My Buy Nothing Month: How I Learned To Spend Less

My Buy Nothing Month: How I Learned To Spend Less

Click the link above to read the full article.

The author of this article is Elizabeth Helen Spencer. Elizabeth is a personal finance and travel writer based in the Philadelphia area.

Inflation is high and has been for most of the year. Are we in a recession, if not when will we be? During these times, it is more important to review your spending habits. You can read about 'sober october' where participants don't drink alcohol during the month, 3, 5 and 7 day cleanses where participants only drink terrible tasting kale smoothies and lemon water, even our iPhones track and tell us we have spent too much time on social media sites now.

With the ever growing popularity of Amazon and expedited shipping times, it is easier now than ever to buy things from your phone. Sometimes needed, but if we look in the mirror, most are probably not. (Insert Jerry's line, "more than most are not needed" here). When we came across this article it was an interesting idea that we had not heard of, despite the fact it has been around for some time.

Buy Nothing Month is inspired by a holiday that’s been around since the 1990s. Invented in September 1992 by journalist Ted Dave, Buy Nothing Day started as a way to protest overconsumption and really think about how you shop.

The purpose has evolved from a protesting day to...: 

...help you reset your spending and start using your money for the things that really matter to you and the life you want to live.

As the author points out every diet needs rules.

Basically, you buy only what you really need and put the rest on hold. The rules look a little different for everyone. Some people exclude certain items from the challenge and others create whole spending categories they don’t restrict.

I think one of the most important aspects of the challenge is keeping track of a list of things that you wanted to buy during the challenge. This might really nail home the difference between needs and wants and if you really wanted a particular item or would it have been an impulse purchase. Reviewing the list at the end of the challenge, you may look back and see too many impulse purchases- then you know it worked. Of course, if you go out and buy the items on your list at the end of the month it defeats the purpose!

She points out one overlooked aspect of the challenge - not only are you spending money, you are also spending time.

So, every minute I spent reading about the best sheet set, sifting through reviews for exercise equipment, shopping for clothes, or putting items in my cart without ever buying them was a minute I wasn’t spending on the activities that actually reflected my values and larger goals.

And most of us, likely have too many spam emails going to our inbox, deals, deals, deals, codes for discounts, limited time offers.

When I decided not to spend, I started unsubscribing from newsletters and email lists that were just trying to sell me things.

The section on matching spending habits to values is good as well. We have all read the quotes, stop buying that $4 latte every day (now probably closer to $7) and you will be rich! But, that is a bit of a stretch. Matching your spending to the things you value is the way to success.

The article linked and mentioned above was posted on August 24, 2022 and written by Elizabeth Helen Spencer. Check out more from Elizabeth at Money Under 30 here.