Would you stop shopping for one month?

Question

What impact would a one month purchasing moratorium have on you? (gas and food could be rationed for this month). No shopping for a month? Could you do it? Suppose it was done globally?

Answer 1

I'd do it only if i was completely broke. But if i had at least one dollar in my pocket, then I'd spent it. Can't help it. Shopping makes me feel better.

Answer 2

Not a problem. I do that all the time anyway. Except the food and gas part. Not much on the food side, but lots of gas.
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Nothing would happen because it would just cause a minor slip in revenues, but they would all come back when the month was up.
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Sort of like that stupid "Don't by gas on Tuesday" idea. You just make up for it either Monday of Wednesday. - Now, carpooling EVERY Tuesday, that would have an impact.
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Answer 3

Wouldn't bother me at all..do it all the time..even two and three months at a time

I'm sure I could find enough things around the house for gifts, and could make anything with what's here that I would need or want.

Wouldn't it be great to have it done globally...say the month of January, then the retailers wouldn't be hurt practically at all.

Answer 4

To answer all of your questions:

I've spent a month and even longer without shopping (except groceries) and it hasn't affected my life whatsoever. Most of my hobbies are nature-related or don't require much investment of money.
And I live in NY, great transportation system here, so I don't drive.

The main impact would be on the economy of the country and businesses.
Major ones such as Walmart would not be as greatly affected by this, but the "mom and pop" stores or independent businesses, would suffer because they rely on us consuming to be able to, at the very least, break even and maintain their businesses afloat.
Unfortunately, this is how its set up.

So, there are pros and cons to this matter.

Answer 5

I could do it since the only shopping I do is for stuff like CD's cause my parents do all the grocery shopping ect. Food rationing might be hard for my family though cause my parents don't buy food so much in bulk but prefer to make little trips to the store every day.

Answer 6

At that rate, I have stopped shopping for a year now. I live on the charity of friends, what I can find a church charity drives, and food stamps. It's called "homeless" and we're bigger numbers than you think.
The last thing I shopped for was paint for a friend's house. It is real easy not to buy anything new. Really.

Answer 7

It would be one the hardest, if not the hardest, action any modernized culture could impose on itself.

Like a couple of people here have eluded to, shopping, for many many people, has become an addiction. It is a therapuetic activity. It can create a similar kind of high that gambling does. But as any addiction, it can cause severe withdrawal symptoms and depression when it is removed.

Plus, removing shopping would be a very difficult task to accomplish.

People do it on a regular basis, whether they are conscious of it or not. Even with the people saying here that they don't shop. I challenge them to look at their bank statements, credit card statements, ATM receipts. If they truly looked for the pattern they would realize that shopping is a habit that they are not aware of.

Even going out to eat, breakfast, lunch or dinner, is a type of shopping. You have to make spur of the moment decisions. Where to eat, what to choose on the menu, what toppings, sides, desserts. It is all the act of shopping. It's not like buying groceries at the beginning of the month then utilizing the selections to prepare your own meals on an as needed basis.

Which brings up another conundrum. It really seems that the art of cooking in general is becoming a lost art. Sure, there's lots of people who have taken up the interest of going to cooking classes to whip up something special for that next get-together. But what I mean is the lost art of passing down the skill of cooking. I have yet to have had a girlfriend (I'm 37) that posseses that skill. I almost inevitabley cook for us. I do realize that we live in a society of fast living, go-go-go schedules, multi-tasking social-networking soccer-mom yoga-class culture. But it seems to me that cooking should be a staple of everyone's repertoire, even men.

But I digress.

Even the mundane things we don't think about. Buying a magazine, gum, or soda at the corner store. Buying coffee at Starbuck's. Renting a movie at Blockbuster. Buying a song from I-Tunes. Buying that set of earrings that you thought were perfect for those pumps (I'm not really sure how you gals coordinate, just was taking a shot in the dark here). Buying that case of Bud Light. Buying that air freshener for your car.

These are all things (among countless more) that we do subconsciously that classify as "shopping".

Most of us don't know what it's like not to shop. Every generation that I see goes by get's worse too. At least what I can observe in my own family and what I see when I go to Target (that's Tar-zhay for those who don't know). My nephews and neice pretty much get whatever they want. Sometimes they are told "no", but not often. When I see parents with their children, it just seems parents have now been conditioned to let their child get what they want if they just stop screaming in the store.

Even my penny-pinching parents have loosened up quite a bit. They have gone into collecting anything and everything they think they got a "good deal" for. It's like they live in a trinkit museum. And they have a DVD collection that rivals Netflix. They just seem to be the Costco generation. They don't necessarily need a 45 gallon drum of mayonaisse, but dammit, they saved buying bulk!

Back to my orignal point. In order for our culture to change our habits there would need to be a fundamental change in our attitudes. With every generation, our need for materialistic wealth and instant gratification will only continue to grow. It is a road we chose that has no u-turn.

Every new house I see built puts children's rooms farther and farther fro the parent's rooms. We now have conversations with each other by email or text. We no longer know how to be civil and corteous to each other because we don't spend time with each other. We would rather be the lone passeneger in our vehicle cut off from the surrounding world. Our road rage becomes worse. Our attention spans become shorter. What was I saying?

What would happen if we had to stop shopping for a month? A nationwide month long depression. Similar to 9/11 but not nearly as tragic. I remember the days following, noone would leave their house unless absolutely necessary (i.e. work). Noone would say "hi" to a stranger. Crowded places were much quieter, everyone more reserved. 9/11 changed our lives. So would a one month "no shopping" moratorium. But, just like our behavior from 9/11, once it passed, we would go right back to being our narcissistic selves.

But let me tell you what I really think.......

~jaz~

Answer 8

I stopped shopping last December and I wont go again until some time in November.

Answer 9

i take advantage of to have this comparable problem, and now and lower back I nonetheless do. that's a habit. that's a genuine difficulty and that's not basic to regulate it. i take advantage of to in straight forward terms have income my wallet yet then I switched to a debit card and now i'm not as tempted to apply it. once you start to purchase something continuously ask your self, "do i actually choose this." that's totally nicely to purchase your self issues yet not high priced issues for all time. purely ask your self that each and every time you bypass to the save. that's fairly helped me! good success! happy holidays!

Answer 10

I could do it, all except gas 4 the car, HOW would i get to work?