Almost a decade ago I did something that has had good ripples into today.
In the spring of 2011, I embarked on a 365 day spending fast. Why?
I’m Greedy.
Once, a baby peed all over my lap because his mom didn’t have any diapers. Once, I held the hand of a homeless man who was in agony, and he couldn’t articulate why. Once, a woman said “God bless you!!” with a huge, toothless smile when I had only given her half a sandwich.
Seeing poverty in real life, in the flesh, can wreck you.
The poor exist because we have not learned to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Shane Claiborne) One of only TWO instructions Jesus left with us as THE most important.
Whoever you may believe Jesus is or isn’t, I think we can agree, there’s something that feels wrong about watching someone suffer when you can do something about it.
“If you have two coats, one of them belongs to the poor.” – Dorothy Day (and the guy that baptized Jesus actually said it first!)
I have three coats. Actually, four. Wait. Do different seasons count? I don’t even know.
I’m afraid to count how many t-shirts are in my drawer.
I buy myself things I don’t need all the time. Shoes I just “love.” That Black Friday steal. Instagram’s perfectly targeted product. Art I don’t know I want until I see it…
We all buy things we don’t need, and we all have neighbors that need.
You already know this – we live in a community and nation that is obsessed with more, bigger, better. The more we get, the more we want. Our stuff “expires” and then we want more stuff.
Meanwhile, your neighbour has an empty fridge. My neighbour has no friends. Their neighbour has no home. So?
We have an opportunity to change that; and the only thing I can change is myself.
As a result of personal conviction on this, I realize I need to confess my greed and turn another way.
So, I confess – both past and present tense – I am greedy, and I want to change!
Beginning on March 21st nearly 10 years ago, I resolved to buy nothing new for myself for 365 days.
I shopped at second hand stores only. I borrowed and shared. I gave what I did not need to those who need it more.
I wanted to be free from always wanting, and prayed this journey would change me from the inside out. Every time I saw something new I want to buy, I turned to God to say thanks for all the ways He has already taken care of me.
Filled and inspired by the love of Jesus, I had to throw my old self away and put on a new way to live. (Ephesians 4:21-24)
Want to try it?
For a day, a week, a month, a year, whatever you choose…? Buy nothing new. Instead, give that money to someone you know that needs it, or take a bag of groceries to the food bank or a friend, or support your local church, or sponsor a child through Compassion, or send some flowers.
Or reset you mental and spiritual state by resetting your financial state. I did this again and here’s why.
If you try it, I’d love to hear about it!
10 Lessons from Less Spending
On day 366 – after going a whole year without buying anything new – I had nothing new I needed to buy.
Day 366 came and went like every other day. I even went to the mall and didn’t buy anything but yogen fruz to enjoy with a friend.
My Spending Fast changed me in a lot of ways. But the weeds grow back. The greed grows back.
Greed is a weed that needs a good weeding.
I wrote the reflections below more than 10 years ago, and they still ring true today.
What I learned after a 365 Day Spending Fast:
- Healthy spending is as much of a lifestyle for your heart as healthy eating is a lifestyle for your body. Good and healthy spending is a heart habit that takes cultivating.
- I have more than enough. When I truly did need something, thrift shopping became a treasure hunt.
- I value gifts so much more. When you can’t buy anything for yourself, you appreciate someone else’s thoughtfulness that much more when they do.
- I found out what was frivolous. On the occasion someone gifted me a card to a store, there was no thoughtless, frivolous spending. I took time to think about what I should buy and why.
- Time changes your mind. It was amazing how many times I wanted something in the moment, and how less than 24 hours later I had forgotten about it completely. Sometimes I would think “when this is over I’ll buy…” but I forgot every item except a pair of Tom’s. I really wanted Tom’s.
- I found a new love for gift-giving. The only time I could shop was to buy gifts for others – and I loved it! It is a joy to give.
- I focused more on people I was with than things to buy. At the beginning of this challenge, the hardest part came in social shopping trips. Tagging along with friends or family to shop is a social thing I have always loved. Instead of being distracted by all the things, I learned to focus more on the people I get to be with.
- Giving is intentional, not accidental. Although I stopped spending so I could give, I still had to give on purpose. Since I wasn’t spending money on ‘new stuff’ it was easy for that money to end up in on coffee and food if I didn’t have a plan for it.
- I’m still greedy. It’s something that doesn’t get cured, only surrendered. Living in North America, greed is like germs. You just get over a bad cold and go back into a school full of kids with runny noses.
- Generosity can be just as contagious as greed. What do you want to spread?
This was my first Spending Fast and it changed me. My spending. My perspective.
Greed slowly grows back. It’s a constant weeding. It’s a constant gut-check.