Cal is using Pledgebank to muster some fellow-feeling in reducing consumption:
I will not buy ‘things’ I do not need, between 1 July and 1 August 2007 but only if 4 other local people will do the same.
In the details she says signees can decide what “need” means, and gives some examples of what she’s interpreting it as. The pledge page is here.
I commend this pledge to you. Consider it. It’s a chance to show capitalism and its marketing minions who’s really in charge of your spending behaviour.
We do this most of the time. It’s called “being skint”.
I’m skint cos I don’t do this most of the time 🙁
Ah, well you see what you need is a couple of sprogs : we’ve decided to bypass yuppiedom in order to become SITCOMs: Single Income Two Kids, Oppressive Mortgage.
I’ve signed up, I totally spent too much money today. I bought this fancy sports top for ultimate, it’s very tight fitting and by far the gayest thing I’ve ever owned.
Being able to buy anything other than necessities is a luxury.
I currently have easy access to $20K of credit – with which I am able to buy all manner of random things. It doesn’t mean I can afford them. And they turn out not to be luxuries, but millstones. There’s ‘being able to buy’ and then there’s ‘being able to afford’. Two quite different things IMO… and therein lies the problem 🙂
Billy – the problem defining necessities is that one person’s luxury is another person’s necessity. There’s a lot of stuff e.g. vacuum cleaners, deodorant and fridges that we in NZ probably thing of as ‘necessities’ that are ‘luxuries’ in other parts of the world. Curious to know your thoughts.
Cal – I probably won’t sign up for this one unless you can institute a special ‘lunches only’ category 🙂
I’ve spent the last month not buying stuff other than from chemists because of the pneumonia, and I think I’m doing ok on the not buying stuff thing, other than the lunches. I haven’t bought any clothes since 2006, and I honestly don’t remember the last time I bought a book new. Possibly in the Dymocks winter sale last year?
Janet: To avoid writing a long and tedious essay, I think the application of common sense can determine whether something is a luxury or a necessity in a given circumstance.
Cal: not being able to tell the difference between what we can buy and what we can afford is a STUPID STUPID thing people do. Debt is modern slavery.
Billy – yeah, point taken. Mostly it seems that common sense ain’t all that common – did you see the couple in debt in the NZ Herald yesterday?