Try a Year Without Shopping
Stop buying stuff by committing to a year without shopping. You might wonder why in the world would anyone want to try living a year without shopping? Many people think it is impossible, other people have done it and found it very useful. I will share my experience about my year without shopping. What went well, what did not. After that I will invite you to give it a try!
I was reasonably successful in my quest, but not 100%. I had started this year without shopping because of reading a New York Times Article: My Year of No Shopping. The author describes her year, she chose to eliminate shopping for articles like clothes, shoes, handbags and makeup. Since I don’t use make up so for me it was mostly clothes and Things.
My Experience This Year
What Went Well?
I succeeded mostly in the clothes part of the challenge. I used to be a hard core thrift store shopper. Justifying purchases by celebrating what a deal I just got. Of course, even good deals will fill up your closet. So I knew things had to change. My next strategy was to get rid of something (or even two items for one buy) when I bought something new. That worked, but I felt silly buying new items and justifying it by getting rid of old stuff instead of just making do with my current possessions.
So this year without shopping was a good way to reset my mindset and get used to not looking for sales. To reply to my husband in LL Beans when he asks “Do you want to look around?” “No thank you, I am Not Shopping.”
We still went for experiences, travel and good food. For example went to Hawaii, observed crocodiles in Costa Rica and visited family and friends in The Netherlands. We did buy a GoPro for snorkeling, which I still feel is kind of borderline ok.
What Did NOT Go Well?
My biggest struggle was presents. I feel such a social pressure to give Things. To give the Perfect Present. I am still struggling with it with the holidays coming up. We try to focus on experiences and food. Annoyingly enough I still found myself bringing touristy t-shirts back from a vacation, and a bicycle license plate which would be Perfect for our daughter.
Though I did research the best eco friendly gifts, it still felt slightly wrong to give tangible items.
In addition I did buy new underwear, two pairs of jeans (my old one was beyond holey), and a new woolen sweater (reasoning it was necessary, but was it?). Also, I bought new yoga pants when we started yoga.
Last week I proved that I could make do, even when I forgot my yoga pants. But generally, I feel ok about my year, even if I was not perfect. I never felt like I was depriving myself. I still feel like I have too much stuff and should get rid of more. A work in progress for sure!
Four Reasons to Stop Buying Stuff
- First, the obvious reason is saving money. Money that can be used to pay off debt, to go on a vacation, to save for retirement or for whatever you want to use it for. Think financial independence. Think “More travel, more experiences, less things!”
- Enjoy having less stuff to take care of. Many people are so overwhelmed by the things they already own, that much of their time and energy is taken by reorganizing and feeling bad about clutter. When they need something, they cannot find what they look for. Worst case they even buy new because they can’t find the old. For a moment, Imagine having less stuff and more time!
- You don’t need it! Yes, I realize sometimes you do, but make sure to not tell yourself stories about why you really NEED this, while on further exploration it turns out it is just another want.
- You will become better at making do with what you have and be more grateful for your current possessions. Not to mention that you will have more time to do what you love, because you will spend less time finding the best sales for stuff you don’t need anyway.
Are You Ready for More Money and More Time?
What about you? Have you felt overwhelmed by your possessions and wanted to live with less? Do you keep planning to get on top of life and get rid of stuff? Would you like to travel more? Have more money to put towards retirement? Take the first step by Not Buying Stuff. Stop shopping, get into the mindset of not needing things. Be grateful for what you own!
Join me in my quest! I already have decided that I like Not Shopping and will continue to try Not Buying Stuff. Even while I realize that it is ok not to be perfect at it. But at least we are trying to stop our consumerism. Perfection is overrated, but intention is important. Seize the day and stop buying stuff!
Read More about How to Stop Buying stuff
- How to Program Your Mind to Stop Buying Stuff you Don’t Need. Very interesting article with practical ways of breaking our buying habit.
- 12 Ways to Stop Wasting Money and Take Control of Your Stuff. A good Time aritcle by a consumer psychologist.
- Minimalism – What is it? Great inspirational first person account by one of my favorite bloggers about her journey of Living a Full Life with Less.
- Retail Therapy: Are Emotions Draining Your Wallet? A good Dave Ramsey article about the emotions behind shopping.
Pin Stop Buying Stuff
Now go out and pin it for later inspiration, especially if you are not ready today. Share it with your friends and support each other!
Comments
21 responses to “How to Stop Buying Stuff”
Lots of truths here; defining needs vs wants is key. Congrats on a full year of cutting out those purchases. We’re working on one month of no extra spending. Baby steps!
One month without spending would not be easy either. I think we are so programmed to run out to get what we want. Instant gratification for the win 😀
I hope you will write about your month without spending, I always like to read about other people’s experiences. I bet you too will find out that you can make do with what you have more times than not.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
This is such a great post, thanks for sharing your experience. I don’t think I could go a year without shopping personally but I do try and not shop much and if I do, I tend to try and shop in charity stores as much as possible 💜✨
With love, Alisha Valerie x
You are very welcome, Alisha! It was an interesting experience, and it helped me to look long and hard at myself and my thought processes when my radar lit up “SALE! Get it! Save money!” . Luckily I used to do most of my shopping in thrift stores too, so it’s not like I was wasting TONS of money, but still… I found out that i really did not need more, even if I wanted it ;D
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Wow I’m not even sure I could go a month without shopping. This idea is so crazy to me but so interesting. Your willpower is amazing even if you weren’t “perfect” with this. Although a year just seems impossible, I would definitely consider doing this for a month and then stretching it to three months. It’s something to consider. Thank you! Great post!
Go for it, Abby! You might surprise yourself. A month sounds do-able. You could even write down the things you are NOT buying, so that at the end of the month you can see how much money you saved. I did that for a while when I was trying to save money and wanted to keep track of the times when I resisted temptation and how much I “earned”
Let me know how it goes!
THanks for stopping by and commenting!
I really love this! I’m currently struggling both with wanting to pay off debt and save money, and trying to declutter my home, so I actually think this is a brilliant idea. I don’t know that I’d have the ability to start this before Christmas but I think that afterwards, when I’m happy with all the new belongings I’ll probably accrue, I will take this challenge on. Experiences and travel are so much more important to me than lipstick and clothing. Thank you for the great idea!
Beth x Adventure & Anxiety
Yes, go for it, Beth! It would totally fit into your goals of paying off debt and decluttering. You can start it whenever you want, after Christmas makes sense. I bet it will surprise you how your mindset changes once you get started and every sale is an opportunity to say “i save even more money by NOT buying”
Let me know how it goes!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
No shopping for an entire year? I think I could do it, it would be so hard but if I could exchange clothes shopping for travel that would be more than worth it! Great inspiration.
Erica Raquel
https://www.grandfashlife.com
Go for it, Erica! I bet you will surprise yourself both by how do-able it is and how much money you save and you can travel to places you have dreamt off. Stop buying and make your dreams come true!
THanks for stopping by and commenting!
This is just what I needed to read as I sit here planning for 2019. What a great idea.. I may not succeed in doing this 100% but I think every small change will help.
What a wonderful idea! I am terrible for coming home with bags full of sale items. I justify my expanding wardrobe by highlighting the fact I bought them when they were on sale! I really need to try this. It looks like your savings were well spent! 🙂
Wow what in an inspirational journey! I applaud you for this!
Wow! I so need to do this. I’ve noticed lately I have a habit of treating myself to little things that end up adding up and that I totally have no need for! I’d imagine cutting out buying things for yourself is hard, but I too enjoy spoiling my family with presents this time of year, and I can’t even imagine not being able to do that. Maybe sometime in the future I will have enough willpower to do this. Go you, though!
Nice idea. 🙂 I think I could easily go a year without buying anything for myself, but I do tend to buy “things” for other people. They probably don’t need them either. I’m considering maybe it is time to start gifting things I have so I can give a gift, but not buy more. Does double duty!
This was a great post. I think it’s important to think about what we need vs. what we want. I try to gift experiences or consumables as gifts now, over stuff that will sit on a shelf or in the loft.
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Wow! I can understand completely why people would want to participate in this. However for me it’s so hard😫 hard but not impossible. I need to stop shopping and save my money, so you kind of gave me that motivation! Thank you🧡🧡
Go for it! You will be surprised about how much money you can save and how your mindset will slowly change. One extra tip I have is to write down what you do not buy and ordinarily would have bought. Like a small notebook, jot down : Did not buy “Dress, good sale price, $45” today or “Skipped eating out $20” . Then at the end of the week, add up how much money you did not spend and put some (or all) of it in your savings account or pay off debt. Good luck!
Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
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