I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the videos on YouTube or TikTok titled “No Buy 2025,” but they’re pretty popular these days. The trend feels like a collective reaction to the overconsumption and rampant consumerism that’s been dominating social media for the last several years.
In honor of Earth Month, I wanted to write a little series. As an avid hiker, I of course want to protect our natural places and our planet. But it’s all too common on Earth Month to share little planet-friendly tips for how to reduce your energy use, ethical brands for the things you buy, or environmental organizations you should donate to. I’m all for those things. But sharing tips feels tired and unoriginal, and you’ve probably heard them all already. So I thought I’d try something a little different by exploring a topic that’s been on my mind, something that intersects with environmentalism.
What is a No Buy Year?
It’s a commitment to buy only necessities for a year. For some, it’s a commitment to not spend any money on anything that isn’t essential (also called the No Spend challenge).
That’s the most extreme version—there are less strict versions as well. For example, last year I challenged myself to not buy any clothes or books (my two largest optional spending categories). I allowed myself some exceptions, like when traveling, and I did end up breaking the rules a couple of times towards the end of the year, but overall, it was beneficial because I definitely bought less than previously.
So Why Do a No Buy?
Different people have different reasons. Some that I’ve seen in 2025 are discussed below.
To Save Money
There have been earlier renditions of this trend. Some would have called it extreme frugality. The average American spends $11k-13k per year on “optional” expenses, so cutting out as much of that as possible can add up to some serious savings.1 2 I’ve read personal finance blogs recommending that people do this when they have a particular savings goal in mind, whether that’s an emergency fund, a dream vacation, or a home down payment. And for those with large amounts of debt, personal finance blogs often recommend cutting out everything optional until high-interest debt is paid off.
Any No Buy requires some rules. Some people focus on buying physical things, while others take on a more comprehensive challenge by cutting out optional spending on things like eating out, beauty treatments, or streaming services. If I’ve learned anything from watching too many YouTube videos about this trend, it’s that everyone makes up their own rules and some people…well, they like to make them complicated.
Saving money appears to be the primary reason this trend is catching on, and who can be surprised? The average American household carries over $10,000 of credit card debt.3 The average auto loan debt is $37,274 and the average student loan debt is $55,777 (per household).4 And after years of inflation and now all this talk of a possible recession, people are nervous. They want to get their financial houses in order.
To Lower Your Impact on the Environment
Did you know that the average American throws away 4.9 pounds of trash every week?5 A No Buy Year may be popular for financial reasons, but dramatically cutting your consumption is also good for the planet. The less you bring into the house, the less you toss. Packaging, of course, is a large part of it, but it’s also the actual stuff we’re buying. For example, the average American buys 53 pieces of clothing a year.6 And yet, 65% of clothing items are thrown out within a year of their purchase.7
Clothing is low-hanging fruit for the No Buy. Barring extreme circumstances (like needing black clothes for a funeral or a business suit for a job interview), we probably all have the clothes we need for the next year. The average person wears only 50% of their wardrobe.8 In 2022, Vogue published an article arguing that a “sufficient” wardrobe for someone living in a four-season climate is 85 garments (and even less for those in a two-season climate).9 The article also cited a recent report finding that we should each buy only 5 new clothing items a year if we want to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.10
And that’s just clothing. What about shoes? Stationery? The latest tech gadget? The latest kitchen gadget? Could you give up buying these for a year? Then there are necessities like gasoline—could you cut back? What about with personal care products—could you use up what you have? Do you have more skincare products than you really need?
This isn’t new to the environmental community. The No Buy is kind of a variation on zero waste living (or low waste, to be more accurate). Some people have been living this challenge for years. I’ve also seen posts and videos about people trying out minimalism by doing a No Buy. The challenge allows a person to look with fresh eyes at the things they already own, to analyze their shopping habits and redirect their spending towards experiences over material possessions.
Some people are pretty extreme in their efforts to go zero waste—buying groceries only from bulk bins and farmers markets, buying clothes and housewares secondhand, never ordering takeout in order to avoid the packaging waste. These efforts are admirable, but not always possible. From an environmental perspective, it’s far more important for the majority of us to reduce our consumption and waste than for a tiny fraction of a percentage to create absolutely zero waste. Zero waste content does make you pause and think, however, that we can all do better. A No Buy could be a good place to start.
To Make a Statement
I’ve only heard a couple of people talk about this in relation to the No Buy Year, but I feel it must be mentioned. Whether you’re unhappy about corporations making record profits during a period of economic uncertainty for normal people, or you disapprove of particular companies’ policies or political stances, withdrawing your spending can be an effective way to live your values. This doesn’t appear to be a primary reason for many people, but it has been mentioned by more than one content creator as a secondary reason.
How to do a No Buy Year
1. Consider your goals.
What are you trying to accomplish? Is it to save a total of X amount of money? Is it to adjust your spending habits to live within your means? Do you want to own less stuff?
2. Set your rules.
What are the categories you’re cutting out? Are there any the exceptions?
If your goal is saving money, in addition to buying less stuff, your rules might include things like cutting out streaming services, experiences, and beauty treatments.
If your goal is reducing your environmental footprint, your rules might focus on curbing your food waste, gas usage, or takeout, while allowing yourself to eat out in restaurants and keep your favorite streaming service.
Make sure your rules align with your goals and that they’re simple enough that you can stick to them.
3. Create barriers.
Unsubscribe from brand newsletters. Unfollow social media creators who promote consumerism. Delete shopping apps from your phone.
Sticking to your goals is a lot harder if you’re constantly getting notifications of new product drops and sales. If you miss the promotions, you can sign up again after the No Buy is over. Make it as hard as possible to impulse shop!
4. Tell your friends and/or family.
Your friends can help you stick to your goals by keeping you accountable.
If you shop together, come up with free activities you can do together over the No Buy, like going for a walk, visiting a local museum, or inviting them over for coffee and homemade biscuits.
5. Keep a running list of things you want to buy throughout the year.
Whenever you see an item that you want, note it down or save the link. At the end of the No Buy (however long it may be), you can go back to that list of items you wanted. You may still want to purchase it, but you’ll be surprised how often that desire fades over time.
Just giving yourself space between the initial impulse and the decision to click buy will result in fewer purchases. And if you still want it at the end of the challenge, buy it!
What about when you REALLY need something?
If you do have to buy something (that doesn’t have an expiration date), try to find it secondhand, or even free through a Buy Nothing group. You can find these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online. Buying secondhand is cheaper, often supports a charity, and keeps items from going to landfill.
For things like household supplies and skincare, prioritize using up what you already have before buying more. Same for food—eat the stuff you buy. The average American household throws away 219 lbs of food every year.11 A 2022 study found that Americans wasted about $900 worth of food.12 Watch the expiration dates and don’t buy more than you can eat.
And, no matter how badly you want to save money, if you’re sick, buy medication or go to the doctor. Your health is not the place to scrimp.
Should No Buy challenges be a lifestyle?
Americans are the world’s biggest consumers. The United States accounts for 30% of global consumer spending, despite having only 4.2% of the world’s population.13 This could be because we have more disposable income, but we also clearly have a collective spending problem, if debt figures are anything to go by.
There are other factors. The average American home is 2,164 square feet.14 As a comparison, the average home in France is 1,206 square feet (and in Sweden, only 893 square feet).15 More space means more space to fill. And even then, that space doesn’t appear to be enough. In 2024, more than 11% of American households were renting self-storage spaces, which average about $114/month to rent.16 36% of respondents to a 2022 survey said they don’t have room in their garages to park their cars because of clutter.17 We do this because all of our stuff doesn’t fit into our homes. And we keep thinking the fix is to have larger homes, kick our cars out of the garage, pay monthly for off-site storage, when the real solution is to stop buying things!
We are a nation of consumers. We literally refer to ourselves collectively as “consumers” as often as “citizens.” We judge the success of our country based on our GDP or stock market, rather than by the well-being of our citizens. Even in our personal lives, we judge our success based on our net worth and the value of our possessions instead of asking ourselves if we’re living happy, fulfilled lives. The irony here is that, while we’re told that material things will bring us happiness, by opting out of the consumer economy (that is, to buy only the necessities), we can dig ourselves out of debt and build savings, and by doing so, build a strong foundation for a life centered on the things that we truly value.
A No Buy Year is a temporary challenge. But it could lead to real, long-term behavioral change. Perhaps during the No Buy, you’ll improve your cooking skills and eat at home more often, even after the challenge ends. You might learn other new skills, like sewing or darning, in order to fix the things you already own and love. Maybe you’ll make a habit of waiting at least 48 hours before buying something that catches your eye. Maybe you’ll stop buying books—like me!—and use the local library instead. Or you might discover that you’d prefer to spend your money on other things—experiences, education, or just fewer, better quality things. Your No Buy Year won’t look like mine.
Sticking to your own rules is hard, but if you slip up, don’t give up. Forgive yourself and then pick up where you left off. Progress towards any goal is stumbling, inconsistent, and difficult. At first, it feels like deprivation to cut even optional things from your budget. But you’ll adjust over time. And if you hate it, no one’s going to make you do it again. Even so, you’ll come out the other end of the year with a little bit more breathing room. And that’s the point, ultimately—to be in a better place a year from now. So where do you want to be?
Sources
- https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cesan.pdf (counting food away from home, alcohol, apparel and services, entertainment, personal care products and services, reading, tobacco products and smoking supplies) ↩︎
- https://www.scaledfinance.com/insights/how-americans-spend (counting entertainment, clothing and “other”) ↩︎
- https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/credit-card-data/2024-american-household-credit-card-debt-study ↩︎
- See footnote 3. ↩︎
- https://environmentamerica.org/center/resources/trash-in-america-2/ ↩︎
- https://fashionunited.com/statistics/global-fashion-industry-statistics ↩︎
- https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230227-how-to-recycle-your-clothes ↩︎
- See footnote 6. ↩︎
- https://www.vogue.com/article/how-many-clothes-should-we-own ↩︎
- See footnote 9. ↩︎
- https://earth.org/food-waste-in-america/ ↩︎
- https://www.waste360.com/food-waste/report-average-american-household-wastes-more-than-900-of-food-annually ↩︎
- https://researchfdi.com/understanding-the-us-consumer-market/ ↩︎
- https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/house-size-by-country ↩︎
- See footnote 14. ↩︎
- https://www.neighbor.com/storage-blog/self-storage-industry-statistics/ ↩︎
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/take-back-your-garage-american-garages-store-more-clutter-than-cars-according-to-craftsman-survey-301664129.html ↩︎