Read the Entire Series: Day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
I woke up craving an everything bagel with cream cheese. For a fleeting moment I thought about walking over, on this lazy Sunday, to the local Bruegger’s. Then I smirked knowingly, “Ah yes, it begins.” Today is the first day of my Buy Nothing Challenge.
Critical Response
When I checked my site statistics, I saw that my adventure had been submitted to Reddit. The traffic was streaming in, as were the comments. The vast majority of which, were written on Reddit.
Here’s what some of the critics had to say about the challenge (grammar and spelling are theirs):
Buying nothing for a week as a money saving strategy is about as effective as all those chain-email protests encouraging people not to buy gas for a week to put the big oil companies out of business.
You need food to live, you need gas (or transit) to get to work. Whether you buy it last week or next week is neither here nor there when it comes to being frugal.
Maybe leaving your wallet at home will keep you from making a few impulse purchases, and if that’s what you gotta do to give yourself some self discipline…go for it.
Buying twice as much stuff last week so you don’t have to buy it this week is a 0 sum game.
A “no buy week” should exclude things you need to live, that portion of the rent that is due, etc.
The only exception might be being more food than usual to prove to yourself that you can eat from home more than you think you can.
After reading some of these harsh comments, I questioned my own decision to pursue this: Was it too small a time? Was it fruitless? Was I just delaying inevitable purchases until next week?
Purpose of the Challenge
The focus of the more vitriolic, opposed persons seemed to surround the buying of food. The argument was that I needed food either way; not buying it for a week would amount to little more than delaying the inevitable. Rather than purely counter this argument, I’ll say this: It’s possible that’s correct. But there is another point to this challenge.
I decided to take a week away – a holiday – from spending to write about my realizations, experiences, and possible struggles. It’s bigger than just purchasing groceries. My challenge and yours, is about everyday opportunities to buy. Whether it’s a car wash, gas, laundry, food, floss, or whatever you pay for on a regular basis, I wanted to see if I could even get to zero.
Secondarily, what some of these commenters failed to grasp was that the more exposure we have to touch, hold, or look at products, the more we buy. Remove the stimulus – remove the urge. By not going to a supermarket (or any store for that matter), I was reducing the chances for advertising and marketing opportunities. I wouldn’t feel the urge to buy a tangential – unnecessary – product.
My Emotions
Over the course of the day, I had these fleeting moments to buy or do something that cost money. The response has been quite interesting. I feel guilty and ashamed at the possibility that I might not make it.
Day 1: $0 Spent.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s report and follow along!
I thing this experiment is great, and I was planning to do something similar but you have beaten me to the punch. Enjoy the journey!
I hope you have stocked up on food and such though, and I agree that by removing yourself from the malls ect, you are far less likely to even want something. I think you will also find at the end of the week you appreciate things more.
Its not only good for your pocketbook, its good for you entirely. Keep it real, I’ll be watching closely.
Guy.
Guy,
Thanks so much for your optimistic comment! Yes, this idea has been brewing in my mind for quite some time – sorry to steal your thunder. 😉 You can feel free to learn from my mistakes and try it out for yourself, too!
Pocketbook and my mental health – you’re absolutely right!
-S.
While it is true that some of your necessities will have to be bought at some point whether it be last week, this week, or next week, I think what you’ll find through this challenge is that things that you thought were necessary really aren’t or that some items have a no cost substitute. While some people consider gas a necessity, it can be replaced by walking or riding a bike or carpooling with a friend. This is a good experiment to find out what you really need or other ways to obtain your necessities. Maybe instead of buying toilet paper at the store you swipe a few rolls from a bathroom at your local college (yes that’s stealing but you get the point)
While I can see where those mean Redditors are coming from, I think this is still a worthwhile venture. If nothing else, I believe you will gain better perspective on things that you normally buy that you may not need.
Nick,
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, perspective is key here. I just want to see how far I can go, really. 🙂
-S.
I understand that the point of “not buying”, is about no restaurant, movie,Starbucks, impulse buys, clothes, etc. And while it’s great if one can walk to work, taking the bus to get there is not considered a purchase.
Hey CC!
Thanks for your comment. I think that’s an important point and a reality for some. For me, I’m in a place that offers me the opportunity to reach $0 for these next 7 days. I wanted to take full advantage of that and really test my assumptions.
Hope you follow along,
-S.
S. was not criticizing you – in light of articles online and in Ottawa Citizen this weekend about how the younger generation is lacking financial literacy and as a life and business coach myself, and a frugal one, I see how many people spend over their limit and how many even boomers have so little savings, One thing the newspaper article said is that parents do not talk about money at home – no education (many parents are spenders) I say Bravo. Your message is important.
CC,
Thanks for the followup! No no, I understood you weren’t criticizing it. 🙂
Appreciate the support. I’ll let you know how it goes!
-S.
This is something I actually have been thinking about doing. Let’s see how goes for you first Sam.
Thanks Peter! Appreciate the encouragement. I’ll let you know how it goes! 🙂