Gentlemen:
I have a lot of respect for the gentlemen who join in the yearly restraints. But some of the rules seem a little arbitrary to me.
From my perspective, the main purpose of a restraint is not to waste money. So I came up with an idea for a different type of "restraint." I call it the "2020 Spend no Money" restraint. (Could use 2020 SNM for short, if you wish.) The idea behind it is to get through the entire year without spending any money on shaving gear. Note that this is NOT AT ALL the same as not ACQUIRING or not BUYING any shaving gear.
The rules for the 2020 Spend no Money restraint are simple. You can buy, receive, trade, etc., ANYTHING you want. No restrictions whatsoever. You can buy LOTS of stuff if you want to. You just have to figure out a way to finance it that doesn't require spending money; i.e., you fund your new purchases with SALES.
Let's say you want to buy the new Stirling stainless steel razor that is going to be released in 2020. For the sake of discussion, let's say the price turns out to be $150 (I have no idea what the actual price will be). You have a Gillette Fatboy in perfect condition that you haven't used in two years, a Montblanc ballpoint that you haven't used since the 1990s. You sell the Fatboy for $55 and you sell the Montblanc pen for $120. You spend $15 on postage. You can then purchase the Stirling razor and you are up $10 (this can be used for other shaving-related purchases).
As the example illustrates, you do not have to sell just shaving gear, as the point of the restraint is NOT necessarily to reduce the size of your den (although if you want to do that, it is certainly not discouraged; I do want to do that). The point is to NOT SPEND ANY MONEY on shaving for the entire year. Turning a profit would be awesome, too, but is not necessary. All expenses should be tracked; money spent on postage counts. Trading is also, obviously, allowed, but postage money spent on sending a traded item counts toward the balance sheet and must be offset.
If at the end of 2020 your balance sheet is at zero or you come out ahead, you have successfully completed the restraint.
What do you guys think? Any interest in this? I really want new gear, but I already have too much, so I came up with this idea mostly to motivate myself to sell stuff that I am no longer using and don't really need. Also, I would love to shave for an entire year completely FREE, but I do NOT want to quit acquiring new stuff. This restraint allows me to accomplish both goals.
Let me know what you think. I, for one, am in!
2020 Spend no Money Restraint
1) kingfisher
I have a lot of respect for the gentlemen who join in the yearly restraints. But some of the rules seem a little arbitrary to me.
From my perspective, the main purpose of a restraint is not to waste money. So I came up with an idea for a different type of "restraint." I call it the "2020 Spend no Money" restraint. (Could use 2020 SNM for short, if you wish.) The idea behind it is to get through the entire year without spending any money on shaving gear. Note that this is NOT AT ALL the same as not ACQUIRING or not BUYING any shaving gear.
The rules for the 2020 Spend no Money restraint are simple. You can buy, receive, trade, etc., ANYTHING you want. No restrictions whatsoever. You can buy LOTS of stuff if you want to. You just have to figure out a way to finance it that doesn't require spending money; i.e., you fund your new purchases with SALES.
Let's say you want to buy the new Stirling stainless steel razor that is going to be released in 2020. For the sake of discussion, let's say the price turns out to be $150 (I have no idea what the actual price will be). You have a Gillette Fatboy in perfect condition that you haven't used in two years, a Montblanc ballpoint that you haven't used since the 1990s. You sell the Fatboy for $55 and you sell the Montblanc pen for $120. You spend $15 on postage. You can then purchase the Stirling razor and you are up $10 (this can be used for other shaving-related purchases).
As the example illustrates, you do not have to sell just shaving gear, as the point of the restraint is NOT necessarily to reduce the size of your den (although if you want to do that, it is certainly not discouraged; I do want to do that). The point is to NOT SPEND ANY MONEY on shaving for the entire year. Turning a profit would be awesome, too, but is not necessary. All expenses should be tracked; money spent on postage counts. Trading is also, obviously, allowed, but postage money spent on sending a traded item counts toward the balance sheet and must be offset.
If at the end of 2020 your balance sheet is at zero or you come out ahead, you have successfully completed the restraint.
What do you guys think? Any interest in this? I really want new gear, but I already have too much, so I came up with this idea mostly to motivate myself to sell stuff that I am no longer using and don't really need. Also, I would love to shave for an entire year completely FREE, but I do NOT want to quit acquiring new stuff. This restraint allows me to accomplish both goals.
Let me know what you think. I, for one, am in!
2020 Spend no Money Restraint
1) kingfisher
