NO BUY JULY

 

Everyone knows about ‘Dry January’. It is probably a good idea to sober up after a month designed to party and drink too much.

  No-Buy July is a challenge where people commit to spending only on essential items for the entire month of July, aiming to reduce spending and save money. It's part of the broader "no-spend" movement and encourages participants to avoid discretionary purchases like new clothes, entertainment, or dining out. The goal is to break the habit of impulse buying and become more mindful of spending habits.

           With the ease of charge now, pay later and all the online enticements to ‘add to cart’ consumerism feeds our dopamine. If you look on eBay or any of the marketplace sites, it is easy to view all the crap…er, ‘stuff’ we purchased through the years that were important at the time and are now filling up the closets, attic, garage with leftover memories. That impulse purchase of a cowboy hat when in Texas that was never worn. Those boots that seemed stylist at the time sitting in back of the closets with all the other shoes that are out of fashion. That hand-me-down car you wanted to fix up but lost interest and now no one wants it. Those baseball cards you loved as a kid and have been carting around for years and now trying to sell a pawn shop value for your effort. When will that Fillmore t-shirt go into the rag pile instead of a keepsake trunk?

If it is worth the time and trouble to post an old rusty trailer online in hopes that one’s junk is another’s treasure to reimburse a few bucks and save space in the landfill. If the item is still of value to someone else, a donation to a thrift shop or community center will give a good feeling while freeing space to buy some more junk.

I balance my own budget. I’ve kept records of every penny spent since 2008. Downsizing, I can view the items, some expensive, that were frivolous at the time to make someone happy. Luckily, I’ve been able to give away or donate to family, friends, thrift shops, churches, libraries and take the estimated value off my taxes.

I still have plenty of toys and memorabilia and items that still work but haven’t found a spot yet. I still scroll the news sights and occasionally check out an advertisement of the latest gadget or trend. With a click of the mouse, it could be delivered the next day to my front door…. but.

If I’m tempted, I’ll wait 30 days until indulging in the temptation. Unless it is drastic, I can wait and rethink about the price or the value or if it would be a necessary purchase.

Maybe I’ll try a ‘Dry January’ too?

NO NEWS?

 

DISCLAIMER: I have the radio on 24/7. There are some breaks for music, but it is mostly news provided by NPR and BBC. If I wake in the morning and there is not a stream of news, either the power went off or there is problem at the station. Or?

 

With all the talk of getting rid of bias news reporting (depending on your personal taste) there could come a time when there is NO NEWS. Reporters would be obsolete from eye-witness viewing an event and journalist evaluations of who, what, when, where and why and presenting it to the public at large in a concise manner that is easily understood. That has been the acceptable process since smoke signals and town criers.

Newspapers were known for their publisher’s slanted political agendas from the American revolution to the desegregation of schools. Radio announcers would pause and phrase a sentence to emphasize a report and a television announcer could raise an eyebrow to question the words spoken on the air.

Imagine, if you will, going to the library and there are NO BOOKS. No reference, no fiction, no history because someone was offended by the words. Words can have many interpretations. The only reading material will be in the home library which may be out-of-date today’s readers.

What if, turning on the television multiple channels and there is nothing there? No talking heads proclaiming the weather predictions, sport scores, food recipes, fashion tips, transportation destinations and oil prices, health advice, movie reviews, celebrity faux pas and the only government reports are the systematic dissemination of information, often biased or misleading, to promote a specific political cause, idea, or agenda. It aims to influence public opinion and behavior by shaping perceptions and beliefs, sometimes through the selective presentation of facts or emotionally charged language. Propaganda can be found in various contexts, including politics, advertising, and social movements.

If the Internet still remains on your phone, the scroll of videos uploaded from shaky cellphone cameras and an opinionated documentary of the occasion is the NEWS without verification or confirming authenticity of the presentation.

If the Internet is disconnected, the only NEWS is the gossip from neighbors. There are no crime alerts or infrastructure maintenance notifications. Alerts to shelter in place due to impending disaster are merely hearsay.  If you constantly scroll your phone in fear of missing out, all you will see are videos from friends and family and strangers viewing what they are eating and wearing and where they are and the kids and animals with a few unverified opinions or AI calculations of what advertising will appeal to you by your history.

On the plus side, every morning I won’t be woken up with sounds of bombs and shooting and screams and children crying with a voice over of the body counts from the night before.

Or there is music?