It’s fitting, perhaps, that as the holiday hullabaloo reaches its zenith, many people are already planning how to boost their finances in the new year. Even the most casual TikTok scroller has likely seen people talking about “underconsumption,” or downsizing their lives. In the latest viral trend, TikTokers from all walks of life are committing to a “no-buy quarter,” a period when they forgo making any new purchases — within reason, of course.
Even if TikTok isn’t your platform of choice and you prefer getting adorable animal videos elsewhere, you can still learn a lot from this trend. These TikTokers are taking bold steps to cut spending and build savings, creating habits that can help them succeed in 2025 and far beyond.
“No-buy” is something of a dramatic misnomer. After all, you can’t go without groceries or replacing necessary items that break. The “no-buy” trend is really about getting smarter and more strategic about how you spend — specifically, how often you spend.
Setting clear parameters around your spending is a great place to start. For creator Mia Westrap, going “no-buy” means not replacing products until they’re gone, skipping takeout and coffee runs, making her meals at home, avoiding home decor purchases, borrowing books from the library, and handling most beauty treatments herself — except for her eyebrows.
Westrap’s video offers a helpful template for where many people can cut down on their spending throughout the year. Her method also shows the value of recognizing personal spending triggers. Sitting down with your budget and identifying areas of unnecessary spending can help you decide what to cut back on.
For instance, if you’re frequently spending $20 or more for the latest on-demand movie, consider waiting until it’s available on one of the streaming services you already pay for.
Have Goals in Mind for Your Savings
For creator Mckenzie Mack, going “no-buy” for the first quarter of the year — January through March — will be key for achieving some ambitious financial goals. Mack said she feels most motivated to manage her finances at the start of the year, especially when expecting a major bonus. By committing to a no-buy quarter, she’s able to frontload her 401(k) contributions for those first three months.
“To max out your 401(k) in 2025, you need to contribute $23,500, which for me would be a contribution of 18%. Now that is a lot to commit to for an entire year,” she said. “So what I’m doing instead is increasing my contribution to 26% for the first three months, which means that a large chunk of my bonus will go directly into my 401(k) and then after March, I’ll be able to reduce my contribution to around 6% to 7% for the rest of the year.”
Having clear goals will help Mack get through those lean “no-buy” months and get her closer to the comfortable retirement she clearly values. Whether you’re looking to max out your 401(k) or pay down debt, even a temporary “no-buy” approach can give your savings a meaningful boost.
Stop Spending To Keep Up With the Trends
Another reason Mack embraced the “no-buy” challenge is that it allows her to analyze why she may have locked into certain habits as a consumer. In another video, she explained to her followers that underconsumption isn’t about feeling guilty every time you spend money — it’s about stepping back from social pressure to consume for the sake of consuming.
Instead of feeling like you need all the latest gizmos, gadgets, and glamour gear constantly flooding social media, adopting a “no-buy” mindset helps you spend with intention. Mack said underconsumption invites you to consider whether you’re truly using the things you buy — or if you’re spending just to keep up with others.
Going “no-buy” can help you break free from the cycle of impulse buying and help you feel more content with what you already have. Mack recommends making a list of the things you actually feel good about spending money on. “It’s really just about being content and happy with what you already have,” she said, “and letting the things you have be enough.”
