Fighting back against the consumer machine has been around for as long as there has been a consumer machine, but the No Buy 2025 movement seems like it could be a breakout moment.
No Buy 2025 is a response to the illogic of buying things we don't need. More and more people are saying “enough” to having buying stuff as the central goal of life.
Increasingly these budding ex-consumers are realizing that they don’t need half (or more) of the stuff they have been spending money on. And all the while, also saving money, paying down debt, and doing better things with their time than engaging in recreational shopping.
Alongside its cousins, Low Buy and Slow Buy, this phenomenon has been gaining traction as a way to reject the hollow promises of consumer culture and embrace a simpler, more intentional life.
Here at Not Buying Anything, it’s great to see so many waking up to the scam of “more is better.” Another great thing is that it is a global movement which is popping up wherever consumerism is exploiting the masses.
The No Buy 2025 challenge is exactly what it sounds like: a pledge to stop purchasing non-essential goods for the entire year.
While the rules vary from person to person, it could mean no fast fashion, no impulse gadgets, no trendy decor to clutter your space, and/or no restaurant meals.
Essentials like food, rent, medicine, and toilet paper stay, but everything else like “treat yourself” moments or late-night internet shopping binges, gets the boot.
Low Buy and Slow Buy are related anti-consumer movements that encourage mindful spending rather than a total freeze, which are good places to start if you are new to this way of thinking.
Low Buy could mean limiting purchases to secondhand or sustainable options, while Slow Buy emphasizes waiting (like the 48-hour rule, or ask these questions first), to curb impulse buys.
All three share a core mission: breaking free from the consumer hamster wheel that keeps us broke, stressed, and disconnected from what matters.
A recent report noted that 83% of consumers are ready to slash non-essential spending if finances tighten further.
Don’t wait, I say.
As we’ve said before here, a small footprint life isn’t about deprivation; it’s about intention and balance.
No Buy 2025 is more than a trend; it’s a wake-up call. It’s about flushing the “crapification” of life—a term for the degradation of quality that consumer culture dumps on us. Things have been getting crappier and more expensive at the same time, a double whammy that only makes the inherent dissatisfaction worse.
Whether you go full No Buy, ease into Low Buy, or practice Slow Buy, the point is to live thoughtfully and deliberately.
Have you been taking part in one of these challenges this year, or are you planning on making the move soon?
If so, what are your rules, and how is it going?
Great post. We're in a constant state of no/low buy, mostly because honestly....WTF do we need outside of food/housing/utilities? We already have all the stuff we're ever going to need. I genuinely do not understand people who shop for 'fun'. URGH. So the No Buy thing is not hard in this house. And the result? We can now slowly renovate our (also very old) home as she is starting to show her age and needs some help lol. We're going at the speed of cash so far and upgrading to what is needed, not what is 'trendy'. We are very blessed and also very careful with those blessings.
ReplyDeleteBesides the odd replacement of things that wear out, you are right, there is not much to buy. We would rather have freedom and cash in the bank than a bunch of stuff that we don’t really need. Hopefully after people do a No Buy year they will never go back to a ‘’normal’’ consumption pattern. They will see there is no benefit to returning to old ways.
DeleteLike your household, we are now in a permenant state of some form of no/low/slow buy as a way of life. It works for us very well, and it sounds like it is working for you, too. Excellent.
- Gregg
It's easy for me: I have no budget for things I don't need. But the thing is I can survive on that budget (a choice to work less and without any stress) because in my life I never wanted those things, And the rest I often find for free on the curbs. So I don't have the need of that great job to be able to buy shiny crap, or the latest state of the art technological gadgets. Or a bigger house to keep them in.
ReplyDeleteDirely funny 25 years ago I overspent on a toaster that I needed, but I refused to buy the cheaper plastic. There was a bit of more budget then, but also work stress and it was a bit of a goodfeel buy to compensate I think now. Too bad I found the almost as pretty but more functional one just last week. See my post from yesterday.
Less work and less stuff is the choice we made a long time ago, and it has been working out very well. Stress, and burnout, are killers that are not often acknowledged, and best avoided at all costs.
DeleteWe enjoyed the post you are referring to. Interested readers can see ‘’Toasters’’
here - https://trashcollector.blogspot.com/2025/06/toasters.html
Nice finds.
- Gregg
Thank you for the reference! Had quite some extra visits from mainly the US.
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