View Full Version : I just don't want to buy anymore.
I just really do not want to buy anymore. I am tired of it.
Tired of the system. It is fake.
To just be fine the way I am. To just need nothing more than what I already have.
To own nothing but have everything.
I am almost out of toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc.
Why do I have to go buy more? Why, why, why?
Can't everything just stop and calm down and let us all just be fine with the completely awesome world and completely awesome bodies that we already have, for free?
UGH.
You ARE fine just the way you are! Do you have baking soda? You have toothpaste. Doing laundry without detergent will get clothes cleaner than not washing them.
Practice simple and frugal spending for any amount of time (long enough), and sooner or later you'll bat a blind-eye to all the consumerism around you, that's what happened to us. We notice little in the way of spending (other people's spending).
There's a conditioning period that's attached to such, but it will happen.
The thing to remember about spending, is that (for the most part) it's all superficial and artificial. People trying to out-do one another, better one another, have the biggest and the best. That's why debt ceilings are so high, and everyone is so broke. People who spend, spend, spend, have lost sight of reality. They're simply out of touch.
Remind yourself of this fact, and the conditioning process will come easier and quicker.
Hey Dude - you are not alone. I am on a no-buying kick right now. Just sick to death of the mass consumerism going on at this time of year. Can't stand to go into stores, can't stand to see the sort of glee people have at buying, just want to go off to a storeless place alone and ignore it all. I think lots of people feel this way too but get caught up in a frenzy of buying - fuelled by ads and the desire to fill some need they assume buying will fill. Best way to deal with it is just to ignore it. Stand firmly on your no-buying ground and shrugg off the rest. I spend my days doing no cost things that have nothing to do with shopping, and find that my needs and sense of joy at doing those things cancels out any desire to shop and also allows me to tune out those in a shopping frenzy. So, other then the basics, I plan a no shopping year.
I know exactly where you're coming from.
To me, it all seems far too easy. Everything is perfectly packaged and readily available, you needn't make any sort of effort to reach your goal apart from earning some money to purchase these things - the majority of which are unnecessary. Not that I'd rather live in scarcity, but how about just enough instead of over-abundance and wastage?
The thought of shopping for just about anything has begun to fill me with more and more dread and disgust with each passing day.
Hey Dude, I hear you loud and clear and can so relate!
I am decompressing from the 13 hour long drive each way to attend my brother's wedding in NC over the holidays. It was the first time in a long time my entire family has been together for days on end, and while I love them, I really cannot relate to them at all anymore, because I am so far out of the mainstream apparently. My brain got exhausted from the TV being constantly on and people yakking about their latest gadget (I-Phones, etc). The fancy large flat screen TV that brother can program with his phone (I have to admit, most of this latest techno stuff was kind of cool I guess if you get into it but in NO WAY would it make my life easier; in fact, it totally overwhelms me and makes me cranky). All they really talked about was stuff to buy, finding the stuff, getting the "right" stuff, finding the stuff on sale, and on and on. I hate shopping! Plus, I only have a limited amount of social interaction time that I can deal with so I had to leave the house for hours each day and find something to do that wasn't about TV, or phones, or phone plans or house decor, or watching HGTV....Luckily the weather was quite nice and I gratefully got to take solitary walks and think about the stuff I like to think about, which is about having an awesome simple life on my own terms. I realize that I am very, very different than my family and they have never "gotten" me and at age 50, I am pretty okay with it. If that is what makes them happy, so be it. I try in my small ways to interject that I proudly have a very different lifestyle, and I'm sure both my family and my brother's new in-laws probably think I am a bit weird! So I decided to just go with the flow and we all got a good laugh when I had no idea who some celebrity was, or what the latest new gadget was, or that I haven't watched TV for about three years now and really have no idea what is going on in popular culture!
Anyway, to get back to the thread, I am sure happy to be back home! Now I HAVE to be even more simple and frugal than usual because my hours got cut at work and my next paycheck is going to be very paltry and my unemployment hasn't kicked in yet. I am starting to question every time I open my wallet to purchase even the most simple of daily things but since I will be job hunting I've decided maybe now is not quite the right time I should stop dying my hair! I would love to not have to worry about how I come across to people but there are certain standards that I feel I need to adhere to in order to gain employment. I do look forward to the day when I can totally be my natural human-smelling, human self, wild, grey-haired, and vibrant because I am healthy and stress-free and do not care what others think! I know I am getting closer and closer because every time I am confronted smack in the face by mainstream America, it serves to strengthen my resolve to keep on the course I have been on for the last 20 years!
PS: I had a no spend, no drive day today!
SiouxQ,
i completely understand!
yes, all the technology has not done one thing to make life EASIER. it never actually does. how many hours less do we work because of technlogy? hell, now you can work from your vacation spot via cell phone and computer!
all that tv and commotion, ugh, the walks sound so much better!
Shopping makes me a bit depressed. So many things out there and I don't really want anything. It won't make me happy. The few things I do buy are usually an exact replacement for something that has run out. I've been sitting here thinking of something I would like to buy and I can't think of a thing. Oh, I need to replace my windshield, but that's not the kind of thing I'm trying to think of.
Monday I went out to buy a small pocket calendar to keep track of my work appointments. It's the second day of the new year and no calendars in sight! Finally found what I wanted at the $1+ store for 50 cents more than the same one I saw in Michaels a few weeks ago.
Now that winter is here, I'll have to find things to do on my day off that doesn't include wasting time browsing in a store, since my outdoor activities will be reduced. Hoping to finish a few craft projects, start knitting again, and get motivated to do some Reflexology studying and practicing. Not as much fun as coming home with a brand new shiny thingy, but will most likely not make me depressed.
Yep, I hear ya! Slowly, like water dripping on stone, we've been trying to eliminate, reduce, shrink our consumerism. Cell phone broke? We didn't get a new one. Never remembered to charge it anyhow.
Dishwasher on the fritz? Fine, now we're washing dishes by hand. Two cars sitting in the driveway 90% of the time? Got rid of one and bought two used bikes for $50.
I buy the necessities and try to find deals and buy good quality on sale and make it last. Buy a sack of potatoes, a sack of onions, a bag of apples and such..much cheaper than individual purchases...store in a cool dark place and they last...
My biggest discovery for lowering my consumerism is simply staying out of stores. My life right now is one-two grocery stores for weekly specials, farmers markets in season, the library, the gym, and one-two thrift stores when I must replace an article of clothing. The dollar store on occasion for essentials such as toilet paper...underwear.
Avoiding stores means if I don't see it, then I don't want it and I won't buy it...shopping is not a recreational sport for me. Catalogs get tossed without reading--they're designed to make us lust for stuff..
That's about it...we actually need so little, but are made to think we need so much. Heard a great line today, "We're consumed by over-consumption." And "we're turning into a nation of consumer slaves"--that one really hit home. The visual is bleak, yet I've seen expressionless zombie-like people filling their carts with junk in big-box stores. No joy is on their faces..just nothing. Scary.
One of the real problems with buying anything right now is that there are whole categories of products where it is very difficult to buy anything of reasonable quality at ordinary stores because of cheapening and overseas sourcing.
Small home appliances are one, shoes are getting to be another. A lot of home improvement products aren't worth the effort to install them.
I just really do not want to buy anymore. I am tired of it.
Tired of the system. It is fake.
To just be fine the way I am. To just need nothing more than what I already have.
To own nothing but have everything.
I am almost out of toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc.
Why do I have to go buy more? Why, why, why?
Can't everything just stop and calm down and let us all just be fine with the completely awesome world and completely awesome bodies that we already have, for free?
UGH.
Dude, if too much choice is part of the problem, change where you shop. I've found Aldi (if there is one near you), a fabulous place for cutting down choice. You want laundry detergent - fine, here's one type. You can make your own laundry detergent, but it looks more work.
Cleaning products - use vinegar, baking soda, with maybe a little liquid Dr. Bronner's.
I've read that you can either use baking soda or rubbing alcohol for deodorant.
Baking soda is good on teeth, but if you've got dental issues/soft teeth, just be aware. It can be rough on your teeth.
Trust your instincts and stick to your values, HeyDude. You are in good company here! Our microwave expired several years ago, and somehow we've survived (and probably healthier!) without one. I too dread shopping - the bright lights, the overwhelming selections, the artificial sales to entice people to buy more. The targeting of children to buy-buy-buy especially bothers me, because they are still developing their own value systems.
flowerseverywhere
1-7-12, 4:03pm
One of the real problems with buying anything right now is that there are whole categories of products where it is very difficult to buy anything of reasonable quality at ordinary stores because of cheapening and overseas sourcing.
Small home appliances are one, shoes are getting to be another. A lot of home improvement products aren't worth the effort to install them.
This is so true. Cheap clothing makes people buy things without even trying them on, or toasters that work for a few months. What a waste as this stuff ends up in landfills. Our thrift stores are just chock full of items still in unopened boxes and clothes with tags on them. Very sad.
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