Can You Go a Year Without Shopping? Emma Edwards Tried It

Dec 1, 2025

Emma Edwards, a financial behavior expert and author of The Wardrobe Project, shares her transformative journey of a year-long no-buy challenge. She reveals how her relationship with money, body image, and confidence evolved throughout the challenge. Emma discusses overcoming temptation, the role of community support, and practical strategies to reduce impulse spending. She highlights the surprising benefits of creativity and resilience gained from not shopping, and offers insights for anyone looking to reset their spending habits for a healthier financial mindset.

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ANECDOTE

Year-Long No-Buy Challenge

Emma Edwards spent a full year buying no clothes at all to study her behaviour and wardrobe habits.
She repeated the challenge again while writing the book to deepen her observations and lessons.

INSIGHT

Dopamine Loop Of Fashion Buying

Stopping purchases revealed that many clothes buys were a dopamine loop, not need-based purchases.
Emma realised she repeatedly bought the same wrong styles and felt no lasting satisfaction.

ADVICE

Replace Rules With Practical Actions

Focus on what you will do instead of what you won't do to avoid temptation and stay motivated.
Create outfit albums and outfit formulas to reduce decision fatigue and prevent impulse buys.

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In this episode of The Australian Finance Podcast, Gemma Mitchell is joined by Emma Edwards — financial behaviour expert, founder of The Broke Generation, and now two-time author.

Emma’s new book, The Wardrobe Project: A Year of Buying Less and Liking Yourself More, published by Wiley, explores the powerful connection between spending habits, confidence, and self-worth. It’s the perfect read for anyone wanting to reset their relationship with money and shopping before 2026.

Together, Gemma and Emma unpack how a year-long no-buy challenge changed her approach to money, mindset, and fashion, and how you can start your own “wardrobe reset” to spend smarter and feel better.

Topics Covered:

- What inspired The Wardrobe Project and the surprising lessons from a year of not shopping

- How body image and confidence influence the way we spend
- What Emma discovered about self-worth and financial behaviour during her no-buy year
- Practical tips to reduce impulse spending and start buying with purpose
- How to balance self-expression and sustainability with fashion
- Which money and mindset habits stuck after the challenge ended
If you’re ready to build a healthier money mindset and rethink how you spend in 2026, this episode is for you.

Resources for this episode

- Buy Emma’s book “The Wardrobe Project” https://www.amazon.com.au/Wardrobe-Project-Buying-Liking-Yourself/dp/1394376812

- Buy Gemma’s book “The Money Reset”- https://amzn.to/42Uz0aK

- Ask a question (select the Finance podcast): https://bit.ly/R-quest

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