I agree that it'd be an interesting exercise -- I'm sure that the final lesson would be that we don't "need" nearly as much stuff as we think we do. And without using "just buy it" as a first response to a need, we'd be forced to become more creative (use the library more, mend clothing, make homemade gifts wrapped in newspaper rather than gift wrap).
- I assume that food would be exempt from the "no buy" rule. Ditto for gas and toiletry items. And light bulbs; I wouldn't sit in the dark just to live up to this challenge.
- And
something -- something very necessary -- would break during the year and would have to be replaced. I mean, it isn't practical to say, "Well, my vaccum died, and it's six months 'til I can buy a new one -- shall we let the floor get really disgusting or borrow from the neighbor twice a week?" Or what if a car was wrecked? Things like that would force you to spend.
- This would work best for a family that had a little bit of prep time before taking the plunge: They could do little things like start using rechargeable batteries, which would mean they wouldn't need to buy disposable batteries during the year.
- I think it'd be possible even for families with children -- I always had "next size up" clothes waiting for my kids. If I hadn't been able to buy supplemental things, their wardobes might've been smaller and less well-matched, but they wouldn't have been naked or cold. And again, it'd force creative thinking such as trading hand-me-downs with neighbors and family.
- I have enough
school supplies that my kids could muddle through a school year -- though they might have to become creative; for example, they might be forced to cut up a box for cardboard if we ran out of poster paper for a project. They might have to use an older calculator that we have around the house instead of a shiney new one, but they wouldn't do without.
- We could use credit card reward points
(I'm pretending that wouldn't be spending) to buy the gotta-have items for the kids at Christmas and birthdays. Except that if were buying ONLY food and gas, we wouldn't have so many points as we do now.
However, I have no intention of doing it. Why? I have two good reasons not to do it:
Because at the end of the year, I'd end up needing to buy A BUNCH OF STUFF that'd need replacing because of excessive wear and tear, and that would negate a great deal of the savings: It makes me think about back when our first child was born, and we really didn't have much money. Between being busy with taking care of her and refusing to buy many clothes because I intended to get back into my maternity clothes again relatively quickly, I bought
essentially no clothes for myself for quite some time -- let's say two years, though that might not be quite right. Suddenly winter arrived, and I realized that
every stitch of winter clothing I owned was a complete rag. This wasn't good: I was forced to go out and buy work clothes RIGHT NOW, and of course those things never happen when you're flush with cash. Since then I've adopted a new policy towards shopping for clothes: Every spring/summer and every fall/winter I buy myself 2 new outfits and a new pair of shoes (and I throw something away). In theory, this should mean that I won't end up again with NOTHING that's decent.
Also, I like to stockpile things when they're at a good price. When my kids were little, I'd buy .10 and .25 things at yard sales (you don't see prices quite that low anymore), and I'd file them away in a system of size-marked boxes. I was willing to buy things up to two years in advance -- if the price was right. It saved money because I couldn't wait 'til the child needed size 6X pants and assume they'd be available THEN, but it was well worth .25 to let them sit in the attic a while 'til the child needed them. After a while I started keeping a notebook with sizes/items I'd bought. That kept me from buying a third pair of white Mary Janes or a second coat in size 3T -- and it let me know that I didn't have enough jeans for school next fall, so it'd be worthwhile to splurge on the $1 yard sale jeans (because it meant I wouldn't have to buy them at $20 from the store later). I also stockpile food and other household products -- again, only when they're on sale. And I stockpile gifts; for example, I already bought fantastic NorthFace jackets for a number of people for next Christmas (they were 75% off, so they're worth keeping for 11 months -- at the worst, I can ebay them and at least get my money back).
STOPPING all buying for a year would wreck these systems that are working well for me.
I think this could be a good exercise for a person who is using shopping as a hobby (or a compulsive over-spender). It'd be a way for that person to prove to himself that spending on most things isn't quite as immediately necessary as we think. And sometimes a over-spender who SEES just how much his savings could grow by foregoing impulse buys can improve his shopping habits -- for the right person, this exercise could do just that.
