17th December 2025

End of Year Reflections

Lately I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to cut down my spending.

I realised I’ve been buying a lot of stuff, and over time it’s been quietly whittling away at my savings. Until I moved out, I was actually very careful with money! I avoided spending where I could. After moving out, though, I think I started treating stress by purchasing. It was easy, it was quick, and it didn’t feel like a problem in the moment, but cumulatively, it’s taken a bigger bite out of my savings than I’m comfortable with.

I don’t want to feel anxious about my finances, and I don’t want to keep using spending as my main way of coping. I want to get my finances back in order. I also want to learn to appreciate what I already have more, rather than constantly chasing the next thing. Lately it’s felt stressful to carry that fear that I might regret not buying something... Especially when I now find myself feeling more regret when I do buy something and it doesn’t work out. Or guilt, when I buy something and realise I already own something very similar.

So, I’ve started taking a few practical steps.

First of all, I’ve cut down on some subscriptions that I wasn’t really using or didn’t need right now.

Last night I cancelled a subscription for Webtoon premium, which was costing me a total of £50 each month. At one point I really was reading the comics that quickly, but since then, I’ve taken a few breaks from Webtoon, and I ended up saving a ridiculous number of coins to my account. At this point, it’s probably enough of a buffer that I could read new comics for all of 2026 without buying more coins. Which is ridiculous when most comics can also be read for free on there.

I also cancelled my Roblox premium subscription for a similar reason. I’d been collecting coins without really using them, and I’ve barely played Roblox in the last few months, especially since my sister stopped playing regularly too.

Today, I also ended a subscription to a Twitch streamer I like. I still enjoy their content, but the reality is that they don’t stream every month, and it feels like a lot to keep sending money when I’m actively trying to save.

I also considered cancelling my Amazon Prime subscription. I don’t really watch the TV shows, and for most of the year I don’t need fast shipping - but I decided to hold off until after Christmas, since it does tend to come in handy at this time of year.

Overall, there are a few other subscriptions I’m reviewing as well. For instance, my partner and I are both pretty computer-literate, so for a lot of shows, we don’t need to be subscribed to a streaming service to watch them - it’s mostly a time-saving convenience. We’re also running out of things to watch on some platforms, so it might actually be nice to spend a bit more time seeking out media that’s harder to find on streaming services again.

Outside of subscriptions, I’ve also started listing clothes on Vinted so they can go to people who’ll actually get use out of them. I already had some things listed, which helped remind me that I can do this in a calm, manageable way. Over the next few months, I’m planning to add more clothes gradually - just a few items each week. I think this will help me stay more aware of what I already own, make some physical space, and appreciate my wardrobe more intentionally.

Alongside these actions, I want to find healthier outlets for stress that don’t revolve around buying things, while still letting myself enjoy the interests and aesthetics I genuinely love. Instead of defaulting to purchasing when I’m stressed, I want to put that energy into other things: spending more time editing my website, writing and reflecting, making fun gifs, photographing and organising what I already own, and generally slowing down enough to actually enjoy the things I have.

I also want to be more intentional about rest, rather than treating purchases as a reward for getting through the day. For example, I bought Nana volume 1 last month and I haven’t even opened it yet, and I love reading manga.

Well, I'm not sure why I'm sharing this on my site in this way, it does feel a little bit personal, or maybe just embarrassing. But I thought it would be good to document my goals somewhere. I might add updates on more things I do going forwards. Actually, in the process of me writing this, someone bought a boilersuit from my Vinted, so I'm pleased to make a little more progress on my goals. If anyone else has gone through something similar, then I'm interested to hear about it. But overall this is me trying to heal, to become healthier in my mind.