Buy Nothing Challenge
I would like to reduce my ecological impact and disassociate from the consumerist mindset. I don’t like the direction the US government is taking and I would like to decouple from the US economy.
My challenge is to buy nothing* for one month, and at the end of the month, see if I can continue for another month.
*I will continue to purchase items that I consider necessities.
Necessities that I will buy as required:
YES: Food
YES: Health and medication
YES: Daily necessities (toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, etc.)
YES: Bills (phone, rent, insurance, taxes)
YES: Repairs (home, bicycle, vehicle)
YES: Gas/Transportation (walk or bike when you can)
YES: Receiving gifts, trades where no money is exchanged
YES: Camping, hiking, bicycle travel
YES: Giving charity
Items I will avoid purchasing during the challenge:
NO: Fast food, coffee shops, restaurants
NO: Entertainment devices, books, subscriptions
NO: New clothes or impulse purchases
NO: Hair services
NO: Amazon orders, streaming services
NO: Vehicles
NO: Acquisition of things for new hobbies
NO: Use of credit (credit cards or loans)
NO: Hotels, vehicle based travel
NO: Google, Meta, Reddit, X products
Did you find anything particularly difficult?
I was already pretty low buy so it wasn’t too hard. I would like to retire one day so I try to save as much as possible already. The thing I miss are the little treats I would buy just because. Getting rid of amazon helped a lot with the instant gratification shopping.