Buy Nothing Year

[TightFistedScot]

I'm thinking about doing my second Buy Nothing Year in 2017!!! Anyone else thinking similarly to pair down spending?

For most of you this will just be what you call plain ol' living your regular life, but for some who live a bit less minimalist it could be an interesting challenge.

The challenge: Buy nothing but essentials for 365 days. I suppose 'essentials' is a subjective word and could look different for everyone. Buy nothing but 'the bare necessities' may be more appropriate. Housing costs to maintain your shelter, nutritional necessities to keep your body moving, and something to achieve or maintain your physical fitness and mental well-being - all being fair game. Bid adieu to all consumer/materialist items!

For New Years 2014 I made a resolution with a friend to have a buy nothing year. It was largely successful! For us, we allowed ourselves to buy a few 'experiences', like eating out occasionally. Though I think I can count on my 10 fingers the number of times I ate in a restaurant in 2014. I know I went from January-April of 2014 not eating out a single time. Which is hard in a city like Toronto and with my social group!

The only 'failures' of my buy nothing year was that I did purchase a new pair of running shoes in the Spring of 2014 to keep up my fitness (I have a very bad back from years of powerlifting so I can't run on old shoes). And a USB stick to transport my powerpoint presentations to conferences.

Also, in October of 2014 I bought a plane ticket to Puerto Vallarta, but the trip occurred in Feb 2015, and I stayed with my parents for free and they also paid for most of my meals. So it was a low cost opportunity for a warm escape from the frigid winter - and it also fit the parameters of my buy 'experiences' clause. And I actually ended up extending my buy no consumer material items into February 2015. It was then that I broke down and bought a speedo (for a good deal) that I WANTED (but did not need) in Puerto Vallarta, which my mother said "looks like underwear". LOLOL :P   

The result of my buy nothing year: My income (mostly phd funding and rental income) that year was about 44,000 but I still managed my monthly mortgage and bills of 2,000+/mnth, did a small renovation myself on my house, paid 8,500 tuition, went on a low cost 2-week trip to Puerto Vallarta, and still managed to save a couple thous. I imagine most of my peers (single early 30s guys) would have went into debt in my shoes. I certainly would have had to dip into my savings if I hadn't curbed my spending.     

Anyone else made a buy nothing commitment? Or is this just regular living/nothing special?

Here's a similar experiment! :
https://buynothingyear.com/experiment/

[LindseyC]

I don't typically buy very much stuff and when I do it is generally second hand. However, I am giving myself a similar challenge this year, in that anything I buy i have to earn the money for outside of my regular income. The reason for this is that I quite often flip vintage items I find so that I can "splurge" and also keep something I found or I use the bonus income to complete a project in my house.

So I'm totally in for a no buy challenge using regular income!

[TightFistedScot]

I don't typically buy very much stuff and when I do it is generally second hand. However, I am giving myself a similar challenge this year, in that anything I buy i have to earn the money for outside of my regular income. The reason for this is that I quite often flip vintage items I find so that I can "splurge" and also keep something I found or I use the bonus income to complete a project in my house.

So I'm totally in for a no buy challenge using regular income!

That's a cool idea - flipping vintage things. What items do you find the most successful?

[Juslookin]

I jumped over here from the December no clothes shopping thread to see what it was about. I follow a blogger who is wrapping up a No Buy year and I found her life a little bleak. For example she wouldn't buy a fancy tea at the grocery store because it was fancier and pricier then her normal tea and not a necessity. I could probably do that short term, but a whole year I think would be tough.  I'm going to follow along and perhaps jump on here or there for a month at a time.  Good luck!

[Juslookin]

I've been thinking about this goal a lot.  Between this and my no clothes shopping ban I have been completely reconsidering my spending.

Its the holidays and I have two kids, ones in college and the other isn't far behind.  For many years I did what a lot of typical American moms do, I spent a lot of money to make the holidays perfect for everyone, fresh tree, garland, gingerbread houses, cookies, more elaborate food than we could ever consume and entertaining masses and masses of people for the holidays.

This year I am cash flowing tuition payments and re-evaluating every thing that I spend.  We are lucky enough to have excellent incomes and are still living comfortably, but all of a sudden I feel like I want more than that. I have actually been losing sleep while considering my lifestyle.  We have a paid off house and very comfortable 401K plans, so we are doing well, but suddenly I'm very certain we could do better and enjoy our lives even more.

So for the holidays this year I am really, really toning it down. I have bought two live wreaths (Lowes $7.99 each) to put on our barn doors and a spool of holiday ribbon from Michaels 50% off and that's it.  I'm headed into the woods today to scavenge some pine to add to my outdoor decorating, but only because I enjoy it, not because I feel like I have to.  I have purchased absolutely nothing new for the indoor decorating and we will use what we have. 

We are having a very small family dinner with my parents and we are bowing out of DH's extended family event, that we haven't really ever enjoyed.  It was completely an obligation and as we looked around last year, we realized the event had dwindled down to the last few people who were there because they felt they had to.....everybody else got smart and stayed home.  I expect that event will probably just fade away as people go off into opposite directions and their children begin to have children.

I have been very long winded in your thread, but I wanted to thank you and these forums in general.  I'm not going to retire at 45, but perhaps much earlier than I had ever expected. And if nothing else, I'm going to be carefully considering every purchase I make.  I may not have a No Buy year, but I would like to have a carefully considered spending year. 

[TightFistedScot]

I've been thinking about this goal a lot.  Between this and my no clothes shopping ban I have been completely reconsidering my spending.

Its the holidays and I have two kids, ones in college and the other isn't far behind.  For many years I did what a lot of typical American moms do, I spent a lot of money to make the holidays perfect for everyone, fresh tree, garland, gingerbread houses, cookies, more elaborate food than we could ever consume and entertaining masses and masses of people for the holidays.

This year I am cash flowing tuition payments and re-evaluating every thing that I spend.  We are lucky enough to have excellent incomes and are still living comfortably, but all of a sudden I feel like I want more than that. I have actually been losing sleep while considering my lifestyle.  We have a paid off house and very comfortable 401K plans, so we are doing well, but suddenly I'm very certain we could do better and enjoy our lives even more.

So for the holidays this year I am really, really toning it down. I have bought two live wreaths (Lowes $7.99 each) to put on our barn doors and a spool of holiday ribbon from Michaels 50% off and that's it.  I'm headed into the woods today to scavenge some pine to add to my outdoor decorating, but only because I enjoy it, not because I feel like I have to.  I have purchased absolutely nothing new for the indoor decorating and we will use what we have. 

We are having a very small family dinner with my parents and we are bowing out of DH's extended family event, that we haven't really ever enjoyed.  It was completely an obligation and as we looked around last year, we realized the event had dwindled down to the last few people who were there because they felt they had to.....everybody else got smart and stayed home.  I expect that event will probably just fade away as people go off into opposite directions and their children begin to have children.

I have been very long winded in your thread, but I wanted to thank you and these forums in general.  I'm not going to retire at 45, but perhaps much earlier than I had ever expected. And if nothing else, I'm going to be carefully considering every purchase I make.  I may not have a No Buy year, but I would like to have a carefully considered spending year.

"Carefully considering spending year" is also a great option. Any big changes in spending are an improvement.

My buy nothing year bled into a "carefully considering spending".

Christmas and spending is a whole other can of worms. My mother is HUGE on xmas. She has a storage room in our house dedicated to xmas decorations. LOL. I really like your idea of making decorations with pine trimmings.

I also really like to decorate, and host holiday gatherings, and I get the urge to get gifts for people. I will probably buy some small gifts for friends, but for some people I will bake. And for my parents and brothers I will make donations to charities in their name, because they have everything they need or can buy whatever they want.

[alewpanda]

I feel like I have finally, naturally, been prepping for something like this.

We are playing with the idea to downsize...pretty drastically.  We live in 1700 sq feet and think we could half that if it was the right set up.  If we did, we would look to half our debt too...so buy a home that is in good condition around the 50,000 mark (potentially possible in our lcol area) or buy even cheaper and fix it up ourselves (easily done here, although it would be a serious learning experience for us...). 

As we consider it, I have been realizing how much unneeded stuff we have (and I've always considered myself pretty minimalist!) and how much cheap, thrifted stuff we buy for the life we think we want, rather than what we actually do/use.  It has already helped me stop spending so much while out, and then we joined a gym (i know, spending....) and I'm already seeing that the gym activity and lifestyle may actually bring our spending/entertainment budget/eating out budgets lower than they already were! 


So I've been focusing on less stuff.  A lot less. And less driving, and less 'browsing' for deals, and more cleaning up random funds here and there and slightly more cash savings as a possible down payment fund....

Its exciting...and motivating.

[evanc]

Yes, I'm doing a "no new clothes in 2017" challenge for myself.  Given my clothes horse tendencies, it will be challenging, but I'm looking forward to it. A penny saved...

[evanc]

less 'browsing' for deals, and more cleaning up random funds here and there and slightly more cash savings as a possible down payment fund....

Its exciting...and motivating.

Avoiding the aimless shopping/browsing has been a game changer for me. Don't even put yourself in the situation to be tempted, and you will be surprised how much you do not need.

[Miss Piggy]

I'm interested in this. There is nothing I need, and yet I keep buying. Actually, I take that back: I need to get a pair of blue tights to wear with a couple of skirts. I'll do that before December 31 so I can truly have a buy nothing 2017. (Toiletries exempt...I assume that's universal, yes?)

Are you going to start a buy nothing 2017 thread in the Throw Down the Gauntlet area of the forum?

[TightFistedScot]

Yess I realized  I posted this is the wrong section. It does belong in Throw Down the Gauntlet, yeah?

[TOgirl]

I'm considering something like this for next year. Going to speak to the hubby about joining me on this adventure, and making a list of 'necessities' for the year. So I suppose count us in for the challenge!

And it's always nice to see another Mustachian Torontonian on the boards :)

[recklesslysober]

I'm not at the stage where I could commit to an entire year but I'll follow along and try a month at a time. Definitely in for January. My challenge for the year will be Buy (Much) Less Than Last Year.

[frugalfelicia]

Definitely going to try this for 2017 as I work on crushing my student loan debt. I am not a big spender anyway, but can always cut back.

[sonjak]

I've been considering doing this for 2017.  Just signed up for the frugal January.  If it feels like it's "working," I'll commit here too.  :)

[HappierAtHome]

2017 is not the right year for me to try this (expecting a baby), but I want to follow this amazing challenge and cheer you all on :-)

[TightFistedScot]

2017 is not the right year for me to try this (expecting a baby), but I want to follow this amazing challenge and cheer you all on :-)

Good luck with your new baby!

[mwulff]

I can't commit to a full year, but I will do my best anyway :)

[LindseyC]

I don't typically buy very much stuff and when I do it is generally second hand. However, I am giving myself a similar challenge this year, in that anything I buy i have to earn the money for outside of my regular income. The reason for this is that I quite often flip vintage items I find so that I can "splurge" and also keep something I found or I use the bonus income to complete a project in my house.

So I'm totally in for a no buy challenge using regular income!

That's a cool idea - flipping vintage things. What items do you find the most successful?

Sorry I didn't realize you had replied to my comments.

I specialize in vintage housewares, mostly Art Glass, dishes and small decor items. Italian Art Glass and Scandinavian decor items/dishes are my favourite and most profitable finds. I will flip anything though, assuming it will sell relatively quickly and my profit is at least $20 per item. (I of course aim higher, but that's my minimum.)

It also helps to be aware of trends in collecting.

[Roothy]

I'm in the middle of one of these right now with two of my sisters.  Basically, just set your rules, and try to abide by them.  We created a private facebook page to talk to each other about it.  It's fun to debate about whether a proposed purchase will "count."

Our rules are different than the OP: we are doing a "buy nothing NEW year."  You can buy whatever you want if you find it second hand.  And if you really, really, really need it, you have to spend 3 months trying to find it second hand, and then and only then you can buy it new, but only from a country with strong labor laws/protections.  And you have to be shamed by the others for your profligacy.  :)

We also exclude all "consumables"--food, toiletries (though you have to use up old toiletries before buying new ones), coffee filters, motor oil... you get the idea. 

Anyway, this is the second one I've done in about five years.  It's a good tuning-up exercise--I find I spend less even after the year ends and I go back to "normal".

[recklesslysober]

Our rules are different than the OP: we are doing a "buy nothing NEW year."  You can buy whatever you want if you find it second hand.  And if you really, really, really need it, you have to spend 3 months trying to find it second hand, and then and only then you can buy it new, but only from a country with strong labor laws/protections.

I love this, great rules.

[TightFistedScot]

I'm in the middle of one of these right now with two of my sisters.  Basically, just set your rules, and try to abide by them.  We created a private facebook page to talk to each other about it.  It's fun to debate about whether a proposed purchase will "count."

Our rules are different than the OP: we are doing a "buy nothing NEW year."  You can buy whatever you want if you find it second hand.  And if you really, really, really need it, you have to spend 3 months trying to find it second hand, and then and only then you can buy it new, but only from a country with strong labor laws/protections.  And you have to be shamed by the others for your profligacy.  :)

We also exclude all "consumables"--food, toiletries (though you have to use up old toiletries before buying new ones), coffee filters, motor oil... you get the idea. 

Anyway, this is the second one I've done in about five years.  It's a good tuning-up exercise--I find I spend less even after the year ends and I go back to "normal".

I love this!

[Dicey]

I did this in 2008. Spent nothing, dumped all the excess into the stock market. Now I look like a genius and I'm FIRE as a result. I just got lucky with the timing is all, proving that it's always a good time to save,, lol.

[TightFistedScot]

I did this in 2008. Spent nothing, dumped all the excess into the stock market. Now I look like a genius and I'm FIRE as a result. I just got lucky with the timing is all, proving that it's always a good time to save,, lol.

Thanks for providing us with some more inspiration/rationale!

[Fresh Bread]

Posting to follow, I will think about whether I could play along. Is it going to be a throw down the gauntlet thread?

[Mezzie]

listed in my journal. I've been paring down my belongings; buying more would defeat the purpose.

[Sassy]

I am in! My spending was out of control at the end of last year and I really need to work on building an emergency fund of sorts.

I am a little worried that my department is going to be downsized soon and it will be very needed then.

[skip207]

If you exclude a car the only items I bought in 2016 were:  1 pair work boots (£25), 1 pair VANS (£50), 1 winter jacket (£300).

Hair cuts several months in between homie..... etc etc. ;)

Seriously though, I don't think I bought anything for myself other than the above.  Anything else was for the house or for work etc.

Actually now I think about it I did get a new pair of sunglasses too, forgot about that - but I waited till November so they were on sale :D

No plans for 2017!  Will probably wear out another set of work boots - I get about 6 months out of them!

[Juslookin]

I've been following along here.  I'm involved in the no clothes for January gauntlet (which is going to be a year long goal for me) and the Uber Frugal January.  I would like to try for a no spend 2017, but I'm not sure if I can do it.

So far my spending has been limited to necessities, food, toiletries, pet medicine.  DH bought me some cupcakes as a surprise, but I'm not really including DH in this.  He very rarely spends any money.  The cupcakes were a one off thing because I was having a bad week.  Twenty years of marriage and that's probably happened one other time. :)   

So, one week of no spend down.  I've been lusting after a new coffee mug, even though I have plenty of plain white ones, but I like a cheerful mug for the mornings and my favorite mug broke.  Its not necessary so its on my list of absolute cannot buys.

Maybe have this moved to Gauntlets?

[TightFistedScot]

I've been following along here.  I'm involved in the no clothes for January gauntlet (which is going to be a year long goal for me) and the Uber Frugal January.  I would like to try for a no spend 2017, but I'm not sure if I can do it.

So far my spending has been limited to necessities, food, toiletries, pet medicine.  DH bought me some cupcakes as a surprise, but I'm not really including DH in this.  He very rarely spends any money.  The cupcakes were a one off thing because I was having a bad week.  Twenty years of marriage and that's probably happened one other time. :)   

So, one week of no spend down.  I've been lusting after a new coffee mug, even though I have plenty of plain white ones, but I like a cheerful mug for the mornings and my favorite mug broke.  Its not necessary so its on my list of absolute cannot buys.

Maybe have this moved to Gauntlets?

Cool good job!

I'm basically the same so far for this year. Have eaten in a restaurant once, drank 9 beers, and bought a muffin. Besides that I haven't had any non-essential spending.

I do need some new running shoes, though. But will hold off until March or April I think.

[Sassy]

Well January was really easy to not spend any money, as I suspected I was layed off 2 weeks ago.
Not sure what we are going to do going forward. It's weird, I feel a little lost

[sonjak]

Well January was really easy to not spend any money, as I suspected I was layed off 2 weeks ago.
Not sure what we are going to do going forward. It's weird, I feel a little lost

:(  *hugs*

[Miss Piggy]

So far, so good for my "buy almost nothing" year. I did buy an SD card for my tablet because it ran out of memory, but that's the only thing I can think of that I bought.

[LindseyC]

I confess I have bought a few things: a $2 wool hat (new with tags still on it) from the thrift store, some new socks ($20) a candle ($4) and some lights for a house project ($15) I also found a brand new copy of a $35 game at the thrift store for $3, I bought that as a birthday gift for my dad - gifts I don't consider inside my rules.

Other than the candle these were all items I needed. The candle was instead of the usual $30 Yankee Candles I normally buy. (I burn a candle nightly because the smell relaxes me) so even though I "saved" $26 by buying a much cheaper candle, I still didn't need it.

In February I have another gift to buy (for my SO) but since I am making the majority of it with items I already own, I'm hoping it's very economical. Other than that I am hoping I can pull of a complete Buy Nothing month.