Buy Nothing for Six Months

flyingmamma

fab challenge . my sister uses dye from the pound shop.... she has very long hair and it looks great you wud never guess! i have been trying to cut back non essential spending for 6 months ,fed up wasting .my problem is presents for my kids friends birthday parties are constant....2 a month. have been stocking up sale items and have set a £7 budget per party.i am desperate to get some savings for the family. good luck.....u have got me thinking!

thriftwizard

I did a year as a member of the European Compact: "The Compact is a social and environmental movement whose members promise not to buy anything new for a year. It was started in San Francisco.[1] The movement began as a challenge among 10 friends in 2006.[2]
Goals of the Compact:
to go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socio-economic impacts of U.S. consumer culture, to resist global corporatism, and to support local businesses, farms, etc.;
to reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er);
to simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)
Members of the Compact are only allowed to buy underwear, food, and health and safety items such as brake fluid and toilet paper. During their one year vow the Compact members must shop only at second hand stores. They can also barter or simply share with each other for goods they want. One's trash is another's treasure. Compacters use Freecycle.org or freegle http://www.ilovefreegle.org/ where they post what they want and what they are giving away so that they can avoid buying new and still get the goods they want. Craigslist.org is another source of used goods.
Members of the Compact frown upon material consumerism. However, they are allowed to use services such as movies, theaters, museums, massages, haircuts, and music downloads. There is a difference between wanting and needing and Compact Members know the difference. There are currently thousands of members and about 100 new members join every day. In San Francisco local Compacters also enjoy the Really Really Free Market (RRFM). RRFM gathers in Dolores Park to give away material goods they no longer want and what they want or to share skills and talents. Compacters prefer to shop at local food markets rather than supermarkets because they wish to support the local community." from Wikipedia.

I wasn't altogether successful; our cooker broke down about 6 months in, and I went through two Freecycled replacements before admitting defeat & buying (horrors!) a new one. A big family like us does need a specific kind of cooker and a elderly 50cm one just didn't cut it; I was wasting a lot of electricity & there was nothing suitable available secondhand locally. But otherwise it was remarkably do-able, even in some ways enjoyable. Good luck!

Aril

This lady is another compacter- I like her approach because it's quite down to earth and not too rigid
http://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/

I have operated on a compact type basis unofficially for many years [more so as each year passes] for a multitude of reasons. There are times though when I do buy new- just not that often. The other side of it has been to try and eliminate food waste [much better but still a work in progress] and look to borrow/reuse/re/upcycle where appropriate. Even my 15yo son is happy to wear second hand stuff so long as I've chosen good quality and to the style he likes. We have an agreement that if he doesn't like it he doesn't have to wear it and yes, I do buy him new aswell [in the sales hopefully!]- he is a teenager after all!

Good luck with the challenge- even if you do slip don't beat yourself up- if after the six months is up you've made progress then you've succeeded:D

Arilx

norabatty_2

ChihiroSen wrote: »

Hello Everyone:)

I am thinking on embarking on Buy Nothing for six months challenge (except essentials like food, bills and toiletries.)

I am really quite excited about trying to live outside consumer culture for awhile. Anyone fancy joining me?

Hi ChihiroSen,

Thanks so much for this post. When I first read it during the week, I thought the idea was next to impossible. But it kept going round and round in my head. Complements of another poster, I went on to the "AndThenWeSaved.com" website which is such an inspiration.

I don't have any debts, but I am a mother of one who is using redundancy money to take me through a 4 year degree (fully self-financed as I already have a degree). Let's just say that after one year, I have used almost a quarter of the redundancy money and the next 3 years will most probably be considerably more expensive if we have another baby. DH works full time and despite being well paid, we are still eating into the redundancy money on a monthly basis to survive.

So yes, I would love to join you! possibly won't be as strict as you are going to be, as we plan on having a short holiday before trying for another baby, but apart from holidays, I am willing to start this right now! Things I am ruling out are clothes, shoes, make-up, toys/clothes for my little girl, all visits to hairdressers and beauticians, all meals out that are not funded with Mr T vouchers, cinema, books, dvds, cds, large household purchases, concert tickets, home improvements and gardening spends. All gifts for nieces/nephews to come from Mr T clubcard vouchers. I will also give myself a £50 monthly allowance to spend as I wish, although I hope to save most of this for my holidays.

Actually haven't spent any money since reading your post, except to spend £17 on groceries to keep us going until early next week! I have also joined the local library to keep my little girl with a constant supply of books which she loves!

Wish me luck! :eek:

hermum

The 99p store & poundland both do hair dye, so unless there's a specific one you use, you should be able to keep it coloured without guilt.

EstherH

What are these hairdyes like please? I am now over fifty with hair that is a lot coarser than it used to be. Quite a bit of grey to cover too. I don't want wild bright colours, just something that looks natural. Esther x

hermum

EstherH wrote: »

What are these hairdyes like please? I am now over fifty with hair that is a lot coarser than it used to be. Quite a bit of grey to cover too. I don't want wild bright colours, just something that looks natural. Esther x

I haven't used them, my daughter has & says they're no different from ones she's paid over £5 for.
When I've looked they always have normal colours not weird & wonderful ones & I've seen ones that cover a lot of grey.

K9sandFelines

I've been keeping up with this thread and wanted to say Approved Food have hair dye the equivalent of 75p each. It's really nice. They have bordeaux, chestnut brown and some blonde shades. Didn't stain my skin or stink like most dyes.
@Esther, i have used pound shop dye before but can't comment on grey coverage,as only have the odd bit here and there. However, my hair is very thick and dark brown. Found it to be okay. I normally use Schwarzkopf Polycolour Tint.

EstherH

Thank you Hermum and K9. I usually use nice and easy, and have just ordered Avons on a 2 for £8 deal. I should get two goes out of each box so equivalent of £2 each but if I could get two goes out of a £1 box that would be incredible. I shall have to remember and get some. In fact, I may get it before I do my hair again and then if I don't like it I can use the Avon one over it. Esther x

Ilona

EstherH wrote: »

Thank you Hermum and K9. I usually use nice and easy, and have just ordered Avons on a 2 for £8 deal. I should get two goes out of each box so equivalent of £2 each but if I could get two goes out of a £1 box that would be incredible. I shall have to remember and get some. In fact, I may get it before I do my hair again and then if I don't like it I can use the Avon one over it. Esther x

I get two applications out of a £1 hair colour from the Pound Shop. I have medium length hair.
Ilona