Cleaning

How One Woman Minimized Her Spending for a Year (and What She Gained in Return)

February  9, 2018

It's clear from looking at the popularity of lifestyle trends like Danish hygge, Japanese ikigai, Swedish lagom, and Scottish còsagach that people are seeking ways to put the brakes on their hectic, overrun, overcommitted lives to slow down and appreciate the simpler things.

That's the situation self-identified former "binge consumer" Cait Flanders found herself in in her late 20s, nearly $30,000 dollars in debt, unhappy with everything, and no sight of slowing in her spending or drinking. She may not have turned to any of the abovementioned trends, but she did take a stand in her own way. The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store documents how she broke her cycle of earning more, buying more, wanting more (and more, and more) with a year of not spending money on non-essential items.

Photo by Kathleen Lynch

Below is a peek at what strategies she used to get out of her consumerist habits, and how she came to find a life more in line with her personal goals and values.


The Year of Less (an Excerpt)

Before you get started, I would encourage you to spend some time thinking about one thing: the reason you want to take on a challenge such as this in the first place. Some people call this their “why.” It might be the same reason you do anything in life, or it could be very specific to this challenge. If you need help determining your why, consider where you’re at in your life’s journey so far and ask yourself these questions. What do you want right now? What do you want to get out of this life? What mark do you want to leave on the world? And why?

Shop the Story

Throughout the challenge, I would also encourage you to keep a list of your values. Your values should not be your aspirations—confusing the two is just one of the reasons I used to buy things for the ideal version of myself. Instead, your values can be defined as both your principles or standards of behavior, and as your judgment of what is important in life. Whenever you realize what one of your values is, add it to the list. Keep this nearby (perhaps even in your wallet).

Join The Conversation

Top Comment:
“It’s funny how women are always encouraged to deprive themselves of things, literally in this case. If it brings you pleasure, legally, keep it, buy it, use it. You deserve it. You deserve pleasure and joy. Women are AWESOME and beautiful, all shapes, sizes, colors, etc. (I get the point and all, but it’s just something I think about. It’s funny she plugs her book @ the end. Stop buying💩 but buy my book 1st 🤐. ) If I’m trolling, I apologize. I wish you ❤️.”
— Sandy
Comment

By the time you finish your own experiment, my hope is you will be living a lifestyle that aligns with your goals and values—and that your budget aligns with them too. When everything is working together, it’s a lot easier to find inner peace, appreciation, and gratitude for all you have. Good luck!

1. Declutter Your Home

Before you begin a shopping ban for any length of time, I would suggest going through your home and getting rid of anything that doesn’t serve a purpose in your life. Don’t just organize your stuff—analyze it, ask yourself what you want to keep, and let go of all the rest. I’m sure that sounds counterintuitive to some degree. You’re not going to be allowed to shop for three months, six months, or a year, and you’re also going to get rid of the things you currently have? But decluttering first can open your eyes to how much stuff you’ve wasted money on in the past, which can serve as motivation to not waste more money during your shopping ban. It will also give you a visual reminder of how much stuff you’re keeping.

2. Take Inventory

It’s easy to forget how much stuff you own when it lives inside closets, drawers, and boxes. While you’re decluttering, I suggest also taking inventory of the items you own the most of. You don’t have to be as exact as I was, where I literally wrote down things like how many pens I owned. Instead, try this: Go through each room of your home and write down the top five items you have the most of. For example, in your bathroom, you might have a lot of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste, and deodorant. Take inventory of those items and write down the number you currently have “in stock.” These are some of the things you will not be allowed to buy during your shopping ban—at least, not until you run out of them and need more.

When everything is working together, it’s a lot easier to find inner peace, appreciation, and gratitude for all you have.
Cait Flanders

3. Write Three Lists

When you were decluttering and taking inventory, two things probably started to become clear: There are things in your home you definitely don’t need to buy more of, and there are probably also a few things you will, in fact, need to buy during your shopping ban. At this point, it’s time to write three lists.

The Essentials List: This is a list of things you’re allowed to buy whenever you run out of them. The easiest way to create this list is to walk around your home and look at what you use in each room every day. For me, this included things like groceries and toiletries. I also included gifts for others.

The Nonessentials List: This is a list of things you’re not allowed to buy during your shopping ban. For me, that included things I thought I would enjoy but didn’t use on a daily basis, like books, magazines, and candles. If you took inventory of any of these items, add the number you have beside it for reference.

The Approved Shopping List: This is a list of specific things you’re allowed to buy during your shopping ban. As you declutter and take stock of what you own, think about what’s coming up during the time span of your shopping ban and figure out what you might need to add to this list.

This excerpt has been reprinted with permission from The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders. It can be found online at hayhouse.com or amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

Would you be able to go without a year of spending on non-essential items? We'd love to know, please share your thoughts below.

Listen Now

On our new weekly podcast, two friends separated by the Atlantic take questions and compare notes on everything from charcuterie trends to scone etiquette.

Listen Now

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • anita
    anita
  • Sandy
    Sandy
  • FrugalCat
    FrugalCat
  • Djay
    Djay
  • Martha McK
    Martha McK
Hana is a food writer/editor based in New York.

14 Comments

anita February 18, 2019
Or you could just ask a poor person how they survive.
 
Sandy January 30, 2019
It’s funny how women are always encouraged to deprive themselves of things, literally in this case. If it brings you pleasure, legally, keep it, buy it, use it. You deserve it. You deserve pleasure and joy. Women are AWESOME and beautiful, all shapes, sizes, colors, etc. (I get the point and all, but it’s just something I think about. It’s funny she plugs her book @ the end. Stop buying💩 but buy my book 1st 🤐. ) If I’m trolling, I apologize. I wish you ❤️.
 
FrugalCat February 21, 2018
I read a book several years ago called Living Well With Less where the author gave up one thing a month. Some were food related, some were not. A couple were specific to NYC, where she lived (taxis, elevators). I got inspired and back in 2011 I went for it. I alternated food ones (meat, dairy, alcohol, sugar, dining out) with non-food ones (television, driving, cursing, shopping). It was interesting and enlightening. Hardest month BY FAR was sugar.
 
Djay February 17, 2018
Very timely article for me as I have been sorting and decluttering for well over a year. What I have discovered is that getting rid of stuff progresses in layers; what I thought I could not get rid of 6 months ago, I am able to let go of it now. And in a continuum from what I know I do not want to what would I totally miss if I got rid of it. It is amazing how we cling to our stuff for whatever reasons others cannot understand. Thank you for sharing your experience.
 
Djay February 17, 2018
Very timely article for me as I have been sorting and decluttering for well over a year. What I have discovered is that getting rid of stuff progresses in layers; what I thought I could not get rid of 6 months, I am able to let go of it now. And in a continuum from what I know I do not want to what would I totally miss if I got rid of it. It is amazing how we cling to our stuff for whatever reason others cannot understand. Thank you for sharing your experience.
 
Martha M. February 16, 2018
Cookbook fans: most public libraries have a wonderful selection of old and new cookbooks. Take a look--they're free and must be returned, so no hoarding!
Martha
 
Rose February 15, 2018
Im going to have to try this.. Baby steps..
 
Kathy M. February 15, 2018
I have been doing something extremely similar for the past year and a half more out of necessity even the my favorite quote for the past 2 decades is wants vs needs. If I dont NEED it. I dont buy it. I have been bad about De cluttering that is a work in progress. I quilt so before a damaged outfit gets pitched I save buttons zippers and if nice material as much as can be. I donate the quilts to animal rescue facilities. Now that I will be moving to a smaller place I hope soon. I have to make a quilt for my day bed I am turning into a sofa. I like your idea.
 
Kameryn T. February 15, 2018
Love this approach and especially the 3 different lists!
--Kameryn
wwww.sullivanstreeteats.com
 
Rhonda35 February 10, 2018
This approach to decluttering sounds much more doable for me than Marie Kondo's. I think the one thing I'd have a hard time not buying is books, especially cookbooks!
 
Hana A. February 11, 2018
Hi Rhonda - Thanks for commenting. I wholeheartedly agree; cookbooks are my weakness, too!
 
Anisa F. February 15, 2018
Why do you need Cookbooks when you have https://www.pinterest.com and youtube ?
 
Sarah M. February 16, 2018
I have been getting all my cookbooks at the library and making copies of the recipes I love! If I can’t stop thinking about that cookbook for a few months I may buy it or reserve it again.
 
Marty L. February 18, 2019
Sarah M. Just a thought - instead of making copies you can scan the recipe and save it digitally. Although I must confess my digital life is a bit messy as well. I recently decluttered my many copies of recipes that were hard to keep organized