A very interesting look at consumerism in the United States. It caused me to look at my own spending and the reasons behind it.

This was an interesting story when I read it, but when COVID hit and I lost my job, it became much more practical to me. We really had to think about each purchase because we didn't know where money was going to come from.

An interesting look at the cycle of American consumerism. And kudos to Scott and Gabby because I don’t think I could go an entire year without buying myself something! I want to go shopping just at the thought.

I can see why the idea is appealing though, you accumulate useless clutter as an adult and keep accumulating until you feel like you can’t have enough and yet you already have too much. It definitely made me think of where I spend money and why. Lots of food for thought and a little bit of hilarity with trying to avoid expensive gift giving expectations.

Unique concept and an iron will make you reconsider whether you really need that keurig…

Quote from the book: It’s not that stuff is inherently bad. What makes it bad is the value we place on it.

'The Year Without a Purchase' is a memoir by Scott Dannemiller about a year of his life where he and his wife decided not to buy unecessary and worthless stuff. I was taken aback with the amount of religion and spirituality in the book as I did not expect it. As the book progressed I was surprised that I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would. Each chapter begins with a verse or more from the Bible, but I skimmed that part and just read on. Dannemillers religion is also intertwined though. To get around their rule of not buying stuff, they buy experiences - also for Christimas, Birthdays and Easter. Their young daughter got a giftcard and wants to take her grandmother to lunch, she even calls her and tells her. That moment is just so incredibly precious.

'The Year Without a Purchase' is a good book, that I quite enjoyed. I did however only rate it 3.5 stars because it didn't grip me and keep me reading. I am inspired by the book though and hope to cull my own purchases this year.

This is an interesting book, but my family could never do this. It has helped us to rein in new purchases, though, by considering whether it is as necessary as they first appear to be.

How tied are you to your things? How much time do you lose shopping? How many times a day do you click an email leading you to an online sale? In addition to being financially harmful, our culture of endless shopping is a colossal waste of time–time we could be spending with our families or achieving our goals. The Year Without a Purchase serves as a reminder that we already have most of what we need. Of course, the paradox of the book is that you have to buy it to read it, which goes specifically against the tenets of the book.

I did not realize that I had not submitted my review for this book. My apologies.

What a great book. It seems impossible to be able to achieve something so unthinkable... to me anyway. No new shoes? No 5 shot sugar free mocha breve.. every day? How ever will I find joy? A year without a purchase was surprisingly relatable. Even better, it was motivating. I was relieved to see this family still bought things just nothing, and I mean nothing, unnecessary. I was inspired. Not having shoes in exchange for getting rid of debt, reducing stress that "stuff" actually can cause, and more TIME with my family? YES PLEASE!

I appreciate that the book didn't read like a "how to" book or get all judgmental on us. Refreshingly honest, witty, funny (!), and enlightening. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could.

I found the author's writing easy to read and humorous at times. In the Year Without a Purchase, it was interesting to read about some of the tweaks the family made to handle various challenges throughout the year. Although I did feel like there was a bit too many statistics shared and focus on consumerism. I understand that was part of the family's reasons behind no purchases for a year, but felt like it distracted a bit from the "real life" examples and humorous family stories that made the book a good read. Definitely picked up a few nuggets of advice. Good book overall.

It took me a while but I finally got to finish this book. Minimalism and conscious living have taken the interwebs by storm over the last couple of years and I was not left behind, In The Year Without Purchase, Dannemiller shares his family's experience in trimming down their expenses and making conscious purchases by buying only the bare minimum (toothpaste, groceries etc). I loved his candidness and how he was able to weave his personal Christian beliefs and research studies into his narrative in a light-hearted manner. Personally, I think I would have enjoyed this book even more in audiobook format because he's definitely witty. This book would be a good entry point for anyone raising a young family while contemplating minimalism journey and wants to know the journey looks like.

I found this book to be a thoughtful, honest, and open look at how Christians spend money and why - but from a non-didactic perspective. That was refreshing. The trend in Christian literature of teaching by storytelling can make for dry stories or flowery teaching, but this book was balanced and told a compelling story of real people trying to manage their money in a godly way.

Interesting experiment and something I've been trying to do myself. A lot of the traditions and challenges seem particularly American so I think the book might struggle outside the U.S. Nonetheless, I found it an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

I had no idea this was a Christian-themed book when I requested it, but only one aspect of that reality dimmed my enjoyment: the Bible verses quoted at the top of each chapter. The inclusion of these quotations added a heavy-handed clobbering element to the delivery of the material -- which read extremely well and made quite strongly but quite gracefully the inspiration behind the actions undertaken. The overall writing was fresh, lively and enjoyable to this non-churchgoer. However, the unnecessary addition of the biblical passages was like ruining a well-seasoned dish with a heavy dose of unneeded salt. Truly left a bad taste in my mouth. The author didn't have to thump his Bible at me to make his points!