I’ve decided to not buy anything for myself1 on the internet for an entire year2. I want to do this so I can stop being a hypocrite. I’ve been going on and on for a while at home about being minimal, getting rid of excess stuff, only to short-circuit the entire process many times with my keyboard and mouse.
It’s too easy to buy stuff through Amazon. I really like the idea of coming home and having a box waiting for me on the doorstep. It’s a lovely feeling having something shiny and new to come home and open. But all too often that stuff ends up being something I resent having to get rid of or find a place for in the future.
To illustrate how bad this has gotten for me let me share a story. Last Father’s Day my daughter drew a picture of me, for me as a present. It was a stick figure of me and next to me was a tall stack of “blobs” that dwarfed me by at least a head and a half. I asked her what the stack was. She said, “Daddy’s boxes.” If she weren’t 4 years old at the time she probably would have drawn little black “a’s” on them to show where they all came from.
Clearly, this will be really hard. But, I’m determined to waste less of our money and to bring my habits more in line with my desires. I started this project in secret on November 1st and I’m happy to report that I’m internet purchase free so far. I decided on the “internet” part of the plan because there will be things that I need, but in order to help me determine what are needs and what are wants I wanted to make acquiring things much harder. So if I need something I’ll have to venture out into the world and purchase it in person.
So far I have needed something 1 time in the last 12 days since I started this plan. I replaced the super-cheap brakes on my bicycle and I needed some brake cable and various fiddly bits to complete the project. So I procrastinated for a few days and then finally made my way to Cumberland Transit on West End on my lunch hour and purchased the things I needed. Not only did I avoid an online purchase, but I avoided a wrong purchase. I learned, by talking to an employee, that what I would have purchased for myself online would have been the wrong thing. I was under the impression that I wanted a “road-bike” cable kit, but I really needed a “mountain bike” cable kit. So I saved a return via UPS as well.
1. I am allowing myself online purchases, but they must be for someone else or for the household in general. (e.g. gifts or household necessities.)
2. I got this idea from http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ check out his site if you want. He has very challenging ideas about money. Well worth the read if you are unhappy with your money situation.
No comments:
Post a Comment