The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption

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Now that we know why I have gone off consumption, it’s time to lay out the rules for my year-long off-consumption experiment, list down what is allowed and what isn’t.

The intent of the experiment is to spend an year — from Mar 23, 2008 to March 22, 2009 — without buying anything that is not a necessity.

I have deliberately avoided defining what is a necessity because one of the most interesting aspects of the experiment for me is to “discover” what I think of as a necessity and how it changes with context.

However, here are the ten rules — the ten commandments, if you must — I’ll use through my year of being off consumption –

Rule #1: I’ll continue to consume what I already have; when I run out of it, I’ll replenish it only if it’s a necessity.

I’m allowed to drink wine until my wine cellar is empty, I’m allowed to read the books and watch the DVDs I already own, and I’m allowed to fly if I’m using my frequent flier miles.