🧠 Not Just Another No-Buy Challenge: 4 Weeks to Reset Your Spending Habits & Dopamine
🟣 A unique program to reclaim your money and brain space from neuromarketing tricks, social influence & addictive designs
Finally!!
TikTok’s shopping platform, Tiktok Shop, is launching in France, Italy, and Germany.
Weren’t you also just dying for another business to steal more of your attention and redirect it toward making you want to buy stuff you didn’t even know you needed until you saw that Reel from someone you’ve never met?
🤯🤯🤯
I don’t want to shop through a screen I’m already glued to for way too many hours a day!!
And you know what else I don’t want?
I don’t want to be shamed when I fall for it.
Like I’m weak. Like I’ve got no self-control.
Because seriously, this is what we’re up against:
neuromarketing tricks
social influence
addictive designs
algorithmic manipulation
scarcity tactics
fake urgency
personalized ads
FOMO marketing
strategic pricing
…and so many other constant pressures to buy.
Of course it’s hard to resist!! It’s not a personal failure, it’s all literally designed to work against you.
But I don’t want to wake up one day and realize I spent a big chunk of my life scrolling through shopping apps. That thought really saddens me. And I’m also worried about how our phone habits and our shopping habits are colliding. About how this collision is chipping away at our mental, physical, social, and financial well-being.
I hope my recent newsletters and interviews on this topic have added something meaningful to the conversation.
Today, I’m adding one more piece:
A 4-week program away from the screens to help us reclaim our money, our attention, and our dopamine (and give the finger to neuromarketing tricks, social influence, and addictive designs along the way).
It’s available in full for paid subscribers of Money Feelings, but I’m sharing a few of the tools with everyone below.
The Inspiration
When I interviewed psychiatrist, addiction expert, and author of Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, I asked:
“In your practice, what factors have you seen contribute most to successful recovery from shopping addiction?”
She told me:
“Taking a break from unnecessary spending for four weeks to reset reward pathways;
Implementing self-binding strategies and
Getting support from other humans, either mental health professionals or those struggling with similar problems.”
These three insights became the foundation of the Money Feelings No-Buy Challenge.
But let’s be clear: this is not another “just don’t spend” challenge.
It’s a 4-week program packed with tools from financial psychology and coaching practices to help you reset your spending habits and your dopamine.
Who This Challenge is Not For
A no-buy challenge is not for everyone. Just like not every money rule, tool, will work for everyone because personal finance is so personal. For instance, this might not be for you if:
You already feel guilty every time you spend money
You struggle to treat yourself at all
You’re operating in a scarcity mindset that makes any restriction feel suffocating
You’re currently moving through addiction recovery or processing trauma
And that’s far from an exhaustive list.
What I really want to say is this: if you're already carrying a heavy load or dealing with something else, it’s more than okay to pass on this. This challenge isn’t here to make you feel like you’re failing, falling behind, or not doing enough. It’s not another “tool” to pile on guilt or pressure. It’s here if and when you’re in the right place for it.
Who This Challenge Is For
The Money Feelings No-Buy Challenge is about clarity and intention.
Clarity on why we buy things we don’t need.
Intention around how we want to use our money, time, and energy.
Over four weeks, the idea is to make space for what really matters, question the systems that push us to overconsume, and explore the psychology behind our impulses.
I’d say this is for you if:
You experience dopamine overload and decision fatigue
You’re sick of impulse buys that clutter your space (and your mind)
You love beautiful things but crave limits in a world of infinite scrolling
You feel instantly exhausted by this list:
neuromarketing tricks, social influence, addictive designs, algorithmic manipulation, scarcity tactics, fake urgency, personalized ads, FOMO marketing, strategic pricing etc.
What You’ll Walk Away With
✅ A brain that’s no longer on a shopping dopamine rollercoaster: You’ll recalibrate your brain and reduce that constant craving for shopping dopamine hits.
✅ A deeper understanding of your personal spending triggers: You’ll begin to recognize what’s really behind your spending. Is it stress, boredom, comparison?
✅ Less instant gratification, more lasting joy: You’ll relearn how to enjoy life’s smaller, quieter rewards… what is it for you? Reading, creativity, [whatever fills you up].
✅ A fuller bank account for things that actually matter to you more!
The Program
What’s included:
A printable guide: for you to work away from screens, because handwriting helps you process more deeply, supports emotional health, boosts brain function, and protects against cognitive decline.
OR a Notion dashboard that you can just copy-paste into your personal Notion space. It's easy to use, flexible, designed to keep you on track, and so satisfying (if you're a Notion or digital template lover).
A motivation anchor: an exercise to define and visualize your motivation (your “why” for this challenge).
Your no-buy rules: an exercise to help you set up clear, personalized rules for the challenge.
A guided reflection on your shopping impulses: to explore what they mean and where they come from.
A daily journal template: a simple space to track temptations and feelings each day.
A self-binding strategy bingo sheet: to help you choose from proven techniques that keep you accountable.
A dopamine menu template: to retrain your brain to seek joy in sustainable, fulfilling ways.
Affirmation cards: cut them out or create your own to ground yourself when the urge to spend or scroll hits.
A weekly check-in with yourself: to reflect and gather important data from your emotions, triggers, and patterns.
A buying manifesto: an exercise to craft your own compass for future purchases after the challenge ends.
A curated reading list: my favorite reads on shopping psychology, dopamine, and digital minimalism.
Exclusive perks: discounts on brilliant tools and services to support your financial well-being long after the challenge ends.
💡 You don’t need to use everything, but it’s all here for you to pick from, mix, and make your own. If you’re on a free subscription and would like to do the Challenge, here’s the basis with the first two exercises:
Clarify your motivation for taking on this challenge
Define your no-buy rules
If you want access to the full program, you can upgrade your subscription here.
Paid subscribers, you’ll find the downloadable PDF, or the link to the Notion dashboard as usual, in The Paid Corner, right next to your other tools and perks.
🎁 Bonus this week: you also get $10 to kickstart your wardrobe reset with Indyx, the app that helps you catalog, style your clothes, and reduce clothing purchases!
It’s all here:
Enjoy!! 💜
And if you have any thoughts or feedback about the Challenge, I’d love to hear from you: moneyfeelings@substack.com or message me directly via Substack.
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Pauline 💜