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
If you're an ebook type, get a library card and download Libby!
I love Libby! Saved my kid from a failed research assignment when he realized he was supposed to use book sources for research at 9pm the night before it was due.
Yes but also the more people that want e-books the more the library has to pay. I listened in on a reason they were closing a library branch and one reason was the publishers require full amounts for the e-books to be "licensed" and it only lasts for a couple years. Then they just pay for a full price book license again. So over time it's so much more expensive as the library has a reoccurring price they have to pay per book and can't even sell off old books to recoup an initial cost.
They even mentioned on the call that they tried to work with other counties to pool their bargaining power and the publishers don't care and won't give out any discounts.