你能一年不買東西嗎?

你能一年不買東西嗎?

Not buying things can be difficult, even when you're determined not to.

即使你下定決心不買東西，也很難做到不買。

Even when you have more than enough, there's often a desire for more. (Photo: varandah/Shutterstock)

For the last several years, some people have been attempting a no-buy year. Instead of buying new things, they use what they already have. If you've never tried it, clothing and makeup are a great place to start.

在過去的幾年里，有些人一直嘗試著不買東西。他們不買新東西，而是用已有的東西。如果你從未嘗試過，服裝和化妝品是一個(gè)很好的開始。

For many people, a no-buy year is simply a way of life because their financial situation leaves them no other choice. But for others — myself included — we have enough clothes, shoes, makeup, electronic devices, books, knickknacks, kitchen gadgets ... enough stuff ... for all our needs. Yet, we continue to buy.

對(duì)許多人來說，“不買房年”只是一種生活方式，因?yàn)樗麄兊呢?cái)務(wù)狀況讓他們別無選擇。但對(duì)于其他人——包括我自己——我們有足夠的衣服、鞋子、化妝品、電子設(shè)備、書籍、小擺設(shè)、廚房用具……足夠的東西……滿足了我們所有的需要。然而，我們繼續(xù)購(gòu)買。

The purchase of a just-the-right-shade-of-pink lipstick can be hard to resist. That one tube isn't expensive — but then you find all the other lipsticks you bought. (Photo: DenisProduction.com/Shutterstock)

I try to absolve myself by saying so much of what I buy is pre-owned. But it only takes one viewing of "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" to know many us have few things that truly "spark joy," so it doesn't even matter how an item ended up in the house.

我說我買的很多東西都是二手貨，試圖以此為自己開脫。但只要看一遍《與近藤麻理惠一起整理房間》，你就會(huì)知道，我們很多人都沒有什么東西能真正“點(diǎn)燃快樂的火花”，所以，一件東西如何擺放在家里都不重要。

Perhaps a no-buy year, or some variation on the theme, is in order.

也許今年是“不買”的一年，或者主題有所變化。

First step: Identify why you want to try it

第一步:確定你為什么想要嘗試

Is your habit of buying things keeping you from spending your money on an experience like attending a concert? (Photo: 13_Phunkod/Shutterstock)

If you're going to try a no-buy year or a month or some variation of the theme, the first step is identifying why you're doing it.

如果你打算一年或一個(gè)月不買東西，或者嘗試不同的主題，第一步是確定你為什么要這樣做。

Is it to save money? Pay off debt? Have more money for experiences? Stop the crazy accumulation of stuff? To be more sustainable? A combination of several of these?

是為了省錢嗎?償還債務(wù)?有更多的錢來體驗(yàn)?停止瘋狂的物質(zhì)積累?更可持續(xù)?以上所有?

Without a goal, failure is likely. I say this based on past experience.

沒有目標(biāo)，很可能會(huì)失敗。我說這話是根據(jù)過去的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

Last year, I wanted to take my sons on vacation to somewhere we'd never been before where we could relax and spend a lot of time outdoors — a vacation where I could not only afford the rental and activities but also have enough flexibility with my money that I could take them out to eat at good restaurants. So I set a goal. That goal was to not buy anything I didn't need for three months prior to the vacation. A month before we went, I realized I needed to do more. I decided that I wouldn't spend money going out socially: no girls' nights out, no movies, no Saturday morning coffee rendezvous. I eventually reached my goal.

去年,我想帶我的兒子去某個(gè)地方度假，我們以前從未放松,花很多時(shí)間在戶外,一個(gè)假期,我不僅可以負(fù)擔(dān)得起租金和活動(dòng),也有足夠的靈活性和錢,我可以帶他們出去吃好的餐館。所以我設(shè)定了一個(gè)目標(biāo)。我的目標(biāo)是在假期前三個(gè)月內(nèi)不買任何我不需要的東西。在我們出發(fā)前一個(gè)月，我意識(shí)到我需要做更多的事情。我決定我不會(huì)花錢出去社交:沒有女孩之夜，沒有電影，沒有周六早上的咖啡約會(huì)。我終于達(dá)到了我的目標(biāo)。

Could no-buy be your new normal?

不買會(huì)成為你的新常態(tài)嗎?

Once you become satisfied with owning only a few pairs of good shoes, life changes for the better. (Photo: Cristi Lucaci/Shutterstock)

After vacation, I went back to my regular spending habits. But as I think about the no-buy movement, I wonder what would have happened if I'd maintained the stricter habits. There are many experiences I would love to have — concerts and music festivals are at the top of the list. Yet, I often don't buy tickets to concerts. Instead, I frequently buy little things — like $20 shoes. If I could forgo those little things, I would probably go to a lot more concerts.

假期結(jié)束后，我又恢復(fù)了正常的消費(fèi)習(xí)慣。但當(dāng)我想到“不買”運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)，我想知道如果我保持更嚴(yán)格的習(xí)慣會(huì)發(fā)生什么。我有很多想要的經(jīng)歷——音樂會(huì)和音樂節(jié)是最重要的。然而，我經(jīng)常不買音樂會(huì)的票。相反，我經(jīng)常買些小東西，比如20美元一雙的鞋子。如果我可以放棄這些小事情，我可能會(huì)去更多的音樂會(huì)。

I think the no-buy movement is something that would bring many of us some happiness. Still, it's difficult. Even though we're surrounded by things, we manage to convince ourselves that none of those things are the "perfect" thing for our immediate need.

我認(rèn)為“不買”運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)給我們很多人帶來一些快樂。不過,很難。即使我們被各種事物所包圍，我們也會(huì)設(shè)法說服自己，這些事物沒有一個(gè)是滿足我們當(dāng)前需求的“完美”事物。

I'm going to set another goal right now. That goal is to go to a big music festival at the end of the summer. To get there, I'll need to refrain from spending money on the things I don't need. I'm going to commit to not buying any new clothes or shoes between now and then. We'll see how it goes. I may need to commit in a few months to not buying some other things to make sure I get to the festival.

我現(xiàn)在要設(shè)定另一個(gè)目標(biāo)。他們的目標(biāo)是在夏末參加一個(gè)大型的音樂節(jié)。為了達(dá)到那個(gè)目標(biāo)，我必須克制自己不把錢花在我不需要的東西上。我將承諾在這段時(shí)間內(nèi)不買任何新衣服或鞋子。我們拭目以待吧。我可能需要在幾個(gè)月內(nèi)承諾不買其他東西，以確保我能參加這個(gè)節(jié)日。

I encourage you to spend some time thinking about what your goals are and how buying nothing — or at least buying a lot less — can help you reach them.

我鼓勵(lì)你花點(diǎn)時(shí)間想想什么是你的目標(biāo)，什么都不買——或者至少少買很多——如何能幫助你實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)。