The details part 1
The No Purchase Policy Project as of today is on it's Beta testing. It's January 1, 2011! Happy New Year folks!
I've been contemplating on this project this past few days and even discussed it with some close friends and family. My brother Avid asked me, "What's the Point?". I guess i haven't really tabulated the point/points of this project yet but for now lets just say I'm doing this for the simple reason of wanting to be healthy, as a consumer and as a human being. I'm sure I'll discover some new valid points but for now lets just say, I got figuratively and literally fat over the past year and I want to go on a healthy diet. I want to stay closely to the No-purchase policy rule as much as possible but I won't be a burden to other people as well when it comes to practical situations but I'll try my best to foresee all possible scenarios.
Here are some predictable and practical expenditures for a 25 year old female such as myself.
Monthly Bills:
Globe post paid - 500 php/ Month x 12 = 6,000 php or 136 USD
- I'll see if i can turn this number into prepaid in the near future, but because this number has been with me for almost 8 years now, its impractical to have it cut off entirely. My goal is not to exceed usage beyond my monthly retaining fees. But on my regular bill i usually amount to 900 - 2,000 php and it never gets lower than that bracket.
Vietnam Phone - 100 vnd/ Month x 3 = 300 vnd or 15 usd
- I'll be staying in Vietnam for the next 3 more months this year and i need a phone to keep me connected. Oh and this is actually a rough estimate, I'm pretty sure it's even less than this, I'll make sure not to make any overseas call.
Internet
electricity
water
cable - is unnecessary but unfortunately I'm oblige to pay for this as it's already included in the house contract
- Since i share an apartment with someone, My monthly contribution for grocery and bills is 100 usd a month.
Rent - 300 usd/ month = 900 usd
- Fortunately my January and February has already been paid for in advanced. Since I'm coming home at the end of March I don't have to pay for rent since I'm staying at my parent's house unless i decide to move out again if plans pushes through.
Essentials:
Since hygiene is a daily part of one's life, I've taken into account the products i consume monthly for hygiene and estimated the whole year's consumption. A few days ago I went to the grocery to canvas on the prices of the usual products i consume and bought some supplies that would last me for a year. The idea is to avoid trips to the super market and save on random impulse buy temptations and stick only to the objective of buying only what is needed. I'm for organic products and lucky for me my mother distributes organic products in her small shop "Herba Buena" in our gallery in Cubao. She sells everyday practical products from soap, vitamins, tea, and laundry soap, so i have been using her stuff these past two years, partly by default and later on for environmental reasons. I think the only products i couldn't live without is the commercial shampoo and fabric softener (because i don't wear perfume and i love how fabric softeners smell on people and myself), but anyway, I'll find a solution for that along the way. I also have an obsession with alcohol (not the beverage hehe, not that much at least), so i bought 2 big bottles of that in the grocery.
Here's some discoveries.
It's a taboo topic to touch on, but I've asked my friends on the possible alternative to the consumer sanitary napkins and we had a ball talking about this topic and brazillian wax while eating frozen grapes and cheese fon due during Christmas day, I love my friends! I figured it's not only a monthly essential expenditure for menstruating women but also it has a huge environmental impact. I was computing the lot of sanitary napkins I'd consume per year and It's freakishly a big sum of non biodegradable waste that I inadvertently contribute to every waking menstrual period of my life! I'll discuss more on this topic later on. This is an issue that would need a dedicated entry. One of my friends told me there's an eco-friendly alternative.
Like sanitary napkins, Toothbrush is another disposable object that we regularly replace. I change my toothbrush every 3-4 months. I want to research more on dental health and how I can get access to toothbrush with replaceable head. The problem with the available toothbrushes in the local market is the lack of the eco-friendly toothbrush alternative, like sanitary napkins disposable toothbrush is a 5 inches object that we mindlessly throw away.
I have a lot of stuff i want to rant about but lets save it for another entry.
Anyhow here's a list of feminine products i consume through out the year.
feminine products:
Napkin
Shampoo
Soap
Lotion
Razor / hair removal wax
Facial Wash
moisturizer
facial moisturizer
Vitamins
Toothbrush
Tooth paste
I'll fix the corresponding cost and quantity i consume per month in a table next time, it's cool that my friend Feanne has this blog which maps out organic products in Manila and reviews them so it's a good source for information on good alternative products that are readily available locally.
I have rules about food consumption, I would like to boycott Starbucks, Mcdonalds, Jollibee and KFC. I haven't eaten in Mcdonalds anyway since in Vietnam we don't have it there but learning not to consume from unhealthy food source would be a good discipline for me.
Ok this is it for now. There a lot of events coming up and i really have to prepare my sanity for this project i want really really want to commit to..
hugs to the world!
Hannah
I've been contemplating on this project this past few days and even discussed it with some close friends and family. My brother Avid asked me, "What's the Point?". I guess i haven't really tabulated the point/points of this project yet but for now lets just say I'm doing this for the simple reason of wanting to be healthy, as a consumer and as a human being. I'm sure I'll discover some new valid points but for now lets just say, I got figuratively and literally fat over the past year and I want to go on a healthy diet. I want to stay closely to the No-purchase policy rule as much as possible but I won't be a burden to other people as well when it comes to practical situations but I'll try my best to foresee all possible scenarios.
Here are some predictable and practical expenditures for a 25 year old female such as myself.
Monthly Bills:
Globe post paid - 500 php/ Month x 12 = 6,000 php or 136 USD
- I'll see if i can turn this number into prepaid in the near future, but because this number has been with me for almost 8 years now, its impractical to have it cut off entirely. My goal is not to exceed usage beyond my monthly retaining fees. But on my regular bill i usually amount to 900 - 2,000 php and it never gets lower than that bracket.
Vietnam Phone - 100 vnd/ Month x 3 = 300 vnd or 15 usd
- I'll be staying in Vietnam for the next 3 more months this year and i need a phone to keep me connected. Oh and this is actually a rough estimate, I'm pretty sure it's even less than this, I'll make sure not to make any overseas call.
Internet
electricity
water
cable - is unnecessary but unfortunately I'm oblige to pay for this as it's already included in the house contract
- Since i share an apartment with someone, My monthly contribution for grocery and bills is 100 usd a month.
Rent - 300 usd/ month = 900 usd
- Fortunately my January and February has already been paid for in advanced. Since I'm coming home at the end of March I don't have to pay for rent since I'm staying at my parent's house unless i decide to move out again if plans pushes through.
Essentials:
Since hygiene is a daily part of one's life, I've taken into account the products i consume monthly for hygiene and estimated the whole year's consumption. A few days ago I went to the grocery to canvas on the prices of the usual products i consume and bought some supplies that would last me for a year. The idea is to avoid trips to the super market and save on random impulse buy temptations and stick only to the objective of buying only what is needed. I'm for organic products and lucky for me my mother distributes organic products in her small shop "Herba Buena" in our gallery in Cubao. She sells everyday practical products from soap, vitamins, tea, and laundry soap, so i have been using her stuff these past two years, partly by default and later on for environmental reasons. I think the only products i couldn't live without is the commercial shampoo and fabric softener (because i don't wear perfume and i love how fabric softeners smell on people and myself), but anyway, I'll find a solution for that along the way. I also have an obsession with alcohol (not the beverage hehe, not that much at least), so i bought 2 big bottles of that in the grocery.
Here's some discoveries.
It's a taboo topic to touch on, but I've asked my friends on the possible alternative to the consumer sanitary napkins and we had a ball talking about this topic and brazillian wax while eating frozen grapes and cheese fon due during Christmas day, I love my friends! I figured it's not only a monthly essential expenditure for menstruating women but also it has a huge environmental impact. I was computing the lot of sanitary napkins I'd consume per year and It's freakishly a big sum of non biodegradable waste that I inadvertently contribute to every waking menstrual period of my life! I'll discuss more on this topic later on. This is an issue that would need a dedicated entry. One of my friends told me there's an eco-friendly alternative.
Like sanitary napkins, Toothbrush is another disposable object that we regularly replace. I change my toothbrush every 3-4 months. I want to research more on dental health and how I can get access to toothbrush with replaceable head. The problem with the available toothbrushes in the local market is the lack of the eco-friendly toothbrush alternative, like sanitary napkins disposable toothbrush is a 5 inches object that we mindlessly throw away.
I have a lot of stuff i want to rant about but lets save it for another entry.
Anyhow here's a list of feminine products i consume through out the year.
feminine products:
Napkin
Shampoo
Soap
Lotion
Razor / hair removal wax
Facial Wash
moisturizer
facial moisturizer
Vitamins
Toothbrush
Tooth paste
I'll fix the corresponding cost and quantity i consume per month in a table next time, it's cool that my friend Feanne has this blog which maps out organic products in Manila and reviews them so it's a good source for information on good alternative products that are readily available locally.
I have rules about food consumption, I would like to boycott Starbucks, Mcdonalds, Jollibee and KFC. I haven't eaten in Mcdonalds anyway since in Vietnam we don't have it there but learning not to consume from unhealthy food source would be a good discipline for me.
Ok this is it for now. There a lot of events coming up and i really have to prepare my sanity for this project i want really really want to commit to..
hugs to the world!
Hannah