Considering It

At the beginning of 2020, Chad and I had decided we wanted to do a "no buy year." I am not totally sure what made me want to do it. I'm guessing I had listened to an audiobook about it. (Knowing me, this is probably the reason.) This didn't last long because I sought retail therapy during the pandemic. Also, we had a few appliances break that had to be replaced. 

I am considering trying it again. We have gone too far into debt and need to find a way out. I think this will help us do that. We also want to lower the amount of waste we create. This is why we recycle and compost. We started cutting back on our consumption earlier this year, but I want to do it even more. 

What rules will we follow? First, we are canceling subscriptions we don't use or rarely use. I canceled an eBook subscription that was about 70.00 a year realizing I was not using it enough to justify the cost. (I buy paper books for the most part.) I am also going to cancel my gym membership because I rarely go across town to work out alone. If Planet Fitness still offered classes with a trainer, I would go more often and consider keeping my membership. We will have to look at other subscriptions to see if we use them enough as a family to keep them. Next, we will once again cut back on how much we eat out. Obviously, we will go out for birthdays if that is what the birthday person wants. I will also be going out with Michelle once a month because that is what is helping me keep my sanity while working from home. We will have to decide if we want to allow one outing a month for date night, but we haven't made that decision yet. Chad and I will have to sit down and decide on our other rules for this "no buy year." 

What will this not effect? We will still be traveling. One of my trips is already paid for and another trip will be to visit our parents. We have already told our friends in Florida that we will have to postpone our trip out there. Hopefully, we can find another exciting trip for our anniversary. 

If this year works well, we will review our rules and continue into the next year.