Finished my no-spend week!!

Hello everyone!

Well, here I am celebrating the end of my no-spend week... and this time I really did not spend a single cent!

As per before, I cost-shifted about 50% of my normal spending account and managed to put the other 50% in to my nest egg. I have to admit, I'm quite happy with that. I normally am able to set aside 10% of my fortnightly income into my nest egg. My no-spend week have increased that to 30%.

So why don't I do this all the time?

Because its hard.

My no-spend weeks involves changing my habits. And yes, I know it can be done. After all when I went through my no-buying-brand-new for a year challenge, I made some lasting changes to my consumption habits. Two years on from that year, I still very rarely buy brand-new...in fact, out of my whole house, I have only 2 items that are brand new - the rest were bought second hand (this post explains why).

But back to no-spend weeks and why its hard. Not spending a single cent for an entire week means being super organised....something that doesn't come naturally to me. It also means once again redefining how I relate to people.

In my last post on this issue, Belle asked me if I was jaded or resentful of my no-spend week. You know, to be honest, I was not. BUT I was under a lot of strain from other areas in my life this week. And while I really wanted to do my no-spend week, I found it difficult to share it with others this week. (I know I am sharing my journey with readers here, but I assume that people read my blog because they are already interested in consumerism and leading a more sustainable life. )

I think if anything, this week highlighted that my current approach to consumption is still very much a learned and conscious response. It highlighted to me, that when I'm feeling good, living and consuming mindfully feels easy. But when I'm stressed, its something I have to work on every step of the way.

In short - its hard work, mentally because my automatic responses are *still* to just fit in and do what everyone else is doing (which invariably means buying). I had times like these when I was doing my no-buying-brand-new-year. But I had put it down to me adjusting and learning.

Now I see that consumerism is very deeply ingrained in me and while my no-brand-new year has changed the direction of my consumption, to one that is more ethical, it is still consumption nevertheless.

I think change is very much a push and pull action. Sometimes I am able to push the change and confidently show it to others. Other times, I need to withdraw as I am going through it.

And this week, I definitely withdrew. The times when I felt compelled to push the change - eg. when my children wanted to join their friends in an activity that cost - I felt resentful that I had to come up with an alternative.... and not just any alternative, but a GREAT alternative.

Would I do a no-spend week again while I am stressed? Probably. It felt good to achieve something like this even when I am stressed. It provided me with some much needed distraction and allowed me to re-focus on something that *is* within my control - my own consumption habits.

It also felt good to know that I no longer *need* to buy when I'm stressed. While I still do indulge in retail therapy (or should I say op-shop therapy) from time to time, it is no longer my *main* way of dealing with stress. I know that a few years ago, I would not have been able to say the same.

So that's it from me. My no-spend week buddies are also wrapping up their week!

Voice of Many Colours seems to have survived her BovDevoursAll fiasco! Well done VOMC!! (She's also been very busy with her crafting and sewing. You may want to pop on over and have a look!)

Christephi's week finishes on Sunday and from what I read, her and her family have managed to cut down on their eating out by quite a bit. Well done to you too C - I know how difficult it is, especially when you have to negotiate the week with others.

Eco-chic Mummy has got some great climate change news in her blog at the moment! I'm sure she will be along later to give her wrap up on how her no-spend week went.

Anyway, tomorrow is my technology-free day and my garage sale. I'll be back here posting on Monday night.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!