month or year, where you truly don’t buy anything but the essentials. I didn’t feel like I could go that extreme, so I’m just trying to examine each purchase I make and consider how much I need it. It’s a little more subjective, but it’s what’s working for me this year. I’m happy to report that once I did my February 2025 budget recap, I had spent even less compared to 2025 than I had when I did my January 2025 budget recap.
Low Buy Year | February Budget Recap
Last year I did a series of monthly posts with questions to ask yourself about your budget at the end of each month. For more of an explanation of our low buy year, please see my January 2025 budget recap.
The first step in looking back at a month is seeing how much we spent on discretionary categories like kid expenses, groceries and other household items, eating out, gas, and the dangerous “miscellaneous” category. Our budget software lets me look at trends, which is really helpful. I cut our discretionary spending by about 37% in January 2025 compared to 2024. In February, I cut it by 42%—even better!
I also compared our overall spending, which includes all our fixed expenses and other yearly sinking funds. We spent 30% less overall in February 2025 compared to 2024, which was about the same as our January numbers. It seems feasible to make my goal to cut our spending by 30% each month this year compared to last year.
Now let’s look at some of the things we bought as part of our low-buy month.
What we did buy in February 2025
- A new iron (this was on my list for January 2025 that I didn’t end up buying, but I found a good deal)
- New socks for one kid and a new belt for another
- Charging cables
- Comforter for kid’s bed
- Supplies for a church bonfire
What we didn’t buy in February 2025
All month I kept a note on my phone of things that I wanted to buy, but that weren’t absolutely necessary. This list hasn’t changed much from January.
- Alarm clock
- Salad tongs
- Home decor for winter
I had really wanted to add some items to my home for winter decor, but now it’s almost spring! I didn’t take advantage of any deals, so looks like I’ll be taking that item off my list for this next month.
If you’re interested in questions to reflect on your spending, check out my post from last February: End of Month Budget Questions for February 2024.
