How to Buy Nothing

Ownership can be a burden. Once you buy something, you have to carry it around, fix it, remember where you put it, and keep it clean. Experiment with the freedom of buying nothing and embrace Henry David Thoreau's sentiment that "he who owns little is little owned."

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Practice reverse snobbery. Express contempt for people who mindlessly buy things. This has two benefits: It raises the act of not buying things to a lofty moral height, from which you can denigrate others, and you get to enjoy the irony of simultaneously being a snob while making fun of other snobs.

2. Go to shopping malls and department stores and briefly let your materialistic impulses loose. Try on a bunch of sweaters and choose three or four. Add a few ties or scarves. Walk around for a few minutes enjoying your stack of loot. Then put it back on the shelf and walk out. Think about how unnecessary that stuff is. You probably already have something just like it. What a relief to not have more junk around the house.

3. Get satisfaction from money saved, not money spent. Set up direct deposit so that 10 percent or more of your paycheck goes automatically into a savings or investment account or buys United States savings bonds.

4. Become a scrounger. Old bicycles, furniture, building materials, vehicles, books and clothing are everywhere, once you start looking. Become skilled at resurrecting old stuff and finding uses for it. Take pride in being an eccentric recycler.

5. Look for barter opportunities. Swap your homegrown vegetables for repairs on your house, for example. Some cities have local barter networks where credits can be earned and exchanged for needed services. Because no money is exchanged when you barter, you might be able to avoid paying taxes, which can mean a substantial savings. Just make sure the assets that are exchanged are like-kind, otherwise you will still have to pay taxes on the exchange.

6. Consider having a "buy nothing Christmas" this year. Show off your skills and get crafty. Knit a scarf, create a unique ornament or bake cookies.

Tips & Warnings

• Studies have shown that most children want more time from their parents, not more toys.

• Buy Nothing Day is usually held on the day after Thanksgiving in the US and on a late November Saturday in the UK and other countries.