‘No Buy’ 2025 Is a Growing Trend. Here’s How to Do It.

In a world that’s often driven by consumerism, convincing you that you need to purchase more, more, more, it’s both difficult and empowering to do quite the opposite: follow the no-buy challenge.

In 2025, many individuals are partaking in a “No Buy” year, meaning they’re strictly cutting down on unnecessary purchases to save money or pay off debt.

There’s even a subreddit called r/nobuy that supports this movement, boasting over 67K members.

“Get your spending under control,” the Reddit community encourages. “Do you compulsively buy things? Got an eBay, Amazon, or Etsy addiction? Can’t stop by a bookstore or makeup counter without buying something? Break that habit with a no-buy!” 

Elysia Berman, 35, of New York City, started doing the no-buy trend in 2024, allowing herself to clear a ton of debt. She shared her 2025 no-buy rules on TikTok late last year.

@elysiaberman

NO BUY RULES for 2025 #nobuyyear #nobuy #shoppingaddiction #shoppingaddict #shopaholic #debtpayoff #debtpayoffjourney #debtfree #debtfreejourney

♬ original sound – elysiaberman

Should You Make 2025 a ‘No Buy’ Year?

Her tips? No buying clothing, beauty products, perfume, jewelry, technology, home decor, or books. Additionally, she is not letting herself cancel any Pilates classes (as there’s a $10 fee for doing so) and is only allowing herself to order takeout once per month. Her main goal is to make do with what she already has. 

What a wild concept!

“Some people think it’s a bit extreme but I think they just don’t understand how stressful living with debt can be,” said Berman, per Forbes. “It’s definitely hard, but life-changing, and after a while, it’s really refreshing to get off the hamster wheel of constantly acquiring new stuff and being sold to.”

On Berman’s TikTok video, one person commented, “Yay! doing this since 23. I have paid off student loans, car, & $82k in cc. That was debt from being [a] single mom of 3 kids with no child support or government assistance. 2025 ER fund & more investments.”

There are a ton of other TikToks by individuals following the same trend—and saving incredible amounts of money in doing so.

Shit, in this economy, I might have to hop on the bandwagon.