Buy Nothing Challenge August Update

Buy Nothing Challenge

This post is long overdue.

It’s already almost the middle of September and I’m finally posting the August update for the buy nothing challenge.

Oh well, better late than never I suppose.

August was a big month for a few reasons:

• We bought NO baby stuff
• We gave away more things than we bought
• It was my wife’s birthday at the end of the month
• Our net worth crossed the million dollar mark

Let’s get to the details.

 

Not Buying Baby Stuff

Since the birth of our daughter 6 months ago, August is the first month in which we bought absolutely nothing for her.

If you recall, “baby stuff” was one of our exemptions from the challenge (along with a Naturepedic bed and the Tesla).

In the past months we had bought various baby paraphernalia such as onesies, bottles, and medicine for gas problems. Two months ago we had bought a play mat so that she can play on the floor and practice rolling over on to her stomach.

We haven’t had to buy baby stuff in August because she has everything she needs. She has enough baby clothes that fit a 6 month old. And she has the same two toys and three books that we read to her every day.

We don’t have to buy formula because she is exclusively breast feeding.

And we don’t buy diapers or baby wipes because we use reusable cloth diapers and wipes.

Babies grow fast.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she starts crawling and sitting up this month. When she starts crawling, we are going to have to buy things to help “baby proof” the house.

She will likely eat solid foods pretty soon as well. This means we will be in the market for a high chair which is one thing we’ll have to purchase. My wife feels somewhat sad knowing that one day our baby won’t be relying exclusively on her to provide nourishment and sustenance.

 

Giving Away More Than We Buy

You’ve heard of the saying “It’s better to give than to receive.” Well, that’s true. It’s also better to give than to buy!

We (mostly my wife) have been on a giving spree lately, especially in the month of August.

My wife is more of a minimalist than I am. She actively declutters the house frequently so that most things in our house have a place and purpose.

The Buy Nothing Project makes it easy to give away unwanted things because you know that it’s going to somebody who will actually use it.

Below is a list of things we gave away in August.

Facial peels

My wife has had these skin treatment facial chemical peels for quite some time now and has never used them. She didn’t want to risk transferring these potentially toxic chemicals to the baby via breastmilk. Since she had no intention of using them, she found them a new home.

Aluminum foil

We haven’t used aluminum foil in over a year because we store food in glass tupperware storage containers or glass mason jars instead of using aluminum foil.

In addition, we use parchment paper for cooking instead of foil. There are some health concerns about cooking/grilling/baking/heating food with aluminum foil because it can potentially leach aluminum into the food.

Aluminum exposure through ingestion has been linked to neurotoxicity and reproductive endocrine disruption. Sure, it may sound like a buncha hippie mumbo jumbo but I think the potential risks far outweigh any benefits. My wife and I are dedicated to healthy and clean living so we try to limit our exposure to environmental toxins as much as we can.

Poo-pouri toilet spray

This is a product that we received as a gift. The company claims that Poo-pouri is made without harsh chemicals or synthetic fragrances. However, my wife and I have been accustomed to an environment that that is free of any unnatural scents or fragrances due to their potential toxicity. Plus our vegan poop doesn’t really stink ;).

Bag of Tea Light Candles

We also gave this away because we haven’t use them in a a few years and because they are potentially toxic too. Most candles are made out of paraffin wax, which creates benzene (toxic AND potentially carcinogenic) when burned.

Additionally, most scented candles contain a “fragrance” that often contais toxic synthetic chemicals such phthalates, which are known endocrine disruptors.

To be safe, we actually make our own DIY,  non-toxic candles :).

Infant Formula

Some how (and I’m not sure why), Enfamil knew we had a baby and sent us a box of infant formula samples. Isn’t that creepy? I blame the internet, data aggregators, and advertising. They know everything about us!

Anyway, we have no use for this since our baby is exclusively breastfeeding. So we gave it away to somebody who had a need for it.

Chopper / Slicer Device

This is also something we received as a gift but never used. A lot of times it’s just easier to chop and slice things with a simple kitchen knife. Cleaning kitchen gadgets and devices can be a real pain in the butt.

Blue Towels

As an anesthesiologist, I work in the operating room. And as an interventional pain management specialist, I perform injections and other pain management procedures. In both capacities, I am working in a sterile environment in which a lot of sterile blue towels are used and ultimately thrown away.

However, a few of them remain unused and clean. I take these home because they are excellent wash cloths.

Because we have accumulated so many of these, my wife started giving a lot of them away to people who could use them.

Glad Trash Bags

We originally received these Glad trash bags from our former roommate four years ago when we rented a shared condo. After he moved out, he left a ton of things behind. One of these things was an unopened box of trash bags.

They were never used for a few reasons. First of all, we generate very little trash (we try to be as zero waste as conveniently possible). Second, the bags have a “Fabreeze” scent; and you know how we feel about scents (toxic!). Third, I take home makeshift “trash bags” home from work.

Let me explain.

In order to perform pain management procedures and injections, we have to sterilely cover the C-arm fluoroscope (a big X-ray machine).

The sterile covers look like plastic bags. And if clean and unused, they can be used as trash bags. Here’s what they look like when they are not being used as a sterile cover.

On many occasions, these sterile covers end up not being used. So I take them home. We have a lot of these and thus we never have to buy trash bags again.

 

My Wife’s Birthday (And No Gifting)

August is special because my wife’s birthday falls at the end of August.

It was the first time we celebrated her birthday as a family of three.

Also, it was the first time since we’ve been married that we did not go on a trip for her birthday. Three years ago we went to Lake Arrowhead for a mountain retreat. Two years ago, we went to Peru and did the Salkantay trek Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Last year, we traveled to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.

It felt weird NOT going somewhere for her birthday. Once you have a young baby, your travel options are much more limited!

Finally, it was the first year we didn’t buy each other anything for our birthdays. The only thing I actually bought her was the card above. It was cute and it has a picture of a dog that looks a lot like our cuddly canine companion.

As a minimalist, it was actually her idea to not buy each other anything. Some of our friends think it’s kinda weird. But I actually like the idea. It eliminates the pressure on ourselves to buy something just for the sake of a gift. We already have everything that we want and need.

 

Money Milestone: Million Dollar Net Worth

Another cool thing about August is that we reached a million dollars in net worth. This includes the appreciated value of our home.

It has always been a milestone to be a millionaire ever since I was a kid. Now that we have reached it, nothing has changed. It’s not like we are all of sudden going to loosen up the purse strings and become spendthrifts. We are still going to earn, save, and invest as much money as we can.

And we are still going to align our purchases with our values by continuing to practice conscious consumerism.

Not going to lie though. It does feel pretty cool to be a millionaire :).

 

Stuff We Bought

The only material thing that we actually bought was the birthday card that I purchased for $1. Trader Joe’s has really cute greeting cards for only $1!!!

Seriously, that’s the only material thing we bought.

Non-material things that we bought include:

• Gas – $45 (even though we primarily drive the Tesla, we still drive a gas-powered car every so often)
• Cable / Internet – $157 (we have been thinking about further reducing this by cutting cable)

That’s it.

 

Things We Didn’t Buy

Clothes

We still haven’t bought any new clothes at all this year. So if you see me walking around the convention halls of FinCon wearing raggedy old clothes, you’ll know why.

I’m kidding. My clothes are of decent quality and still look nice (or at least presentable).

However, I am entertaining the idea of buying new running shoes at some point. I have been focused more on my physical fitness lately. The running shoes that I’m currently wearing are about two years old, fairly worn down, and less able to absorb the impact of running. Buying a new pair of running shoes would help prevent injuries such as runner’s knee and shin splints. We’ll see when the time comes.

Electricity

We are still generating a surplus of electricity through our solar panels and we don’t have to pay for electricity.

 

Food

Outside of taxes and housing expenses, a majority of our spending goes to food. And we typically don’t spend a whole lot. In fact, our food spending in August was relatively low for us.

Restaurants ~ $50

We only went out to eat twice the entire month.

There were three occasions in which my parents and sisters took us all out for my wife’s birthday at a restaurant. But we didn’t pay. Since somebody else treated us, I don’t count it as an expense.

Additionally, we went to my wife’s parents’ house several times to eat some home cooked meals. I don’t count these meals either.

My wife’s actual birthday fell on a weekday. So we stayed in and ate a delicious home cooked meal of vegan linguine with marinara sauce and spinach.

A few days later, I cooked this yummy dish made with homemade pasta and a creamy vegan Alfredo sauce. If you’re interested, here’s the recipe. It was so good!

Groceries ~$300

Our main sources of groceries these days are:

• Costco
• Local farmer’s markets
• Community organic grocery store

We try to buy produce and food that is local, seasonal, fresh, and organic as much as possible. Not only is it healthier for us, it is also healthier for the environment as well.

The local farmer’s market is held every Saturday. We went two times in August and bought some seasonal fruits and veggies.

On first of those Saturdays, we bought an assortment of kale, lettuce, blueberries, zucchini, pluots, vegan garlic spread, and vegan tzatziki.

Two weeks later, we went back to the farmer’s market again. This time we bought some passion fruit, peaches, and large avocados. The pluots from the last time were so good that we bought them again. In case you were wondering, a plot is a cross between a plum and an apricot. Yet, somehow pluots are much sweeter and more delicious than their parent fruit.

Organic seasonal fruit from the farmer’s market tastes so good and fresh. The pluots were a perfect addition to this coconut yogurt fruit parfait hat we made.

 

The farmer’s market also had various food stands selling all kinds of delicious offerings. One of the food stands sold vegan Korean noodle (japchae) bowls. It was incredibly yummy.

The vegan kimchi sold at the Korean food stand was so good that we bought some in bulk. We used the kimchi as a topper for this tofu and wakame seaweed dish!

 

How was your August?