Spite is Fueling My 2025 Goals

My low-spend year: what it entails & the rules I'm following

This has been one of the hardest years of my life. I’ve lived through a devastating storm. I’ve been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease and I’ve had to close a large part of my business that I’ve managed for over 10 years. I try to be an optimist, but 2024 has not been my year.

It’s left me feeling powerless. I shout about sustainability and climate change, and the storm comes anyway. I volunteer and vote and believe in a better world, yet horrible people are still elected to our government. It’s easy to feel helpless. It’s easy to feel that I shouldn’t even bother. Some days I have a tiny seed of hope, but other days I feel that I don’t even have any dirt in which to plant that seed. What I do have is spite and purchasing power.

Reminder that we live in a world that wants us to buy pinecones.

Women have amazing purchasing power. I have amazing purchasing power. I make most of the financial and purchasing decisions in my household. Women are estimated to control 75% of discretionary spending by 2028.

Women make the decision in the purchases of 94% of home furnishings, 92% of vacations, 91% of homes, 60% of automobiles & 51% of consumer electronics.

My spending power may be one of the most impactful powers that I have. Therefore in 2025, I’ve decided to do a low spend year.

We live in a world that wants us to buy everything, including scented socks.

What a Low Spend Year Entails

A Low Spend Year for me is a form of protest. It’s saying that I don’t like what is happening in our world and I don’t want to participate in making rich men richer. I don’t want to participate in making the world a dirtier, more dangerous place to live for myself or future generations. I am interested in the obvious—saving money, but most of all, I’m interested in the sustainability aspect of a Low Spend Year.

About 10 years ago I attempted a “No Spend” year to save money and it was hard. I failed often. We live in a consumeristic society. I do still want to have a social life. I will still have needs. Therefore, during my "Low Spend” I will allow myself 6 items and using my Low Spend Hierarchy of Needs to determine if I truly “need” something.

Graphic inspired by The Buyerarchy of Needs by Sarah Lazarovic.

To learn more about my rules for a Low Spend Year, become a paid subscriber. I will be detailing my journey each month with a detailed spending report. I will also be offering tips along the way, if you want to join along!