Trying to escape the gravitational pull of consumerism is difficult. But it pays — or more accurately, it saves — when you're able to do so.
Whether you're looking for cookware or clothes, it can be easy to forget that there are options beyond buying brand-new, expensive items. Not only can abstaining from consumer culture be easier than you think, but it can also genuinely be more fun.
One Redditor recently found this to be the case. Posting on the r/Anticonsumption subreddit, she detailed an experience she had trying to find a dress to borrow for an upcoming wedding.
"Usually I would get myself into a tailspin about this kind of event and find myself over shopping and spending too much time browsing for the 'perfect' outfit, completely sucking the joy out of dressing up and making me feel like an anxious wreck ahead of the event," she explained.
Instead, she ended up borrowing a dress from her sister — and finding the right dress "ended up just being a bonus." The real enjoyment, she said, was connecting with her sister and having "the most fun [they'd] had … in a long time!"
From the affordability to the sheer enjoyment of the experience, the OP's story outlined a number of benefits of buying (or borrowing) secondhand.
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For example, in addition to the dress she borrowed, the OP's sister also gifted her numerous articles of clothing that didn't fit her anymore, an act that serves two additional purposes: saving the OP future shopping money and keeping those clothes out of a landfill. Considering that the U.S. sends approximately 11.3 million tons of textile waste to the dump annually, per RoadRunner waste management, lowering that number could drastically reduce pollution.
Buying local, thrifting, and generally adopting an anti-consumption ethos can also strengthen social bonds. Whether it's connecting with a neighbor via a local Buy Nothing group or donating food or supplies to a community in need, a mindset based more on gifting and helping — rather than spending and consuming — benefits both your wallet and your well-being.
Fellow Redditors were inspired by the OP's story.
"Love this, it made me smile!" one user exclaimed.
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"What a lovely post!" read another response. "It sounds so sweet, getting together, putting music on and having a good time!"
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