no-buy 2025, february review
Back in December, I wrote about my intentions of doing a no-buy challenge in 2025. To keep some public accountability, I'll do monthly reviews to see if I'm sticking to my goals and if they still make sense to me.
When it comes to books, I still haven't bought any new books for me this year, and I haven't felt any urge to do so, which is surprising to me. Since it's very rare for me to buy something for myself (or feel the need to do so), I guess I always saw books as little treats. However,—and I've checked it—I've only read one of the last ten books I've bought. They're just taking up space on the bookshelf. I'm not saying I should buy a book and immediately start to read it, but it does seem wasteful to buy books just for the sake of it. I've been reading a lot on my Kobo and getting a lot of books (mostly graphic novels) from the library, and that also gets me out of the house, which is great.
I've not bought any video games. I've been working so much that I don't feel like playing videogames at all. The last thing I want to do after spending 9-10 hours per day staring at a computer screen is to do more staring at a TV. Therefore, I've also not added any games to my backlog, and I've disabled Steam's alerts about sales.
Lastly, when it comes to alcohol, I'm happy to report that I haven't had any drinks besides a sip of champagne on a birthday on January 8th, following a dry December and a half dry November. I've only had a few non-alcoholic beers in the meantime. I don't want to jinx it, but it feels like this time I just might quit alcohol for good. I've had no issues or urges when I'm with people who are drinking. To be honest, thinking about how alcohol used to make me feel has a big deterrent effect.