How to buy nothing ....

After my last post on Addicted to Shopping, I decided to do a lil bit of homework and see what's available on line. Other than my usual haunt at Gail's, I can across another site with lots of 'how-tos' and one about How to Buy Nothing. Was thinking to myself if that is even possible so I decided to read through the lists and am sharing them with you below (with comments from me too). So read on my friend ....

How to Buy Nothing
By eHow Personal Finance Editor

Step 1. Practice reverse snobbery. Express contempt for people who mindlessly buy things. This has two benefits: It raises the act of not buying things to a lofty moral height, from which you can denigrate others, and you get to enjoy the irony of simultaneously being a snob while making fun of other snobs. (I don't know if I can do this especially when I am one of those who mindlessly buy things myself *laughs*. Yeah, I know it's a mindset or attitude and it can be changed. Hmm, I still don't know...)

Step 2. Go to shopping malls and department stores and briefly let your materialistic impulses loose. Try on a bunch of sweaters and choose three or four. Add a few ties or scarves. Walk around for a few minutes enjoying your stack of loot. Then put it back on the shelf and walk out. Think about how unnecessary that stuff is. You probably already have something just like it. What a relief to not have more junk around the house. (Well, I could do this. I just need to have the will power to walk away from them things. Might be a good exercise to build up on my will power you think?)

Step 3. Get satisfaction from money saved, not money spent. Set up direct deposit so that 10 percent or more of your paycheck goes automatically into a savings or investment account or buys United States savings bonds. (I do enjoy seeing my savings grow. But I also resent how my life isn't any fun when I cannot buy this or that. I guess I need to reach a state where I am able to put aside money for savings, not accumulate any debt yet still be able to do the fun things that I enjoy doing. The question is how to get to that state! I am totally clueless ....)

Step 4. Become a scrounger. Old bicycles, furniture, building materials, vehicles, books and clothing are everywhere, once you start looking. Become skilled at resurrecting old stuff and finding uses for it. Take pride in being an eccentric recycler. (Now this I can do. I have hunting for such treasures so this I know I will be able to do. The fun also includes finding places where I can get such things. With the internet, the world is out there for my searching. Just have to watch the shipping costs to see if its worth it getting any items from overseas if I cannot get them locally.)

Step 5. Look for barter opportunities. Swap your homegrown vegetables for repairs on your house, for example. Some cities have local barter networks where credits can be earned and exchanged for needed services. Because no money is exchanged when you barter, you might be able to avoid paying taxes, which can mean a substantial savings. Just make sure the assets that are exchanged are like-kind, otherwise you will still have to pay taxes on the exchange. (Hmmm, what do I have to offer that I could possibly barter for? Geez, this is a tough one ...)

Step. 6 Consider having a "buy nothing Christmas" this year. (Why stop at just Christmas, it may work for birthdays and all the other occasions where gift giving is involved? But buying nothing doesn't mean that you can't give the person anything. Key word here is BUY nothing so instead you can make something for that special person or bake cookies or cakes or even a meal. I like this idea and will have to explore it further!)