The Year Without a Purchase ~ Book Review

The Year without a Purchase: One Family's Quest to Stop Shopping and Start Connecting

  In January I mentioned giving myself a book challenge to read one book each month. I did great with this challenge in the first few weeks of January, finished my first book on less than a week and started the next one. Then I came down with the flu, along with the rest of the family. Reading was the last thing on my mind. I'm finally starting to feel better, and remembered that I gave myself some goals for the year. It was time to stick to them!

I decided that making a book review on each book I finish would be a good way to keep myself accountable. (Let's see how well I stick to this.)

 

  Book #1 was a super quick read, mainly because it was so real. I love down to earth and real life, and this book hits you in all the feels for that. I audibly laughed out loud on more than one occasion while reading 'The Year Without a Purchase'.(Affiliate link)

  It is about a typical American family ( A husband and wife with two young kids) who decided to go one entire year without making a single purchase, food not included.

  The author breaks the book up with many moments of real life hilarity. Let's be honest, saving money with a no spend challenge can get a little messy from time to time. Especially when we do not do our best to be prepared.

  One of the things that really hit home for me with this book was the fact that this family did not do this challenge out of financial necessity, they did it for their spiritual health. The financial benefit was just a bonus and an exercise in frugality. They felt they had fallen into the habit of spending money without a purpose and wanted to come back to their real purpose in life, their focus on God. 

  They wanted to learn how to be 'In the world but not of it'. (A topic I often ponder and tend to struggle with.)

  They decided to figure out what exactly was a need for them, only on the most extreme level. As a whole, our society is very confused on the topic of need vs want. Too many wants have become needs, while the majority of the world struggles to fulfill their basic daily needs.

  Don't get me wrong, this book was clearly not written to induce guilt. It did however help to shed a light on how to make an impact on your world from where you are right now. It gives hands and feet to the budgeting aspect of giving. It shows you how one family made some small and yet drastic changes to their daily lives to be able to give more to others in need.

  I think the best part of this book was the fact that they were very real and raw about their feelings through the whole process. Dustin and I have done 'no spend' challenges before and it can be very difficult and brings out many unexpected emotions. It is very revealing of who you are as a person.

  If you are looking for a quick and entertaining, yet heart searching book to read, I highly recommend reading 'The Year Without a Purchase'.

~Lyndsay

I think I may have a seed buying problem...

 


  Actually this is what has accumulated over the last few years. Each year we planned to start the garden and it fell through for one reason or another. Yet, each year I purchased a few(or many) in anticipation of starting the garden.
  I grabbed a few today, then came home to gather and sort the rest. There were a few more than I thought. Oops! I'm calling it long term savvy frugal garden preparation. 😉😊😎

I still need a few more though. It's a sickness!🌱

 I grew up on  farm and I guess having sees around is kind of part of who I am. The feeling of running out of seeds to plant is similar to the thought of not having any extra food in the pantry or money in the emergency fund. Yep it's that important.

Now to start laying out the plans for the new beds we need to build. We are open to any and all suggestions in that department. We will be building raised beds, a new things for us. We have also been discussing giving straw bale planting a try, at least for a couple things.

 I already started me medicine and herb garden area last fall. That will be expanded this year as well.

Who else is deep in garden planning?

New Additions! Operation Homestead 2018! *Video at bottom of post*

 At our old house I had attempted to start a homestead of sorts. With so many little ones in the house it quickly became too much for me. I had to let it go for a season.
Now we are more than settled into our new house, our business is under way and the kids aren't all as little as they used to be. It's time to restart 'Operation Homestead'!

 Dustin and I had already been discussing building the garden beds and possibly getting chickens and rabbits this year. Then a fellow homeschool family decided to incubate some eggs for a science project. They live in town and can't keep more than a few chickens, I was more than happy to take them off her hands.  

  The oldest two children remember having chicks and chickens, but the younger two have never experienced it. They are so excited for this brand new experience! We brought them home a few hours ago and the joy is unreal. :)

   Dustin told Anna (2) that we got the chicks so we can have fresh eggs. She has since been telling them to 'Get comfy, cook eggs!' and keeps asking them 'Where's you Mama at?'
She asked me 'Where's their Mama at?' I told her she was their Mama now. She likes that idea. 

  Everyone is very excited to start this new step in our journey. I have missed having 'farm' animals around, gardening and tending to a mini farm/homestead are two things that bring me great joy.

From a homeschooling standpoint, this offers all kinds of opportunities for real life, hands on, science education. It also teaches them the value of hard work and the enjoyment of the rewards of caring for another living thing. 

 

 Plus this has brought a fun new thing to brighten our days after having not so great of a start to the year. Between sickness, cold and snow, it has been a long winter. Everyone was more than ready for a glimpse of life to prove that spring will eventually arrive. This will serve as a wonderful distraction from the greyness outside.
 

~Lyndsay