Hello! I haven't written in a while and I apologize! I have some very exciting news, I have yet to buy anything "new!" About two weeks ago my girlfriend and I went to the mall, I need to buy make-up, which is on my list of approved purchases. Anyways, the first thing we did was go straight to the store where I could buy the primer I use. After that we walked through the entire mall, stopping at a few stores but specifically looking for a store that sold CD's so Lauren could buy one that she wanted. We couldn't find it so we drove back home and hit the mall right down the street from us and walked through the entire mall. We still didn't find the CD, so we went over to Best Buy across the street and they didn't have it either. But I have to say that walking through both malls and Best Buy is extremely tempting. I had this urge to just spend money, even though there wasn't anything I needed, or really even wanted. The atmosphere of the mall was all it took to make me want to find something to buy! It's good to know that I can go in and get what I need and get out.
My sister came to Rochester for the weekend to go skiing. I paid for our lift tickets which is money spent however, I decided that money spent on something like this is ok. I never get to see my little sister because she lives 4 hours away and we had an awesome weekend together! I don't think there is anything wrong with spending money (that you have) on a day skiing or a day at the museum. Those are activities and skiing especially is a workout so its a good thing! I may even get a seasons pass for next year, I'm still thinking about it though.
On the way to meet my parents in Rome, NY to drop my sister off, my tire blew out on the thruway while I was going about 68 mph. My truck went into the median and the front driver side was damaged and thankfully my sister and I were both just fine. I will end up having to spend a $500 deductible to have it fixed. I was always told to make sure you save money in case of something like this and I am very glad that I listened to that advice. Even if its $1000 or a couple thousand dollars, the more you have saved the less of an impact something unexpected will have on your finances. It's very unfortunate that this happened, but fortunately I am able to absorb the cost and move on. If I was living paycheck to paycheck like I was in college this would have been a major setback. Well, this leads me into my other topic, my 401K.
Yes, I have a 401K and I've had one for about 3 years now. I hear a lot of people saying, "I'll starting contributing money to that when I'm old." I hope they do, but most of them probably won't. At first I was worried about contributing 12% to mine, however I don't even notice anymore. I mean if you don't see the money, how can you miss it? The same goes for my car loan, every week I have a little taken out (about $41) and its put into a checking account with the bank I have my auto loan through. Every month they automatically deduct my payment through my checking account. By doing this I save 0.25% on my loan and I don't have to worry about paying on time. And like I mentioned before, I don't even see that money in my regular checking account so I never miss it. It really does work great and I'm thinking of doing something like this for my student loans. I just haven't figured it out yet.
I only have 5 days left of my 1 month of nothing new! I haven't decided yet how I will be continuing this. I know that I will not go out and start buying little things like I did before. However, there is something that I do want to buy. There is a series of trail races that began at the end of April. One Wednesday a month for 5 months there is a 4 to 6 mile trail race in one of the parks around Rochester. I have a pair of running sneakers that I wear to the gym and have been wearing on the road, but last Thursday while I was doing hills it was raining and they got really muddy. I want to buy a pair of trail running sneakers. The sole treas are designed to move mud/water out from the center of your foot, much like a tire tread does in the snow and rain. The sole of these sneakers are meant for running off road and they would provide the proper support for running on rought terrain (unbalanced surfaces). Other than these trail sneakers, there isn't anything else I am interested in buying.
I've realized that it doesn't take long to break an old habit. I constantly bought little things that I didn't really need to spend money on. On the same note I also bought clothes that I didn't always need but wanted because it was something new. I didn't think about my purchases and it led me into a habit of reckless spending. After a few short weeks of not buying anything new, I have this sense of awareness, everything I pick up, including food items, I think, "Do I really need this?" Even though I said all food was ok to buy, I have cut out some snacks that are not of any nutritional value what so ever and therefore, I do not need to be eating that. I am going to shop around for my trail sneaks and see if I can get a good deal on a pair. I would even argue that the purchase is necessary. Running sneakers should be replaced every 6 months or 400 to 500 miles, so I've heard and read. Running in shoes that do not offer the correct support can lead to serious injuries over time and I've had hip, ankles and achilles tendon problems, which makes it even more important that I have good shoes to run in. Maybe I'm just trying to rationalize my purchase but, it make sense to me!
I want to try something else next month ... any ideas? Maybe I'll just stick to "Wanting what I need!"
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
First Shopping Trip
Hello! First I want to talk about my visit to the market, yesterday I said that I was going to check out the Highland Park Winter Market and I did. There was about 12 vendors who were selling a variety of items from soaps and candles, greens, dairy products and bake goods. I felt a little uncomfortable when I first walked in because I was very dressed up for my meeting that never took place yesterday afternoon and I felt out of place but that passed quickly. As soon as I entered a very nice lady approached me to talk about CSA's - Community Supported Agriculture, she gave me a card that had information on the CSA Fair that will be taking place on March 26th here in Rochester. She explained a little bit about a CSA and I knew kind of what the idea was and I will be attending the fair on March 26 to see if it's something I would be interested in. I looked on NOFA-NY's website https://www.nofany.org/csafair and I saw that they are holding a fair in Troy, NY and Syracuse, NY on the 12th and 19th of March respectively.
I walked around the market and bought 4 little "cukes" for $2 and two bags of greens for $5. I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical of the greens they had the roots attached and all but last night I made a salad out of them and the cucumbers and it was delicious! See picture below!
After my visit to the winter market I had to go to Wegman's and shop for the rest of this week and all of next week. This was my first shopping trip since I decided not to buy anything new so I was nervous because I love all of the little decoration items that Wegman's sells and I always seem to find something to buy. Also, I have decided not to purchase any beer or wine during this month of buying nothing new and I always pick up beer on my trip so my first thought was, "Do not go down the beer aisle." Well, of course I did not realize when I made this pledge that I would not be buying any beer during the month that has the only holiday celebrated by massive amounts of alcohol consumption, St. Patty's Day! So, as I walk into Wegman's the first thing I see is the huge, and I mean large display of alcoholic beverages and St. Patty's Day decorations, my two weaknesses in one place! Typical right? Good news is I was able to bypass the display and not look at anything.
I always buy my turkey and produce first and then head through the rest of the store. While buying my produce I decided to see where everything was from and most of it all comes from Mexico. My tomatoes, asparagus, and bananas are all from Mexico! That's so far and I had no idea, I suspected Florida so it was a big surprise to find that out. My other concern with produce is every thing is put into little plastic bags and you weigh it and then stick a label on the outside of the bag. I do not put the bananas in a bag so I thought why am I putting everything else in a bag? One obvious reason is that sometimes I buy items like apples or peppers that are not connected like bananas and it's easier to put into a bag. My solution is this, to reuse those bags! Yesterday I had put my tomatoes in a bag, even though they are connected by a vine, sometimes they fall off, anyways instead of using the sticky label to hold the end of the bag closed I put a loose knot in it and put the label in a spot that will allow me to open the bag without ripping it and save it for my next trip! I will put the new label over the old label and I believe I'll be able to get a lot of use out of it. As far my asparagus I put the label right on the bundle instead of using a bag.
I know that my great friend, Gil, has brought this to my attention before, but that was a few years ago and I hadn't thought about it sense then. But those little bags can in fact be recycled in a plastic bag receptacle and every week I always just throw them away without even realizing it! Another thing I should mention while we're on the topic of bags is that I have 4 reusable Wegman's shopping bags that I bring with me every Sunday when I go shopping. However, yesterday was a bit of a change because I had gone after work and even though I remembered to bring the shopping list I forgot to bring my bags! I was so sad when I realized this but it happens, so I did have to get plastic bags at the register but it's ok because Lauren and I save our plastic bags and we do have various uses for them. I think I will need to take some of them and bring them to Wegman's to recycle because we have our whole dishwasher packed with them!
Side note - We don't use our dishwasher, there's only two of us and we never have enough dishes for a full load and it would be a waste to run the dishwasher when it's only half or a quarter full. So we use it to store our plastic bags. Anyways, my trip to Wegman's was very successful I bought exactly what I had on my shopping list for the meals I've planned over the next week. Nothing extra was purchased which is great!
Below I have a picture of what I made for dinner last night - it's a complete vegetarian dish and it's delicious!
I walked around the market and bought 4 little "cukes" for $2 and two bags of greens for $5. I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical of the greens they had the roots attached and all but last night I made a salad out of them and the cucumbers and it was delicious! See picture below!
After my visit to the winter market I had to go to Wegman's and shop for the rest of this week and all of next week. This was my first shopping trip since I decided not to buy anything new so I was nervous because I love all of the little decoration items that Wegman's sells and I always seem to find something to buy. Also, I have decided not to purchase any beer or wine during this month of buying nothing new and I always pick up beer on my trip so my first thought was, "Do not go down the beer aisle." Well, of course I did not realize when I made this pledge that I would not be buying any beer during the month that has the only holiday celebrated by massive amounts of alcohol consumption, St. Patty's Day! So, as I walk into Wegman's the first thing I see is the huge, and I mean large display of alcoholic beverages and St. Patty's Day decorations, my two weaknesses in one place! Typical right? Good news is I was able to bypass the display and not look at anything.
I always buy my turkey and produce first and then head through the rest of the store. While buying my produce I decided to see where everything was from and most of it all comes from Mexico. My tomatoes, asparagus, and bananas are all from Mexico! That's so far and I had no idea, I suspected Florida so it was a big surprise to find that out. My other concern with produce is every thing is put into little plastic bags and you weigh it and then stick a label on the outside of the bag. I do not put the bananas in a bag so I thought why am I putting everything else in a bag? One obvious reason is that sometimes I buy items like apples or peppers that are not connected like bananas and it's easier to put into a bag. My solution is this, to reuse those bags! Yesterday I had put my tomatoes in a bag, even though they are connected by a vine, sometimes they fall off, anyways instead of using the sticky label to hold the end of the bag closed I put a loose knot in it and put the label in a spot that will allow me to open the bag without ripping it and save it for my next trip! I will put the new label over the old label and I believe I'll be able to get a lot of use out of it. As far my asparagus I put the label right on the bundle instead of using a bag.
I know that my great friend, Gil, has brought this to my attention before, but that was a few years ago and I hadn't thought about it sense then. But those little bags can in fact be recycled in a plastic bag receptacle and every week I always just throw them away without even realizing it! Another thing I should mention while we're on the topic of bags is that I have 4 reusable Wegman's shopping bags that I bring with me every Sunday when I go shopping. However, yesterday was a bit of a change because I had gone after work and even though I remembered to bring the shopping list I forgot to bring my bags! I was so sad when I realized this but it happens, so I did have to get plastic bags at the register but it's ok because Lauren and I save our plastic bags and we do have various uses for them. I think I will need to take some of them and bring them to Wegman's to recycle because we have our whole dishwasher packed with them!
Side note - We don't use our dishwasher, there's only two of us and we never have enough dishes for a full load and it would be a waste to run the dishwasher when it's only half or a quarter full. So we use it to store our plastic bags. Anyways, my trip to Wegman's was very successful I bought exactly what I had on my shopping list for the meals I've planned over the next week. Nothing extra was purchased which is great!
Below I have a picture of what I made for dinner last night - it's a complete vegetarian dish and it's delicious!
Above is a picture of my salad made with greens and cukes from the Winter Market and tomatoes I got from Wegmans with crumbled goat cheese! The dish is Rigatoni with Bell Peppers and Goat Cheese. It's very easy to make and I've included the recipe below!
Rigatoni with Bell Peppers and Goat Cheese
2tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Butter
8 oz rigatoni pasta (I use wheat)
2 bell peppers - red and yellow, chopped in squares
3 Garlic Cloves, thinkly sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 oz Goat cheese
5 black olives sliced
basil leaves
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet, add onions and cook until soft. Add garlic and bell peppers and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package, drain and place in large bowl. Crumble goat cheese over the pasta and toss. Pour the onion and peppers over the pasta and mix. Top with black olives and basil leaves. Enjoy!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Back to the Basics
Hello All! I posted my blog on facebook yesterday and some of my friends responded saying that they had tried this or done this before and that's great to hear! I'm really interested in how other people approach this concept and how they're experience is or was, we can all learn from eachother! One of my friends said that he did this while living off of college loans and he said that it's "something I want to get back to because I just enjoyed the simplicity. You get back to the basics of just living, and that's a great feeling." He hit it right on the mark because that is exactly what my goal is!
In the past I have definitely been materialistic, a person concerned with material things. But I wouldn't say I was more concerned with material things than spiritual, intellectual or cultural values but I certainly enjoyed buying things I didn't need. When I think of what I need, I essentially have everything I need and really I have exactly what I've wanted in life. I have a great family and wonderful friends, I'm in love with an amazing woman, I have a roof over my head, I have an excellent job and I have money to pay for heat and buy food and I am very fortunate for all of that. There are people who don't have the choice to not buy anything new. There are people who do not have a place to sleep at night and don't have enough money to buy food for themselves, they don't have options like I do and I am very grateful for everything I have in my life.
Growing up my parents provided me with everything I needed and more to live a very comfortable life. My parents also did an awesome job at teaching me to appreciate what I had. I worked and earned money for a lot of things that I wanted and I wasn't just given them. I'll never forget that I really, really wanted a trampoline and my parents said I could have one and I was so excited, but I had to pay for it. I think I was in maybe 6th or 7th grade and I was like what?! The deal was that I would help my mom with her daycare out of our home for the entire summer and she would pay me I think it was like $50 a week. After the first week I went and put the trampoline on lay-away and each week I would go and put more money and finally I got to bring it home and it was fucking awesome! I paid for it by myself and I was so proud and thinking back I'm really happy that my parents did that for me because I learned that everything I had took hard work on my parents part to pay for.
At the same time, during college I wanted to buy new clothes and jewelry and shoes and coats and bags and I think I did that because I wanted to be able to show I could make it on my own but I was misguided. I love Sugarland's Happy Ending song:
We all know the stories
We all know the fairy tales
We all get the glory of making it for ourselves
...
We've come here with nothing
And take it with us the day we leave
The first and last breath don't matter
It's all the ones that are in-between
It's the reason for living
It's the reason the caged bird sings
Anyone who goes out and makes a life of their own has something to be proud of. But making it on your own isn't about buying the most expensive car or largest tv or brand name clothing, it's about living! I trust that I am exactly where I'm suppose to be at this point in time and I'm happy and its time to start doing things that will make a difference!
Enough rambling, another friend of mine suggested that I try equal parts water and vinegar as an all-purpose cleaner, which I am going to try and I'll report back with my results! As far as the farmer's market goes, I was talking to one of my best friends and he told me that he has gone there in the winter and sadly there isn't a lot to choose from. I have heard of this place in Rochester called Small World Bakery and they use fresh, organic, local ingrediants and I really want to go check that place out. While on their site I found Highland Park Winter Farmer's Market and it's open every Wednesday at 4pm, I think I'm going to check it out today!
I wanted to say that I have spent money for the first time since Sunday on lunch this afternoon. My plans changed, I was suppose to have a meeting in Buffalo and planned on buying lunch out there because I do not have anything to pack and bring that wouldn't need to be heated up. Long story short, my plans changed and I ended up taking Lauren out to lunch at Panera Bread. We ate inside so everything was served on plates and bowls that they'll wash and I didn't have to throw away. However, I realized that the little water cups they provided can be recycled but there is not a recycling bin for those cups! Very frustrating and after I left I thought I should have brought the cups with me and recycled them myself! Other than that I'm happy that I was able to eat and not have to throw away a lot. I did read that one lady brings her own cloth napkin with her when she goes places so that she does not use paper ones. I think that is an excellent idea! The second summer I spent in Cincinnati, OH the company paid for and completely furnished my apartment, I was also given a roll paper towels, a roll of toilet paper and a thing of laundry and dish detergent as well as being provided with very nice cloth napkins. I used those napkins the entire summer and I realized that I never purchased paper towels, in fact I still had paper towels left on the roll that I was given at the beginning of summer! 11 weeks and I only used a roll of paper towels, I think that's awesome and it's something that I was completely unaware of until I packed everything and was moving out. I want to invest in some cloth napkins but they would be a new purchase ... any thoughts?! Perhaps I'll buy used??
In the past I have definitely been materialistic, a person concerned with material things. But I wouldn't say I was more concerned with material things than spiritual, intellectual or cultural values but I certainly enjoyed buying things I didn't need. When I think of what I need, I essentially have everything I need and really I have exactly what I've wanted in life. I have a great family and wonderful friends, I'm in love with an amazing woman, I have a roof over my head, I have an excellent job and I have money to pay for heat and buy food and I am very fortunate for all of that. There are people who don't have the choice to not buy anything new. There are people who do not have a place to sleep at night and don't have enough money to buy food for themselves, they don't have options like I do and I am very grateful for everything I have in my life.
Growing up my parents provided me with everything I needed and more to live a very comfortable life. My parents also did an awesome job at teaching me to appreciate what I had. I worked and earned money for a lot of things that I wanted and I wasn't just given them. I'll never forget that I really, really wanted a trampoline and my parents said I could have one and I was so excited, but I had to pay for it. I think I was in maybe 6th or 7th grade and I was like what?! The deal was that I would help my mom with her daycare out of our home for the entire summer and she would pay me I think it was like $50 a week. After the first week I went and put the trampoline on lay-away and each week I would go and put more money and finally I got to bring it home and it was fucking awesome! I paid for it by myself and I was so proud and thinking back I'm really happy that my parents did that for me because I learned that everything I had took hard work on my parents part to pay for.
At the same time, during college I wanted to buy new clothes and jewelry and shoes and coats and bags and I think I did that because I wanted to be able to show I could make it on my own but I was misguided. I love Sugarland's Happy Ending song:
We all know the stories
We all know the fairy tales
We all get the glory of making it for ourselves
...
We've come here with nothing
And take it with us the day we leave
The first and last breath don't matter
It's all the ones that are in-between
It's the reason for living
It's the reason the caged bird sings
Anyone who goes out and makes a life of their own has something to be proud of. But making it on your own isn't about buying the most expensive car or largest tv or brand name clothing, it's about living! I trust that I am exactly where I'm suppose to be at this point in time and I'm happy and its time to start doing things that will make a difference!
Enough rambling, another friend of mine suggested that I try equal parts water and vinegar as an all-purpose cleaner, which I am going to try and I'll report back with my results! As far as the farmer's market goes, I was talking to one of my best friends and he told me that he has gone there in the winter and sadly there isn't a lot to choose from. I have heard of this place in Rochester called Small World Bakery and they use fresh, organic, local ingrediants and I really want to go check that place out. While on their site I found Highland Park Winter Farmer's Market and it's open every Wednesday at 4pm, I think I'm going to check it out today!
I wanted to say that I have spent money for the first time since Sunday on lunch this afternoon. My plans changed, I was suppose to have a meeting in Buffalo and planned on buying lunch out there because I do not have anything to pack and bring that wouldn't need to be heated up. Long story short, my plans changed and I ended up taking Lauren out to lunch at Panera Bread. We ate inside so everything was served on plates and bowls that they'll wash and I didn't have to throw away. However, I realized that the little water cups they provided can be recycled but there is not a recycling bin for those cups! Very frustrating and after I left I thought I should have brought the cups with me and recycled them myself! Other than that I'm happy that I was able to eat and not have to throw away a lot. I did read that one lady brings her own cloth napkin with her when she goes places so that she does not use paper ones. I think that is an excellent idea! The second summer I spent in Cincinnati, OH the company paid for and completely furnished my apartment, I was also given a roll paper towels, a roll of toilet paper and a thing of laundry and dish detergent as well as being provided with very nice cloth napkins. I used those napkins the entire summer and I realized that I never purchased paper towels, in fact I still had paper towels left on the roll that I was given at the beginning of summer! 11 weeks and I only used a roll of paper towels, I think that's awesome and it's something that I was completely unaware of until I packed everything and was moving out. I want to invest in some cloth napkins but they would be a new purchase ... any thoughts?! Perhaps I'll buy used??
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Getting Started!
I have posted this picture of Niagara Falls that I took when some friends and I stopped during a road trip. Being at the falls is very peaceful and yet there is so much energy in the water itself, it's incredible and I love going there! Anyways, I thought of this picture yesterday when I was running at the gym because here I was thinking that I had all of this energy and nothing to focus it on, but I was wrong! This isn't just about not buying anything new, its about wanting to have a positive impact on the environment around me and there is plenty that I can focus my energy on! For one thing, buying local is something I have always been interested in and really want to get into.
I graduated from RIT with a degree in Environmental Management and Technology. While I was there I took a number of classes that were focused on sustainability and one was environmental ethics, such an awesome class! In that class we discussed everything from buying locally to recycling more and all of the above. During the summer months my girlfriend and I go to the Public Market every Saturday morning and I must say that Rochester has an excellent market! I've seen quite a few and Rochester has the best that I've seen so far! It's such a great atmosphere and I love being there! I was thinking that I really want to try to buy all of my food for the week at the market and see how it goes. The only problem is that I have to wait till the warmer months. The market is open year round but I've never been during the winter months so I really have no idea what they have right now. I need to go check it out!
Along with buying food locally, I want to look into other items that I would be able to purchase that would made in Rochester, or New York, or at most the Northeast. I'll be looking on the internet and talking with people, I'm not really sure what I'll find. I'm really hoping that I would be able to find cleaners and necessary items that I will be buying that were made somewhere near where I live. I may resort to making my own cleaners, we'll see!
I'll keep this updated with what I find out, this is all about trying to get my wants aligned with my needs and I want to buy what I need locally! I'm excited to really get going into this new lifestyle and see where it takes me!
Monday, February 21, 2011
What's Up.
Welcome to my blog! I decided to start this so that I would be able to document my experience of buying nothing new. Some of you may have heard of this before and others may have no idea what I am talking about. Yesterday, I decided that for 1 month I will only buy what I need and to write about my experience.
There is a lot of information on the internet regarding this commitment to buying nothing new. About a year ago I read of a group in San Fransico who call themselves The Compact, http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/ who committed to buying nothing but food and items necessary for health and safety for 1 year. Around the same time I read about a woman who was in debt from student loans and she too made the commitment to buy nothing new for 1 year. Both parties took on the same commitment but for very different reasons. The group wanted to make a difference in the world around them, clear clutter and waste from their homes and to live a better life, whereas the woman was trying to financially secure herself by avoiding the purchase of things she wanted and only focus on what she needed.
I thought that this was a great thing to try and I had decided to begin that day but before I knew it I was at the mall buying things and shopping and had totally forgot about wanting to buy nothing new. Then at the beginning of February I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to listen to Kristin Skarie, the Founder and President of Teamworks, speak about her experience in buying "mostly nothing new." (I'm following her blog, mostlynothingnew.blogspot.com you ca find it on the right panel of this page!) She is a very inspirational speaker and truly amazed me with her perspective on life. She reminded me very much of my best friend from college who has such a great personality, very outgoing, excellent communicator and has a way of really making you see where she comes from and what she's about. After she spoke I went up and thanked her and told her that I thought she was very motivational. I told her of my attempt at it and that it didn't go as planned and she responded by saying that just embracing the concept and giving it a go is an accomplishment in itself and even though it may have only lasted a week that is still something to celebrate. She is absolutely right and I began to think about how I felt like I tried and I failed and that was that. But there is so much more, its not about deciding to buy nothing new for a month or a year or a week its about trying to better your life, the community you live in and world around us. I don't want to just not buy anything new I want to make a life style change and stop buying things on a whim that I end up throwing away in 6 months because it's just taking up space.
I've been thinking about this since I heard Kristin speak and I believe that I need to individualize my plan to make this attempt at Buying Nothing New successful. Over the weekend my girlfriend and I took a trip to Turning Stone Casino and Resort. We stayed in a beautiful room for the night, we gambled all night and the next morning, we ordered room service and after all that we stopped at the outlets on the way back so I could return a Christmas present. After all of that money we spent we still decided to go to the Nike Outlet and buy clothing. We got three shirts at a great price and my girlfriend bought mine for me because she's great but it really got me thinking. I had just spent a lot of money and here I was shopping some more and it wasn't because I needed a new shirt, but because I wanted one.
Once I got home and unpacked I thought about all of my receipts that I keep. I thought about about what I'm really doing with these receipts and I realized I'm not doing much with them. See, each month I add up what was spent on groceries and necessary househould items (i.e. cleaners, toliety paper, etc.) and I total up how much I spent on eating out and buying things that I wanted but did not need. Then I say ok, I am going to spend less next month. And then next month I total everything and I compare but through out the month I'm not making any changes or tracking the money I spend, I just hope that its less than last months and that is a terrible strategy!
So I decided I would try not buying anything new for 1 month. I sat down and I wrote two lists, one for things I can purchase and one for things that I cannot not buy. Things that I am allowing my self to spend money on are things necessary for survival, such as food, heat, water, medicine, toiletries, house cleaners along with things that provide safety, such as I need things for my car, like windshield washer fluid, I drive a lot for work and with the snow/salt/slush it gets hard to see and that compromises my safety as well as others driving around me! Things I cannot spend money on include clothing, accessories, house items, beer and wine, eating out for dinner basically anything that I do not need to live. Now, there are exceptions that I have written down so far that I can do and spend money on because either they are 1. for business or 2. because it's a social experience with friends or family. For example, going out to dinner with business associates is ok and so is taking my sister skiing and treating her to dinner while she is with me in Rochester for the weekend. Also, eating out for lunch is acceptable because I do travel for work and sometimes its hard to bring a lunch. One more thing is using gift cards that I have, one is for the Olive Garden so that will be ok to go out to dinner with, however I do have gift cards to Barnes and Nobles, Wal-Mart and Target and I haven't decided how to go about this. Should I permit myself to buy "new" things with my Wal-Mart and Target cards or only things like house cleaners or items like toothpaste, shampoo and etc. that can be found at either store or option 3, I wait till the month is over and go on a spree. I'm just kidding about option 3. I'm torn because I am doing this for 2 reason, 1. is I really do want to make a life style change in the way I purchase things and acquire material items that eventually get thrown out and add to our landfills and affect the environment and all of that and 2. because I want to be more responsible with my money.
After I wrote my lists, I told my girlfriend about it and she said that she doesn't think it will be a problem for me because I rarely purchase things for myself, however I buy more little things than I had realized. On a trip to Wegman's I see cute little decorations that I like or in Target I see a nice daily planner that I want or a new shirt that looks cute and this is a problem because I buy these things in the moment and I don't think about the lack of closet space I have or the fact that I already have enough Christmas decorations. And as a matter of fact, shortly after I wrote my list I was helping my girlfriend change the sheets on our bed and I said that we should go and buy new pillows for our bed. I personally think I need a new pillow for support and comfort while sleeping, but I haven't decided if that's going to be a purchase or not. For once I am actually thinking a purchase through instead of hoping in my car and going to buy whatever it is I want.
I do expect that it will be harder when I'm actually in the store and I have a desire to buy something. But I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Easy solution, stay out of stores and off roads that have stores : ), which is actually nearly impossible when you live down the road from the mall and in the center of a very large shopping district. Not to mention all of the advertisements you see on TV and hear about on the radio and drive pass on billboards, its difficult to avoid things that will impact your desire to purchase.
Well, that is what's up with this blog. From here on out I will be posting regularly on my experience and I hope to motivate others to join in and give this a try!
There is a lot of information on the internet regarding this commitment to buying nothing new. About a year ago I read of a group in San Fransico who call themselves The Compact, http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/ who committed to buying nothing but food and items necessary for health and safety for 1 year. Around the same time I read about a woman who was in debt from student loans and she too made the commitment to buy nothing new for 1 year. Both parties took on the same commitment but for very different reasons. The group wanted to make a difference in the world around them, clear clutter and waste from their homes and to live a better life, whereas the woman was trying to financially secure herself by avoiding the purchase of things she wanted and only focus on what she needed.
I thought that this was a great thing to try and I had decided to begin that day but before I knew it I was at the mall buying things and shopping and had totally forgot about wanting to buy nothing new. Then at the beginning of February I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to listen to Kristin Skarie, the Founder and President of Teamworks, speak about her experience in buying "mostly nothing new." (I'm following her blog, mostlynothingnew.blogspot.com you ca find it on the right panel of this page!) She is a very inspirational speaker and truly amazed me with her perspective on life. She reminded me very much of my best friend from college who has such a great personality, very outgoing, excellent communicator and has a way of really making you see where she comes from and what she's about. After she spoke I went up and thanked her and told her that I thought she was very motivational. I told her of my attempt at it and that it didn't go as planned and she responded by saying that just embracing the concept and giving it a go is an accomplishment in itself and even though it may have only lasted a week that is still something to celebrate. She is absolutely right and I began to think about how I felt like I tried and I failed and that was that. But there is so much more, its not about deciding to buy nothing new for a month or a year or a week its about trying to better your life, the community you live in and world around us. I don't want to just not buy anything new I want to make a life style change and stop buying things on a whim that I end up throwing away in 6 months because it's just taking up space.
I've been thinking about this since I heard Kristin speak and I believe that I need to individualize my plan to make this attempt at Buying Nothing New successful. Over the weekend my girlfriend and I took a trip to Turning Stone Casino and Resort. We stayed in a beautiful room for the night, we gambled all night and the next morning, we ordered room service and after all that we stopped at the outlets on the way back so I could return a Christmas present. After all of that money we spent we still decided to go to the Nike Outlet and buy clothing. We got three shirts at a great price and my girlfriend bought mine for me because she's great but it really got me thinking. I had just spent a lot of money and here I was shopping some more and it wasn't because I needed a new shirt, but because I wanted one.
Once I got home and unpacked I thought about all of my receipts that I keep. I thought about about what I'm really doing with these receipts and I realized I'm not doing much with them. See, each month I add up what was spent on groceries and necessary househould items (i.e. cleaners, toliety paper, etc.) and I total up how much I spent on eating out and buying things that I wanted but did not need. Then I say ok, I am going to spend less next month. And then next month I total everything and I compare but through out the month I'm not making any changes or tracking the money I spend, I just hope that its less than last months and that is a terrible strategy!
So I decided I would try not buying anything new for 1 month. I sat down and I wrote two lists, one for things I can purchase and one for things that I cannot not buy. Things that I am allowing my self to spend money on are things necessary for survival, such as food, heat, water, medicine, toiletries, house cleaners along with things that provide safety, such as I need things for my car, like windshield washer fluid, I drive a lot for work and with the snow/salt/slush it gets hard to see and that compromises my safety as well as others driving around me! Things I cannot spend money on include clothing, accessories, house items, beer and wine, eating out for dinner basically anything that I do not need to live. Now, there are exceptions that I have written down so far that I can do and spend money on because either they are 1. for business or 2. because it's a social experience with friends or family. For example, going out to dinner with business associates is ok and so is taking my sister skiing and treating her to dinner while she is with me in Rochester for the weekend. Also, eating out for lunch is acceptable because I do travel for work and sometimes its hard to bring a lunch. One more thing is using gift cards that I have, one is for the Olive Garden so that will be ok to go out to dinner with, however I do have gift cards to Barnes and Nobles, Wal-Mart and Target and I haven't decided how to go about this. Should I permit myself to buy "new" things with my Wal-Mart and Target cards or only things like house cleaners or items like toothpaste, shampoo and etc. that can be found at either store or option 3, I wait till the month is over and go on a spree. I'm just kidding about option 3. I'm torn because I am doing this for 2 reason, 1. is I really do want to make a life style change in the way I purchase things and acquire material items that eventually get thrown out and add to our landfills and affect the environment and all of that and 2. because I want to be more responsible with my money.
After I wrote my lists, I told my girlfriend about it and she said that she doesn't think it will be a problem for me because I rarely purchase things for myself, however I buy more little things than I had realized. On a trip to Wegman's I see cute little decorations that I like or in Target I see a nice daily planner that I want or a new shirt that looks cute and this is a problem because I buy these things in the moment and I don't think about the lack of closet space I have or the fact that I already have enough Christmas decorations. And as a matter of fact, shortly after I wrote my list I was helping my girlfriend change the sheets on our bed and I said that we should go and buy new pillows for our bed. I personally think I need a new pillow for support and comfort while sleeping, but I haven't decided if that's going to be a purchase or not. For once I am actually thinking a purchase through instead of hoping in my car and going to buy whatever it is I want.
I do expect that it will be harder when I'm actually in the store and I have a desire to buy something. But I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Easy solution, stay out of stores and off roads that have stores : ), which is actually nearly impossible when you live down the road from the mall and in the center of a very large shopping district. Not to mention all of the advertisements you see on TV and hear about on the radio and drive pass on billboards, its difficult to avoid things that will impact your desire to purchase.
Well, that is what's up with this blog. From here on out I will be posting regularly on my experience and I hope to motivate others to join in and give this a try!
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