“No Buy 2025” – Americans pledging to consume as little as possible?

Photo above - To Skim, or not to Skim? Is "No buy 2025" a real thing, and will it threaten the Kardashian's social media endorsement money train?

The original article originally appeared behind the WSJ paywall. The link below is to MSN's repost.

I admire the impulse to buy less. It’s sort of like a New Years resolution. Same eating less, drinking less, or posting less trash talk on social media. Thousands and thousands of people took to Instagram and TikTok urging their friends and strangers to buy as little as possible.

Of course, millions of Americans already buy next to nothing. They are among the 60% who live paycheck to paycheck, in an overpriced apartment. But those people don’t read the Wall Street Journal, and the Journal's reporters apparently missed the opportunity to interview THEM for austerity hacks.

I was particularly impressed by Rachel Holdsworth, interviewed in the link below. She finally realized her $10,000 credit card balance (revolving at 25% APR, probably) was an existential danger. Rachel’s new strategy? She’s “cutting back on visits to the hair salon, nail bar, and purchases of new water bottles.” This would be like the Federal Government tackling the $36 Trillion national debt by suspending foreign aid to dictators. A start, but it's just a rounding error in the larger scheme of things.

Instagram, which lives and dies by ad revenue from followers of celebrity influencers, might be catching its breath here. What if people actually DO stop buying Skims, endorsed by Kim Kardashian? This might cool off the economy faster than the Federal Reserve jacking mortgage rates up to 7%.

But I fail to see the threat. Cutting down on Skims, hairstylist visits, and new water bottles is morally correct, but probably won’t make a dent in that $10,000 credit card balance. The monthly interest charge alone is north of $200.

The WSJ was evidently unable to find anyone who promised not to replace their dying Toyota Corolla. Or pass up the chance to upgrade to a new Mini-QLED 75 inch screen. In fact, Best Buy and Amazon are actually raising prices this month, in anticipation of the Super Bowl. Presumably all the food at those parties will be charged to credit cards as well.

Rachel . . . good luck with your New Year’s resolution. But if you’re going to start slow like that, you could add Starbucks, Door Dash, and skipping the iPhone upgrade to your list. I bet you spend more than $50 a month on each of those line items.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

The Americans Pledging to Buy Less—or Even Nothing