revolt against consumerism.

UNM

<a href=http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Nothing_Day> This Saturday is international buy nothing day

</a>

How hard can it be to go twenty four hours without spending money?

<a href=http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/buy-nothing-day-2012-approaching-could-you-stop-spending-one-day> Why would it be a good thing to avoid money? </a>

I read the articles and thought yes, this is a worthwhile project. I am not ready to give up money for a year or even the one month suggested for next year, but a day is doable.

So anyone game to join in and revolt against consumerism? We can be heroes, just for one day

Brett_H

On that day I'm going to go to the Clickfail site and window shop :rofl:

RichardM

Brett H wrote:

On that day I'm going to go to the Clickfail site and window shop :rofl:

I think the whole clickfrenzy thing was a consipracy. Hear me out: Yesterday, my local radio station (owned by a major TV network) was saying how good it would be. This morning, they were saying how it was a failure and everyone should just "Buy local" anyway. My thoughts are the big companies who have a vendetta against online companies who are sending them broke all got together and went "let's get word of mouth/social media together to pimp this, then use it as a way of telling everyone how bad online shopping is when it fails". The reality: everyone realised just how much these large companies (DJ's, Myer, HN etc) have treated online shopping with contempt, and as an afterthought, and admire the small companies that sell online that didn't go down, but have lower prices EVERY DAY than those big guys have on a big sale (Myer had some "VIP BULLSHIT" sale last night, and I went there, and it had a table which said "30% off all Kitchen/Servingware" then excluded EVERY item on that table in the fine print. Even if they had 30% off, they still would have been $3 MORE than the online store I'm going to buy off even factoring in shipping. Shits me to tears. So what was this topic about again? Oh right, consumerism. Screw spending money. I'm going to become a hippy, grow my own vegetables, and never wash my hair (while continuing to work in IT).

Koffee_Kosmo

I do this all the time ( abstain from spending ) for longer periods than one day KK

Brett_H

RichardM wrote:

I think the whole clickfrenzy thing was a consipracy. Hear me out: Yesterday, my local radio station (owned by a major TV network) was saying how good it would be. This morning, they were saying how it was a failure and everyone should just "Buy local" anyway. My thoughts are the big companies who have a vendetta against online companies who are sending them broke all got together and went "let's get word of mouth/social media together to pimp this, then use it as a way of telling everyone how bad online shopping is when it fails". The reality: everyone realised just how much these large companies (DJ's, Myer, HN etc) have treated online shopping with contempt, and as an afterthought, and admire the small companies that sell online that didn't go down, but have lower prices EVERY DAY than those big guys have on a big sale (Myer had some "VIP bovine excreta" sale last night, and I went there, and it had a table which said "30% off all Kitchen/Servingware" then excluded EVERY item on that table in the fine print. Even if they had 30% off, they still would have been $3 MORE than the online store I'm going to buy off even factoring in shipping. Shits me to tears. So what was this topic about again? Oh right, consumerism. Screw spending money. I'm going to become a hippy, grow my own vegetables, and never wash my hair (while continuing to work in IT).

I reckon you might be onto something! I notice these guys weren't a feature...but they should have been... Here's one for Kelsey http://www.harveynormanbigbuys.com.au/p/5809/global-7-piece-knife-set-synergy

Lacehim

I'm getting sick of the consumerism bit too. There seems to be an event every month that requires me to buy something, which has usually shot up in price a few weeks before. Usually this event also requires a card. I fruiting hate cards! It's a bit of cardboard with To, (insert name), Happy (insert event), from (insert your name). Why bother, just SMS me, or send an email. Usually I get shouted at a lot by the TV (Hardly Normal & Joyce Mayne) to buy something mundane for a loved one! :head: I'm also fed up with these bloody monthly events, like "Buy Nothing Day", "Movember", "Ocsober" where I feel obliged to do something for a cause or a day to feel better about myself. I'm getting a little fed up with the peer pressure to do what someone else wants me to do all the time. Rant Over. :pan

Kelsey

I'm with you there Lacehim - but what I particularly dislike is the rampant consumerism focused on cheap, low quality goods with a short life span. Mobile phones are a big one here - much as I like my iPhone, I'm quite happy with the 4 and feel no particular urge to upgrade. The problem with rampant consumerism is that we don't own our stuff, at least not in a philosophical sense - we've bartered for it with an abstract: money. By using money it abstracts us from the time-and-effort value of our labour and makes it harder to think critically about our purchases. Moreover, I believe we own things more fully when we make things ourselves or fix them. My KKTO is one of my most prized possessions, because it's something that you and I built, not something I bought. My office desks are similarly prized, even though they're massive and always a hassle come moving time - my wife and I built them together. I also love buying second hand - even most of my Apple computers have been purchased through their refurb program.