Some hobbies are going to have greater environmental impact than others (like racing cars or boats, vs. knitting). And even if rnkoneil needs to buy new running shoes every year, I think that would be forgivable (same with new bicycle tires).

BTW, I knit, and a friend of mine recently recycled the yarn from a sweater she'd bought at a thrift store. The sweater was not her size or style, but the yarn was cashmere. She took out the seams, unraveled the sweater, and now she has some "new" cashmere yarn to knit a pretty sweater.

Running is one of my hobbies. 400 miles per pair of shoes and 2000 miles per year is five new pairs of shoes per year. I use old running shoes for casual shoes and I recycle the old shoes or give them to Goodwill but there's no getting around this.

How about magazines? Do I have to give up my subscription to Cook's Illustrated? I could do that and just subscribe to their website to get the same content.

Most everything's outsourced to China anyway, where all the useless crap people buy comes from (at slave-labor prices). What jobs?

You'd be shocked at how much hobby stuff you can get at 2nd hand shops, garage sales, and rummage sales. A lot of it is (slightly morbidly) when family clean out someone's craft stash after they die and donate it all, but sometimes it's just an over-purchaser purging. Really nice stuff, too, at a deeeeeeep discount.

I expect a lot of hobbyists are like me, though, and have overbought so severely I could EASILY entertain myself for a year with all the stockpiled projects and supplies I have lying around.

youve got clothes to last a year. your things are in good shape and you dont break them. youve got what you need to make a living. you dont need anything new buying frivolous shit just because you want it is childish. reading half of the above comments is like ive stepped into never-never land with malls and creditcards.

Do none of you have hobbies that sometimes require new purchases?

Otherwise, I've done scaling back before - little things like only drinking water when going out etc. Primarily as short term fixes though - amazing how much you save with the 'minor' sacrifices!

For me per week it is $18.80 on food in and $5.33 on food out. Kind of unforeseen...

No credit card debt just student loans that I am working on and that hopefully will soon be gone.

Still, it's probably not a good idea for all of us to stop buying new things. Wouldn't the economy go to hell and half of us lose our jobs?

I'm with you, although I'll trade the cell phone & Adidas for designer shoes and handbags.

I wonder if subscribing to Netflix is considered "buying new things", because if it is, I *definitely* couldn't do it.

Aside from a few areas (like the aforementioned gadgets), most consumer products have reached a level of maturity that makes buying used very sensible and easy-- a 5-year old Mercedes car or IBM computer or Levi's pair of jeans will perform just as well and last just as long as anything new, although it may not be as flashy.

So far this year. I do not see myself buying much more clothing this year unless it is work related (another suit or two). With stuff it is mainly just little things here and there which have added up, such as $31.39 HP 5L toner from supermediastore.

That's what I say. I still use the same Motorola StarTac phone from years ago.

Thank you!

i would like to submit this to the Consumerist t-shirt slogan contest.

Of course, if I made a solemn vow to do that, the morning of the first day, I'd drop my coffeemaker on the floor and my computer would explode. Commerce is a jealous god.

Do people really buy a new cell phone every year? Why??

(sorry heard that joke on Reno-911)

I go to thrift stores selectively too. I'm wearing NEW Abercrombie/Fitch pants I bought for $7 at salvation army.

Plus, you know, secondhand clothes are usually gross, and ditto for most of the furniture.

Being debt free sounds vaguely communist if you ask me....