Buy Nothing Challenge - August 2009

For those of you so inclined, there's a "new" (actually, folks have done this many times) challenge for August called the Buy Nothing Challenge. It's a green thang, and the idea is to break you of your frivolous spending, be more resourceful, and "reuse" or use what you already have. I know I'm guilty of buying things I really don't need, and challenges like these help the bad habits to be broken -- it only takes 20 days to break a habit! So the details are below from the originator, the Crunchy Chicken.

Buy Nothing Challenge 2009
It's been a whole year since the last Buy Nothing Challenge, and hoo boy!, have I fallen off the wagon. With my hubs back to work full-time as of the end of June, I don't feel as financially strapped and so, well, forgive me people, but I have been spending like mad.So, it's time to strap down that wallet and do another round of the Buy Nothing Challenge - the 2009 Edition. Last year I hosted two of these challenges and there were hundreds of people that participated. This year around, people are having more economic challenges of their own, so having a gang of readers pledging together to save money by not spending will hopefully help out your finances.Like last year, here are the guidelines. For the month of August, you can buy:* No new clothes* No new gadgets* No new furniture or housewares* No salon services* No makeup* No tools* No whatever the hell else people buy. This year I'm giving you a couple weeks to prepare, but that doesn't mean that you should go out and spend and hoard in preparation. In fact, I bet that once you sign up for this challenge, most likely you'll start watching what you are spending now. At least, that's what happened for most of the people who participated last year. If you must absolutely acquire something non-edible or not essential to growing your own food or for your survival, then you must borrow, barter, or buy it used. If you end up buying something new that is non-essential, I'll be hosting a weekly Sunday Confessional for you to justify your purchase. So, just think about having to confess to the world what you couldn't hold off on buying. Things that are okay: Necessary items like schools supplies and the like are okay, so don't panic about back-to-school items. Also, items used for canning and food storage are okay so don't worry if you are running low on pectin, mason jars and whatnot. If you have a vacation planned in August, just confess ahead of time accordingly. But that doesn't give you free reign to totally undo your efforts the rest of the month.