Could You Be Influenced to Buy Nothing for an Entire Year?

“I think people are just angry about their financial situation in general,” says Sowden. “And every dollar that you spend is a vote in what you believe in.” She adds that “everyone’s sick of everything being so expensive,” and that being sick of your own shopping habits is one way to kick off a reset.

As shopping has become easier, the temptation to impulse-buy has grown. “In the last 25 years, it’s not just become a matter of self-discipline. You have been targeted based on your own personal taste,” financial expert and author Terry Savage tells Glamour.

It’s a bit ironic that the creators are posting their no-buy challenges on TikTok, as the app is a direct line to shopping and a window into new products and trends. And of course, being able to participate in such a challenge means that you have a certain level of financial privilege, as there are plenty of people who have no discretionary spending or disposable income to cut.

There are also some easy pitfalls to avoid. Doing an extreme form of budgeting such as a full year of no-buy could actually lead you to spend more down the road, some experts warn. Sowden agrees this type of binge spending is a potential danger. “You just have to be careful that during the shopping ban, you’re not just dreaming about when you can spend money again,” she says.

To combat this, Sowden intentionally creates practices for herself that she wants to use even when not on a no-buy, as with the weekly allowance she implements and divides into categories. “That also prevents binging afterwards,” she says.

Savage tells Glamour that a shorter chunk of time is “more approachable” for a no-buy and could actually lead to more success. Like the influencers, she recommends setting up a specific plan and making sure the goals, parameters, and timeline are established in the beginning.

“Set no goal you can’t control,” Savage says. She believes that successfully completing a shorter no-buy could be a step in achieving additional financial goals. “The sense of accomplishment is so overwhelming, it’s far more likely to lead to, ‘Could I do this for another three months?’” she explains.

Sowden stresses the importance of a positive outlook for all who endeavor to start a no-buy. “If you’re already like, ‘Oh, I don’t think I can do a shopping ban,’ you’re not ready,” she says. “You need to go into a shopping ban being like, ‘I’m going to kill it. I’m going to do amazing. I’m going to knock it out of the park.’”

As her No Buy 2025 kicked off, Sowden shared with her followers her “first homemade meal of 2025,” a simple turkey sandwich. She might add some pesto another day when she feels like taking that extra step, but for January 1, she thinks, the dry sandwich worked.

“Good enough,” she says to the camera.