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

Lost_My_Mind 21 points 2 years ago

Shit. I think I beat you without even knowing the game exists. It's called being broke.

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FIbynight 3 points 2 years ago

Ah been there

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Dumpdog 1 point a year ago

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viking 13 points 2 years ago

I'd put a question mark at hobby equipment, since hobbies help with destressing and contribute positively to mental health.

Same for books (assuming you consider reading relaxing). Unless you pirate ebooks of course to bypass Amazon purchases and the likes.

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themeatbridge 16 points 2 years ago

Don't forget your local library. I stopped ordering books online and started visiting the library, and not only am I reading for free, but I also find out about awesome programs my library has. They do discounted tickets for museums, book clubs, kids' activities, and all sorts of community events.

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spicytuna62 8 points 2 years ago

If you're an ebook type, get a library card and download Libby!

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nexas_XIII 1 point 2 years ago

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.

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themeatbridge 1 point 2 years ago

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.

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mke_geek 2 points 2 years ago

Start taking advantage of the libraries before President Musk shuts them all down.

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Echolynx 2 points 2 years ago

For me, there is also 'don't forget my own library'. I've got so many unread books on my shelves right now...

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viking 2 points 2 years ago

Unfortunately there is no library in my city.

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elephantium 10 points 2 years ago

books

<3 libraries

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viking 1 point 2 years ago

No such thing in my city :-(

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elephantium 1 point 2 years ago

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Err, read that.

The libraries in my area are wonderful. I can't fathom not having one available :(

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goofus 5 points 2 years ago

One of the spending problems I have is I get into hobbies and it becomes an obsessive gear collecting activity. For example, backpacking. You can go backpacking with very basic, cheap equipment, but eventually I seem to end up wanting the most expensive gear. So hobby purchases is something I want to stop. I want to learn to do hobbies without expensive gear.

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AA5B 3 points 2 years ago

Libraries. I get a lot out of free eBooks downloads from my library using a free library card, from the comfort of my home

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viking 2 points 2 years ago

Unfortunately there is no library in my city, and no e-library in my country.

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AA5B 1 point 2 years ago

That’s unfortunate. They’re a great resource

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goofus 3 points 2 years ago

There are libraries and a lot of audiobooks are free online.

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viking 2 points 2 years ago

No libraries where I'm at, unfortunately, and no e-libraries whatsoever (unless we talk about not exactly legal ones).

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whaleross 1 point 2 years ago

OP has already put their hobbies as a yes. There is no limit of how much gear is possible to shop with or without justification for home repairs, bicycling, hiking.

And idk about pirating in this context. It's still acquiring new stuff though without paying for it.

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letsgo2themall 8 points 2 years ago

I've been "no buy" for a couple of months now. Well, mostly. The goods unite us app is a handy tool to check out. If you have to spend money at least you'll know how those companies are spending it.

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goofus 2 points 2 years ago

Did you find anything particularly difficult?

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letsgo2themall 2 points 2 years ago

I was already pretty low buy so it wasn't too hard. I would like to retire one day so I try to save as much as possible already. The thing I miss are the little treats I would buy just because. Getting rid of amazon helped a lot with the instant gratification shopping.

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HootinNHollerin 8 points 2 years ago

There is an app called Buy Nothing for free trading p2p https://buynothingproject.org/

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Varyk 3 points 2 years ago

toilet paper can be replaced with a screw-in handheld bidet, super easy to install, 90% more hygienic than TP.

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str82L 2 points 2 years ago

"toilet paper can be replaced with a screw-in handheld... " I'm so glad your sentence ended the way it did.

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Flummoxed 3 points 2 years ago

Best of luck to you! It would be great to hear how it goes for you. I am also decreasing my spending similarly, and it was helpful to see your list.

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Onsotumenh 3 points 2 years ago

Blocking ads everywhere, avoiding social media and not browsing online market places helps a lot. If I don't know something exists I can't desire it.

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AA5B 2 points 2 years ago

It’s shocking how closely I match that list, yet how much I spend every month.

For the “NO” column

I use credit card for everything, for the cash back so will keep doing that. I’m pretty good with no impulse purchases and pay it off every month
I’ll continue to use Amazon for necessities

Really that only leaves streaming services, so I’ll need to define a list to better fit where my money doesn’t need to go

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Teppichbrand 3 points 2 years ago

I’ll continue to use Amazon for necessities

Please don't. I get most of my stuff second hand, it's fun and easy. Haven't bought anything from Amazon for years.

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AA5B 1 point 2 years ago

For example, the coffee I get is cheaper from Amazon. Replacement filters are cheaper and more available on Amazon. My last order was cleaner spray (like windex but not name brand). Can’t really do second hand although I’ve been tempting to try diluted vinegar or ammonia for general cleaning. Looking at my order history, my last five orders were consumables, and before that was a bunch of Christmas gifts

While I don’t like adding to the excessive wealth of Bezos, and use brand online stores when possible, Amazon is generally cheaper and more available. There’s only so far out of the way I’ll go.

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Teppichbrand 1 point 2 years ago

Well, what am I supposed to reply now? That there is no cheap coffee? That it's just you forcing other people to pay for the real costs, by exploiting their labor and further damaging our collapsing ecosystems? You already know this. We all know it since primary school, yet people will downvote me and argue themselves out of any personal responsibilities. Because they love to order cheap stuff.

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Echolynx 1 point 2 years ago

I am also doing a "buy nothing" challenge for at least the latter half of February. (Got a late start to my monthly resolutions... anyway.) So far it's going well, but I'm concerned about getting a gift for a friend's birthday coming up and some other things, like a book for a concert I'm going to in a few weeks (the book is by the band, and I'd like to get it signed).

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FIbynight 0 points 2 years ago

Good luck! We’re on my second month. The first month was a mess as I panic bought some supplies for our home repairs before the talks about tariffs started, but this month we’re doing pretty well. (Our reasons are similar to yours plus maybe boycotting a few companies we used to shop with.)

I’m doing cash envelop budgeting along with and so far we’re under budget and have only had 3 days unplanned spending this month and none of it is out of budget. Pretty easy to do the two together with the goal of saving, boosting giving, or debt-paydown.

Happy to be an accountability buddy

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