A ‘No Buy’ Spending Freeze Won’t Fix Your Finances: Erin Lowry

A couple weeks into a new year and the shine of “new year, new you” has started to dim — but one personal finance trend, “No Buy 2025,” has taken hold for millennials and Gen Z on social media. Whether it’s in response to a few years of post-pandemic “revenge spending” or just balancing the books after the holidays, people are locking down their wallets in the hopes of a changed relationship with consumerism, or at least a fattened-up savings account.

In a “no buy” (or “no spend”) challenge, participants aim to go an extended period without making purchases ...