No Buy Pledge

[amper42]

What do you guys think of the "No Buy" Pledge catching on?

https://www.reddit.com/r/nobuy/

No Buy 2025 is a personal finance trend where individuals limit non-essential (AKA discretionary) purchases for a set period. It could range from a few weeks to the full year. Some of them actually feel it's liberating. Who knew?

It's definitely something different. Perhaps consumption restraint is catching on?

The 'No Buy' trend is catching on — and leading to big savings

The "No Buy 2025" movement is about cutting spending, boosting savings, and embracing mindful consumption. Learn how it works and why it’s gaining popularity.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Petrushka]

Sounds a bit like let them eat cake to me.

 

[amper42]

I don't believe eating cake is part of the plan.

Instead, people are evaluating their discretionary spending and cutting it. That includes take out, impulse Amazon buys, new clothes and focus on what they actually really need. It's helping their budgets and the impact is a form of Financial Detox.

 

[voodooless]

I don't believe eating cake is part of the plan.

As long as you don't buy it yourself, it seems, it is

 

[TurtlePaul]

I think it is a little naive, but whatever works for some people. It is naive because you will buy things before and after the set period, so a lot of it is consumption shifting. It can help to reset peoples impulses if they have no impulse control.

 

[mhardy6647]

I - and this is absolutely true - cannot remember the last time I bought Pledge.

There are just so many superior options for care of finished wood surfaces.

So I'm all set!

 

[amper42]

Looking at my own spending habits, it's clear I could easily apply more discretion and still be just as happy. It's pretty easy to buy more than I really need. Amazon at my finger tips with overnight delivery can be additive.

It's funny a substantial chunk of UPS business is simply Amazon returns.
Maybe it's a free rental program and no one told me?

Perplexity:
About 20% to 25% of UPS's U.S. network volume is tied to Amazon, with Amazon accounting for 11.8% of UPS's total revenue in 2024 (approximately $10.7 billion out of $91.1 billion)

 

[mhardy6647]

On topic: if I read about the No Buy Pledge folks selling tee-shirts or other merch...
I shall laugh and laugh.

 

[Somafunk]

What do you guys think of the "No Buy" Pledge catching on?

https://www.reddit.com/r/nobuy/

No Buy 2025 is a personal finance trend where individuals limit non-essential (AKA discretionary) purchases for a set period. It could range from a few weeks to the full year. Some of them actually feel it's liberating. Who knew?

It's definitely something different. Perhaps consumption restraint is catching on?

The 'No Buy' trend is catching on — and leading to big savings

The "No Buy 2025" movement is about cutting spending, boosting savings, and embracing mindful consumption. Learn how it works and why it’s gaining popularity.

www.yahoo.com

Sounds like my entire lifestyle , never earned enough to have such a thing as discretionary spending as I mostly lived week to week, very happily I might add as I’ve only earned enough to pay the bills and much preferred to have the time to spend on my loves of biking/outdoors stuff, extended trips etc.

Never understood the idea of “going shopping/window shopping” when you don’t need anything specific. Happily lived my life in outdoor/bike type clothing.

Moved into my wee 1bed council house 30 years ago, still got bare floorboards, unpainted hallway/bedroom as never considered it necessary,

Nowadays it’s month to month with my full disability benefits (U.K.), I’ve managed to build up a buffer of £1000 that I try and keep in the bank at all times and only dip into for emergencies.

 

[respice finem]

I've never been affected (born 1967 in Poland behind the Iron Curtain, evenly distributed poverty prevented silly spending), but still, an interesting topic.

I sometimes see people, from teens up to aprox. 40 years of age, who have developed something I call compulsive buying disorder. It's like a substitute drug, for the short "shiny new thing" moment. It only stops at the end of their money, if not worse - deep down a debt spiral.

While everybody buys non-essential stuff sometimes, this is over the top. Do I have a cure for this? Not really...
What could perhaps be helpful before it's too late: Make a spreadsheet and write down every purchase, subscription (!) etc. and then subtract all you don't really need. This can be a helpful shock IMHO. The expectable problem, however, is "rebound", as in dieting etc.

 

[respice finem]

On topic: if I read about the No Buy Pledge folks selling tee-shirts or other merch...
I shall laugh and laugh.

As the Germans say: Joke, come out, you're surrounded

...but kind of inevitable in today's "social" media.

 

[Cogito]

I enjoy spending money on "stuff". It helps create jobs for people to earn money to spend on other "stuff".

 

[Oddball]

Looking at my own spending habits, it's clear I could easily apply more discretion and still be just as happy. It's pretty easy to buy more than I really need. Amazon at my finger tips with overnight delivery can be additive.

It's funny a substantial chunk of UPS business is simply Amazon returns.
Maybe it's a free rental program and no one told me?

Perplexity:
About 20% to 25% of UPS's U.S. network volume is tied to Amazon, with Amazon accounting for 11.8% of UPS's total revenue in 2024 (approximately $10.7 billion out of $91.1 billion)

I pulled the brake on my own spending 2 years ago, with the exception of HT that I had to finish . Otherwise, really not accumulating any junk or unnecessary things any more. I buy when I need stuff and trying not to need much either. I have to say it feels good and somewhat liberating.

But my wife and daughters - they are out of bloody control. Despite very oversized closet capacity that I planned, and my wife's regular ritual of throwing stuff out, they are slowly but surely turning their 2 floors into a storage.

Sad that I have little to say in that whole story. The girl gang outvotes me every time. Democracy clearly has draw-backs for the minority .

 

[DVDdoug]

Then you're free go crazy at the end of the austerity period?

"Different strokes for different folks".

To me a budget makes more sense. I did that a long time ago when I had more disposable income to budget. Then I went through a period where money wasn't much of a problem but I wasn't rich and I still couldn't afford a house (in Silicon Valley California).

Now, I'm mostly just sensible and frugal. I don't have a desire for lots of stuff, except things I can't afford anyway. If I won the lottery I'd buy a nice big house with a big garage and some nice fixed-up classic cars.

I've never been affected (born 1967 in Poland behind the Iron Curtain

I had a friend from Poland. She decided to escape because she was on a 5-year waiting list for an apartment and after a few years she got a notice that it was going to be 5 more years. She got permission to visit her aunt in England (maybe not the 1st visit) and then somehow came to the U.S. She didn't tell ANYBODY that she wasn't coming back. (She was single with an ex-husband).

Oh... she told me about some Polish friends of hers that lived in New York City. They eventually went back (after the Communists were kicked-out) because they didn't like living in the U.S. I thought that was crazy because most of the U.S. is nothing like New York City and there are all kinds of different places to live here! I wouldn't want to live there either. I don't know if they'd traveled around that much, but there was probably more to it.

 

[respice finem]

I enjoy spending money on "stuff". It helps create jobs for people to earn money to spend on other "stuff".

The problem begins, when the spending gets higher than your real budget. Real budget meaning, when I buy a car, I need money for two (TCO).
This only superficially doesn't apply to electronics and such, because you can sell, swap etc., but you lose value each time.

Someone once said: Being rich is not having much, but desiring little. Wise words IMHO. Sometimes it comes with age, sometimes not.

Then again, if you feel a thing would be nice to have, and you can afford it, why not. Example: As a teen I wanted a fancy DD turntable, which was "unobtainium" for me. I've bought one recently, triggered by finding rare old records. It mostly is busy looking good after ripping all to FLAC. But it's nice somehow, and wasn't really expensive.

Dosis facit venenum (the dose makes the poison)

 

[PatentLawyer]

I think this kind of basic fiscal responsibility is sort of like bathing. We all should do it, I don't fathom why some people do not, and really don't understand why the topic needs a reddit thread. And sometimes, the motivations are a bit fuzzy, as alluded to above.

In the city near our old house there were "no buy" protests / flyer campaigns, with the objective of preventing the current U.S. Administration from claiming economic success. I had seen the ones targeting Amazon etc., but this was about grinding the economy to a stop. Things got interesting when the middle class store / restaurant owners clashed with the upper class protestors / flyer teams! Reality slammed into theory, literally.

 

[Philbo King]

At age 70. I quit buying new stuff about a decade ago; hifi, guitars, studio gear, with a few exceptions (deals too good to pass up):
- New Fender Strat + 40W Champ
- new Fender Rumble 40W bass amp
This all totalled about 750$.

I'm fully equipped, I just don't need or want any more 'stuff' for my wife/kids to dispose of when I die. Maybe there's a genetic component to this - when my parents (depression babies) moved out of their house they left a 1950s International Harvester fridge, about 400 lbs of bolts and nails, 500+ canning jars, etc. It cost around $5k to get rid of it all.

 

[respice finem]

I think this kind of basic fiscal responsibility is sort of like bathing. We all should do it, I don't fathom why some people do not...

I suspect (not knowing the current state of US affairs) many people do not, because they are not taught to. Neither in school, nor in their families. The ultimate teacher is life, but life's lessons tend to be the hardest.

 

[respice finem]

At age 70. I quit buying new stuff about a decade ago; hifi, guitars, studio gear, with a few exceptions (deals too good to pass up):
- New Fender Strat + 40W Champ
- new Fender Rumble 40W bass amp
This all totalled about 750$.

I'm fully equipped, I just don't need or want any more 'stuff' for my wife/kids to dispose of when I die. Maybe there's a genetic component to this - when my parents (depression babies) moved out of their house they left a 1950s International Harvester fridge, about 400 lbs of bolts and nails, 500+ canning jars, etc. It cost around $5k to get rid of it all.

Genetic, or behavioral. I was taught not to discard anything that works. Saved me "a ton" of money and stress with short-lived "lifestyle" products. I live with a 30 years old kitchen (with old appliances), got a 16 year old TV upstairs, and 200 (sic) years old furniture in my living room. All in "mint" condition, I repair what is not, instead of throwing away and buying new.

Last but not least, this is ecological.

 

[Oddball]

The problem begins, when the spending gets higher than your real budget. Real budget meaning, when I buy a car, I need money for two (TCO).
This only superficially doesn't apply to electronics and such, because you can sell, swap etc., but you lose value each time.

Someone once said: Being rich is not having much, but desiring little. Wise words IMHO. Sometimes it comes with age, sometimes not.

Then again, if you feel a thing would be nice to have, and you can afford it, why not. Example: As a teen I wanted a fancy DD turntable, which was "unobtainium" for me. I've bought one recently, triggered by finding rare old records. It mostly is busy looking good after ripping all to FLAC. But it's nice somehow.

Dosis facit venenum (the dose makes the poison)

We are all different and have different preferences and risk profiles.

Real budget is really the most difficult to determine, unless we are talking about individuals able to do private banking in London or NY. JPM London will do it for you - if you can put 5 million pounds into account.

Otherwise, you are shooting against so many unknowns that if becomes increasingly difficult to determine a real budget you "have" now, and much more so what you will need in the future. Probably not the best thread to discuss investment options, but those are really important for the future.

Nobody knows what 5K dollars or pounds will buy you in 10 years. What we have seen in last 5-7 years is quite different to the 10 or so year period before that.

But then again, we should live for the day, as it might be the last one and if you don't live it fully you would have missed quite a bit. I run my financial spreadsheets up to my age of 90, which is obviously wishful thinking .