Getting Rich with Responsible Consumerism!

So something that I particularly am loving so far about the "buy nothing new" year is that, not only am I supporting my social and environmental values, but I am also saving a significant amount of money!

This is a graph of my net worth from the last few months. I've taken out the dollar amounts, but even without them you can see where my net worth was in December and January, when I started the "buy nothing new" year, and where it's grown to in just three months. I haven't gotten a raise or come into any money, and I haven't even sold any of the things I'm trying to get rid of yet, but my net worth from January to March grew almost $10,000.

That's right, I just made $10,000 in three months just by cutting back the amount of "stuff" that I'm buying. And I really wasn't buying that much to begin with -- a few art supplies here, a shirt or two there, CVS runs for last minute things I needed -- but by cutting out a large portion of that and buying used for the things I still need, I've saved a substantial amount of money. And I expect this trend to continue (although realistically I know it will probably level out a bit).

So really, who can afford not to be a conscious consumer? :)

Do I Need This?

I just stumbled across this on the internet and felt compelled to post this. It's how I feel about pretty much all new "stuff" right now, and is pretty hilarious:

Now just replace the word "panflute" with anything at all you are tempted to buy or debating getting rid of. I've realized that, chances are, if I haven't needed it before now, and if I am even contemplating getting rid of it, I probably don't need it. This flowchart is my new de-cluttering motto :)

Speaking of Goodwill...

This song is so hilarious -- although beware of the NSFW language :)