To buy or not to buy
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Each single day, whether we realize it or not, we spend quite an amount of money on … ‘stuff’. Things such as groceries, clothing, junk food, stationeries and etc. are the daily basic items that we purchase. Would you be able to remember all the things that you have bought in the past month or week? Do you list down items that you want to purchase before going to the malls and supermarket and stick to that list?
Weekends, weekdays, holidays, sales on occasions such as Eid-Mubarak, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Thanksgiving, Christmas and etc., tend to invite people to spend more regardless of whether they really need the items. The opening of a new mall in town also becomes a factor in leading people to spend unnecessarily. Do you realize that every single thing that we buy has its own environmental impact?
A “Buy Nothing Day” was founded by a Canadian artist-Ted Dave in Vancouver in the early 90’s. It was held every last Saturday in November internationally. This particular day challenges consumer culture by asking us to switch off from shopping for a day. In Malaysia, FOMCA has declared 16th July as a “Buy Nothing Day”. However, it does not mean that we practice this “Buy Nothing day” only on the 24th of November; it can be any day that you’d like.
Do you buy this (pun fully intended)? There are those who say that this will ruin the economy if discretionary spending is reduced, think of it as more about right-sizing the economy for long term security rather than inflating the economy in the short term which primes it for a pending implosion.
Needless to say, this does not apply to those who can barely afford to get by on their income in Malaysia, who have not seen their income rise in accordance to inflationary rise. That is a serious discussion for another day.
Here are some tips to encourage “Buy Nothing Day”.
Tips:
· Cook and eat your lunch and dinner at home
· Plan a gathering and spend time with families and friends at home
· Borrow a DVD and watch at home on your comfortable couch
· Make your own coffee at home instead of having it at Starbucks, Coffee Bean and etc.
· For more info: http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/
A couple in Melbourne, Australia embarked on a social experiment to buy nothing new.
Read more on their efforts at http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/global-observer/in-melbourne-meet-the-new-joneses/8055?tag=nl.e660&s_cid=e660
Do you think you can follow their lead and not buy anything new too?
Share your thoughts
