3 Savings Strategies That Aren't As Restrictive As A 'low-buy Year' But Just As Effective

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• More people are doing the 'low-buy year' challenge, which focuses on reducing non-essential expenses.
• If you find a low-buy year daunting, there are alternative strategies that work just as well.
• You can commit to reducing expenses on a smaller scale or focus on savings goals, instead.

Posts about people implementing a "low-buy year" may be popping up all over your social media.

"The general definition, I'd say, of 'low buy' is bringing down those nonessential areas. So that, generally, in and of itself, is a very wide scope, taking down everything that's not essential," says Christopher Mattern, CFP® professional, vice president and financial advisor at Wealth Enhancement.

Doing a low or no-buy 2025 could be one way of reducing your spending generally, but there are also less restrictive strategies that are just as effective. If you find that a low-buy challenge is too strict for you, consider these three alternatives instead.

1. Prioritizing savings first

One way to curb your spending is to prioritize your savings.

The pay-yourself-first method provides a framework to help you shift your perspective and place greater importance on saving money. You must allocate some money to your savings with each paycheck before you can even consider other expenses.

When you're focusing on saving money, it helps to have clear goals in mind so you know why and when you should use your money in the future. Some examples of savings goals include building an emergency fund, planning for a vacation, or saving for retirement

2.. Category-specific spending

Instead of cutting all areas of non-essential expenses, you can try reducing expenses in one or two areas.

"You could say, 'I want to cut a certain percentage.' You could say, 'I want to cut a certain dollar amount.' It's just a matter of setting that goal and then diligently tracking it," explains Mattern.

Many of the best budgeting apps have features to help identify your spending in specific areas. You can use an app to track your spending over time or use your own DIY method if you find that more convenient.

3. Seasonal spending

If you have variable income or recognize that you tend to spend more during specific seasons, you could make seasonal spending adjustments.

"It could be that you're tightening your belt that month for any reason. And then, during other months, you can adjust the other way," says Scott Stanley, CFP® professional, founder, and wealth advisor of Pharos Wealth Management. " In other words, you're not trying to tackle an entire year at once. You're breaking the months up and in more manageable chunks."

Just like with category-specific spending, you want to have a general understanding of where your money is going and how much money you're saving.

As you're saving money, keep it somewhere where it will grow

Using a strategy can give you the structure you need to actually save money, but to make it all worthwhile you also have to consider where you're keeping your extra cash. Ideally, you want to put your savings somewhere where it can grow because it can lose value over time due to inflation.

"What I do is I have different savings accounts for different purposes. And you know, it used to be that that wasn't really practical, because you'd have to pay fees for having multiple accounts, and it just was cumbersome and expensive. But now banks make it possible to have multiple accounts without any additional fees," says Stanley.

Many of the best banks have savings accounts without monthly maintenance fees, meaning you do not need to maintain a certain amount of money in your account or meet other requirements to waive fees.

A high-yield savings account is an especially good spot for short-term savings because it offers a higher interest rate than a traditional savings account, and many also do not have common bank fees.

However, if you don't need your money for a few years or want to put it toward retirement, investing is a better option for long-term savings. Just keep in mind that investing involves risk, so you don't have a guaranteed rate of return — and could even lose money depending on how the market moves.

Don't know where to start? Consider a financial advisor. 

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