Nothing New Year - am I crazy to attempt this?

[Happy 2B mommy]

I am seriously considering buying nothing new for 2010. Has anyone else tried this?

We have everything we need. DH has lots of clothes, but tends to be hard on pants and socks. DS may need clothes as well before I can hit yard sales. We have a Goodwill nearby, but the clothing there is pretty worn.

I also know that we will need a carseat for DS when he outgrows his snugride 32. And possibly another seat for DD.

Would it be tacky to ask for 'needed' new items for things like B-days from family? I really think that we could do it if everyone chipped in for one new carseat.

[C99]

I tried it in 2007 or 2008. I did OK with it actually, although I did make a few exceptions - underwear, socks and shoes. I actually still use many practices from that year and it's made me more aware of my consumptive tendencies in general.

[citymama]

Friends of mine caught on to this group called the San Francisco Compact (http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-02-13/bay-area/17282830_1_consumerism-buy-bernal-heights) - no new purchases of any kind, other than health/safety/food related (toilet paper OK; new shoes not). Used or second-hand purchases are OK. They do all their shopping at yard sales or craigslist. They've been doing it for 3 years now! They do make a few exceptions but seem to be doing well and saving loads of money. It helps to be part of a group, so you might consider joining the SF Compact yahoo listserve to hear others' tricks and tips and get support from the group.

[KrisM]

This would be interesting, but I would have a lot of execptions I think. Here are my questions about it.

Will you only eat what you get free after coupons? I get a lot for free, but I would miss fruit and veggies and meat and other things that are hard to find coupons for.

Do you include all toiletries? Again, most are free after coupons, but not all. And, things like detergent would be tough. I like my brand :).

Can I buy my newspapers for the coupons? I often get those free, but can't count on them.

I think school supplies in the fall would be really hard. I can get them really cheap, like $.01 for a notebook, but not free.

And, used shoes don't work for me.

Most of my kids get used clothes, except underwear. Most of their toys, including christmas gifts were used. So, those wouldn't be a huge deal.

I suppose I could ask relatives for shoes for birthdays and school supplies for my birthday (fall), but I'm not sure how to do the food, detergent, toiletries part. What will you do for that?

In any case, I think I need to cut way back. I honestly don't think I can do zero, but I can do less.

[egoldber]

There is a big group at MDC that does this. In that case it is no unplanned spending. So you only buy what you need and have on a list. So detergent is OK, but an impulse buy of a toy on clearance while on the Target run to get detergent is not.

You can make up your own rules of course. :)

When DH was laid off, we essentially did this. Honestly in some ways it was incredibly freeing and fun. Having less stuff coming into the house was actually great for us in many ways. We tend to collect clutter and that helped us soooo much. Now that I am at work and DH's business is really booming, we have crept back into our old ways because now we have more money than time!

[citymama]

I don't think you can get around buying food, toiletries, groceries. You can clip coupons and follow deals, but other than a backyard veggie garden and keeping chickens for eggs, you kind of need to eat and be clean!

I like the idea of cutting back. Way back. I think it will be hard for us with a new baby coming and possibly buying a new home, but all the more reason to cut back on items that aren't necessities and buying used where possible.

[hellokitty]

I think this is a great idea! We need to do this, we have enough, "stuff" in our house, so much that lately I have just been donating or giving it away to anyone I know who might like/need it

[Happy 2B mommy]

I'm not thinking about not buying food/soap/toiletries (although we could be cutting back there, as well), mostly no new STUFF or clothes.

We aren't in any financial trouble -in fact we're doing pretty well. 2 years ago DH started working for a new company. Our income this year is double what it was 2 years ago. But I feel like we aren't really 'ahead'. We have always lived pretty responsibly - never any credit card debt, usually no car loan, always putting $ into DH's 401K. But we spent a LOT of money this year - many big purchases (new windows for the house, new dishwasher, a little redecorating, new laptop, gifts of a new tvs for our parents)- but I think it's all the little stuff has been an equally signifcant drain on our money. I feel like our savings should be huge, but our 'emergency fund' savings is the same as it's always been. I'm embarassed about that.

[MamaMolly]

I think this is a really neat idea. And I don't think it is tacky to ask for useful needed items for birthdays. I actually prefer doing that as my house had too much in the way of clutter as it is. I will talk this over with DH and consider it in conjunction with a huge, huge clean out. I've been leaning towards a deep decluttering for my New Year's Resolution anyway.

I think this might be a great way to keep the new baby gifts really practical and useful. My family goes overboard on sentiment and I've been dreading another cache of 'keepsakes'.

Keep talking...I'm warming up to it!!!!!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Have you considered socking away that pay increase rather than incorporating it into your daily lives? Or even a portion of it? A few raises back I decided that we were living comfortably on his income and could be fine there. So, every raise after that I put the difference directly into savings. We have it but we don't need to spend it, kwim?

I wish you success and think it's a great idea. I just wanted to offer up that kind of alternative.

BEth

[brittone2]

I think it is an awesome idea :) Even if you can't live up to it 100%, I'm sure you'd certainly learn a lot about yourself through the experience, and really learn how creative you can be in stretching your money.

There was a story about a Duke professor in my area taking a "buy nothing new" challenge a while back. I'll see if I can dig up some links about her experience.

http://www.chapelhillnews.com/196/story/12764.html
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/196/story/9364.html

[dukie41181]

This is a GREAT idea! I could totally sign up for this (especially right now) as I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of "stuff" that has come into our house over the holiday! I am not completely innocent as I bought stuff for my daughter too, but wow! We've lost our living room to toys! As far as asking for neccessities as gifts, I have done that for a while and have no problem doing it however some of my family doesn't like it. For whatever reason they like to give frivilous gifts and sometimes it drives me nutty! I'd rather get something I'll have to go out and purchase myself.

This thread has really got me thinking and I'm 150% positive my husband will be on board...he is all about saving $!

[elektra]

Wow. This would be really hard for me! It would also never work because DH would NEVER be on board. But you should update if you go for it. I would love to know how you could make it work.

[jenandahalf]

We cut back on our 'stuff' purchases this summer - we would not go to the level of buying used clothes or household items but giving more thought to what you are buying in general makes a huge difference. My husband was also the one who had the most trouble with it, he would go almost daily to Target/the mall with his colleagues at lunchtime and he cannot resist a clearance rack. Sadly it might mean looking a lot less at bargain boards like this one! Slick Deals is my husband's biggest downfall!

[KrisM]

Have you considered socking away that pay increase rather than incorporating it into your daily lives? Or even a portion of it? A few raises back I decided that we were living comfortably on his income and could be fine there. So, every raise after that I put the difference directly into savings. We have it but we don't need to spend it, kwim?


We do this as well. Typically, it ends up being spent, but it goes to the bigger things - like a new roof on the house :). It doesn't get spent on every day things.

[LD92599]

This is a great idea and i think it definitely helps to write down every.penny.being.spent. It really adds up! I do write everything down in Excel, but for about a week I kept a list on the kitchen counter and YIKES, scary!

Kudo's to those that are considering doing this, please post back your experiences!

[C99]

We cut back on our 'stuff' purchases this summer - we would not go to the level of buying used clothes or household items

Why not? My DD's favorite clothes invariably come from the thrift store and until I went back to work 85% of my wardrobe did as well (now it's about 50%). I bought a new PB rug at thrift store for $20, and a stack of "the kids can destroy them and I don't care" sandwich plates for $2.

[purpleeyes]

I am seriously considering buying nothing new for 2010. Has anyone else tried this?

We have everything we need. DH has lots of clothes, but tends to be hard on pants and socks. DS may need clothes as well before I can hit yard sales. We have a Goodwill nearby, but the clothing there is pretty worn.

I also know that we will need a carseat for DS when he outgrows his snugride 32. And possibly another seat for DD.

Would it be tacky to ask for 'needed' new items for things like B-days from family? I really think that we could do it if everyone chipped in for one new carseat.

Have you read this book: Not Buying It, My Year without Shopping

http://www.amazon.com/Not-Buying-Year-Without-Shopping/dp/0743269365/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262061031&sr=1-1

I started it but had to return it to the library before I coudl finish it! :)

I don't know that I could go to buying nothing new. But I only shop with cash now, a limited amount each week. That has reduced my consumption, for sure!

[jenandahalf]

We usually shop around enough to pay near thrift store prices for our new clothes and household items. My husband and I grew up so poor that we always swore we'd do better for our kids, we didn't work this hard to give them someone else's castoffs. If people want to do that then that's their choice, that's not the life I intended for myself or my family.

And at the end of the day someone much worse off than me needs that shirt to only cost $5 more than I do. Goodwill and other thrift stores only have so much to go around, I don't need to take it from those who need it more just so I can pad my savings a bit more.

[citymama]

To follow up on my previous post, here's how my friend who is part of the SF Compact does it:

--she buys toiletries, groceries, safety items etc new
-- she probably makes 2-3 purchases of new items a year - replacing home items that have worn out, for eg
--keeps chickens and a veggie garden
--buys all her clothes/shoes and kid toys/clothes/shoes at yard sales/thrift stores/consignment stores. I assume not underwear!
--participates/organizes clothing swaps which are fun!
--saves stuff and reuses/recycles like crazy. I've gotten mail from her in re-cycled envelopes from credit card companies, for eg.
--she consigns or resells all their old clothes/toys at a local kids' consignment stores. She gets paid in store credit and uses the credit to buy birthday presents for kids whose parties her kids go to!
--she is craftsy and makes kid clothing/Halloween costumes. Her DH is pretty handy at repairs and remaking stuff.

She's been on this program since 2006 - 3 whole years! I feel horribly guilty when she and her kids come over coz I feel like my DD has so much stuff (not really compared to most kids since we have a tiny place) but she is really good about not imposing her views on others. Her main inspiration is not financial (although this is a huge savings) but environmental/ethical. Wish you lots of success with your plans!

[kijip]

While we do buy new things and have eased up on it recently I think due to new job excitement, our first plan of attack for a needed purchase is to check out used options. I even looked into buying my son's Wii Fit Plus for Christmas used but could not find one for a decent discount and I had a $50 gift card to the store we got it at so went that route. Once I am back down to my normal size I will buy more used clothes, but there are not a lot of used decent/stylish enough for work clothes in wearable condition for tall women who need to lose some weight. My kids and husband get a lot of used clothing. And I just get very little clothing, LOL.

My kitchen counter is a perfect example of buying used- I have a several hundred dollars in small appliances that I bought used for a total of $45. I got a $100 coffee maker for $5 just because someone thought that in need of a cleaning meant broken. Paying an extra $95 for a coffee maker just to have it new seems wasteful on many levels.

We are planning on spending money on the following non-bills, non-food, non-donations, non-school fee items in 2010:

1 vacation for family
1 vacation for couple time
paint for the house
blinds for the house
gifts for a handful of folks
b-day parties for our kids
2 dinner parties for our friends

and see how little besides that we can do without or get used. I don't think we will come in at nothing but we are recommitting to much less new. We maintain a list of things we need or want and just look for those used, we try not to buy anything we didn't think we wanted or needed until we saw it.

In order to live as we do and save on moderate salaries and afford vacations, donations to charity and a house, we can't buy everything or most things new. The math would not work, we could live but we would not have a growing savings and retirement etc. Also in 2010, I am wanting to join a community foundation with a min. donation amount that is a lot bigger than what I am used to so I need to be extra careful to afford it.

I don't think it is crazy to live below your means. I think it is wise and is an interesting challenge.