No Buy July

A few friends and myself have set a bit of a challenge for July - we have named it "No Buy July".

We're endeavouring not to buy a thing at all - by doing things like eating what we already have in our pantries/refrigerators/freezers, riding our bikes to work (this is something I enjoy anyway and I don't have a use for a car here in Tokyo - it's easier on transport or my bike) and things like that.

I think not only is it making me look at finances differently, but also showing me how I can survive without spending.

Have you ever set yourself a challenge like that, where you don't spend money for a certain period of time?

 

That is a good challenge to do. Having a set amount of time to not spend money helps you to learn to be content with having less. It also teaches to stretch whatever we have or find an alternative means of getting what we want. Practicing not spending money prepares for hard times when you can't earn money or when the price of goods are inflated. Allowing you to be more confident in relying on yourself and less likely to over stress so that you can get be able to focus on putting yourself in a better position to survive until things get better.