My best friend went to Europe last year with a group of people. Most people in that group were buying souvenirs in various European countries, but my best friend bought nothing. In the end, other people in that group gave him some souvenirs because they couldn’t understand why he didn’t buy anything. In fact, he just didn’t want to buy anything, although he could afford souvenirs during international trips.
- Why didn’t he buy anything?
Interestingly, my best friend was doing an experiment: He decided not to buy anything for one year and see what would happen. Of course, he still had to buy necessities such as grocery, but he didn’t buy things like clothes, jewelry and toys for a year.
He also didn’t go out much during that year except one international trip to Europe where he didn’t even buy one souvenir.
What’s more, he stopped dining in restaurants. Instead, he cooked every meal by himself at home. He has become healthier as a result.
“Why would I let someone else decide what I should put into my mouth?” he says to me, “Cooking at home means I only eat healthy food every single day.”
Indeed, he only bought healthy food from the supermarket: vegetables, fruit, fish, and so on. When he was cooking at home, he only used premium ingredients: olive oil, sea salt, and so forth. He told me that eating every meal cooked by himself would definitely make him live longer because that’s the best way to look after himself. He also stopped drinking coffee and hot chocolate as he decided to drink water, tea and juice only.
- What did he learn from that year?
He has shared what he learned from that year with me:
First of all, his life was simplified because of the experiment. Without buying anything that is unnecessary, his life became easier – less worry about finances, less clutter at home, more space for himself and more clarity about everything in life.
Second, if he only buys things that he needs and doesn’t buy things that he wants, he can save more money for experiences that he is interested in (he would rather spend money on experiences; he is unwilling to spend money on stuff). He loves international trips because experiences like these are more valuable.
Third, now his experiment is over because that year is over. He has changed his plan wisely: Instead of buying things that he needs only & not buying things that he wants, he has a budget for things that he wants nowadays – 10% of his income is his play money these days. He has made this decision because he has recently realized something crucial: If he buys something that he wants, he is more likely to use that item frequently, so that’s still very good value! What’s more, life is short; therefore, it’s better to make the most of his life when he is still here!
“My best friend did a meaningful experiment and learned so much from that very special year.”
