Buy Nothing Day

How to Celebrate

My Buy Nothing Day Blog

Strange, but true, Buy Nothing Day really exists.Started in Vancouver, Canada, it’s now celebrated in multiple countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and many more. Buy Nothing Day in the USA is celebrated on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. You can check out this year’s date at Days of the Year. The simplest way to celebrate is, of course, to avoid making any purchases on the day. That means dodging the Black Friday sales, no quick trips to the grocery store, no online purchases, etc. That’s certainly what I do, mainly because I see it as a way to force myself to save a little money, avoid purchasing all those items I “can’t live without”, and reflecting on my daily spending habits.However, since the day was originally conceived as a protest against consumerism, many people like to do more. For example, some people use the day as a trigger to cut up their credit cards. They may even do this publicly to make a statement. Others like to do the Zombie Walk, where they’ll wander around stores and malls with a blank look, hoping that people will ask them what’s wrong so that they can spread the word.Others go all out. In addition to not buying anything, they’ll also avoid driving, turning on lights, using their computers, televisions, phones, etc. Perhaps a little extreme for my tastes.How you celebrate is entirely up to you, but I do urge you to get involved. If you stop for a moment to think about the message behind Buy Nothing Day, I think you’ll see that it’s far more than a day protesting consumerism; it can be the start of a new lifestyle.You can read more about me and why I started this Buy Nothing Day Blog on my About Annie page