‘No spend January’ and ‘loud budgeting’ are trending on social media as young people shun consumerism amid the cost of living crisis
“No transport, no clothing or beauty, no going out, no socialising, no alcohol, no booking trips, no takeaways.” These are the rules 28-year-old Matilda Relefors lived by in November 2023 as part of the viral ‘no spend month’ challenge.
Relefors is just one of many creators on TikTok who has taken part in the trending challenge. The rules are relatively simple: as the name suggests, you’re not allowed to spend money on non-essentials. “I’m only allowed to spend money on rent and bills, and if my dog needs something urgently,” Relefors says. What constitutes an ‘essential’ varies from person to person, however; while some continue to get manicures and lash extensions, others forbid themselves from ‘topping up’ their groceries in between their weekly big shops or, like Relefors, socialising. But generally, most forsake small luxuries like new clothes, new beauty products, new home decor, takeaways, and coffees.
Content like this which promotes a more ‘frugal’ lifestyle is hugely popular online. Videos tagged #nospendjanuary currently have 42.7 million views on TikTok, with the hashtags #nospendmonth and #nospendchallenge also racking up 98.2 million and 180.8 million views respectively. In a video which has now been viewed over one million times, creator Lukas Battle declared ‘loud budgeting’ was ‘in’ for 2024, prompting other creators to jump on the trend which essentially promotes living within your means. Most notably, the ‘deinfluencing’ trend blew up last year, amassing over 1.2 billion views and counting on TikTok.
It tracks that buzzy phrases and challenges like ‘no spend January’ and ‘loud budgeting’ are trending on TikTok right now. “Firstly, people like a new year challenge. Secondly, as many have experienced financial hardship or are aware of others who have, the idea of not spending has been on the forefront of many people’s minds. Third, Christmas is often a very expensive time of the year, and many go into their overdrafts,” explains Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, a consumer psychologist based at Anglia Ruskin University. “Taken these together, it is not strange that a ‘no spending January’ challenge is trending.”
It’s also worth noting that young people, who make up the vast majority of TikTok users, are driving these trends. In addition, almost two-thirds of 18-24-year-olds surveyed in 2022 said they followed TikTok influencers who talk about budgeting, money or personal finance, with almost half saying creators on the app have helped them make a financial decision.
This makes sense, given that we have come of age in an economic landscape wholly unlike the one our parents grew up in: today, 43 per cent of 16- to 24-year olds are in severely insecure paid work; house prices have risen from around four times the average salary in the mid-1990s to more than eight-times the average salary today; and the cost of living crisis is raging on, with private rents continually reaching record highs and food prices rising by 27 per cent in the last two years alone. In the face of such economic chaos, young people are unsurprisingly desperate to retain some semblance of control over their personal finances.
@themontaqueclarkes I will be doing a no spend month in January, as December is a very costly month and any unexpected bills I would like to be ready for 💪🏻 #fyp #fypシ #budgeting #lowspendmonth #lowspendchallenge #nospend #nochallenge #nospendmonth #nobuy #nobuymonth #nobuychallenge ♬ original sound - The Montaque Clarkes
“I was inspired to do this challenge by similar videos I’ve seen on TikTok and by the rising cost of living which feels overwhelming sometimes,” Relefors says. “I realised I had large amounts of food sitting in my cupboards and freezer and yet I was still buying new food continuously. I thought, surely I can just eat this food and stay in for a month without socialising and I could save so much money. 30 days later I had saved £1,550 – and gained over 35,000 new followers on socials.”
For those on lower incomes, though, no amount of scrimping and saving will be enough to offset the spiking inflation rate. Notably, back in March 2022, money saving expert Martin Lewis said that he was “out of tools” to help the people struggling the most with the cost of living crisis. “It’s not something money management can fix, it’s not something that for those on the lowest incomes telling them to cut their belts will work. We need political intervention,” he said.
Unfortunately, this is still true, and so it’s vital to scrutinise and reject any emerging narratives which seem to suggest that poverty is something which can be overcome with sheer willpower. “Trivialising the financial difficulties people experience may stop them from seeing the financial help they really need,” Dr Jansson-Boyd says. “Unfortunately, there is an element of stigma attached to not being able to manage your finances and being told you can do it on your own is therefore not always helpful.”
Relefors agrees. “Budgeting alone is not enough for everyone. It’s a luxury to even be able to do this, to have the freedom to do this challenge,” she says. “If your income isn’t enough no matter how you stretch it, that’s a societal issue. A full time income should be enough for people to pay their mortgage, rent and other outgoings, but in a lot of cases it’s not. People shouldn’t have to do things like this just to save money. Political intervention is needed for sure.”
@brunchingblondie NO SPEND CHALLENGE REVIEW including how much money I saved 💰✨ #nospendmonth #nospendchallenge ♬ Cooking, bossa nova, adults, light(950693) - Kids Sound
It’s still unquestionably cheering to witness young people reject mindless spending and question our culture of overconsumption. While consumer culture first emerged back in the 20th century, it’s snowballed into something altogether more sinister since the advent of social media and the rise of influencer marketing. Now more than ever, young people are experiencing extreme pressure to achieve ‘the good life’ through buying new, hyped products that have gone viral on TikTok (see: Stanley Cups or Gisou hair oil). This isn’t merely leaving us with decimated bank balances; it’s also giving rise to widespread feelings of anxiety, inadequacy, and isolation, and not to mention killing the planet.
“The first week or so is hard, but after that you sort of lose that urge to spend and become more thrifty with what you have,” Relefors says, explaining that the challenge helped her discover as a newfound appreciation for the products she already owns. “I found that I used to always save really nice candles or expensive hair products for ‘a special occasion’, whereas now I use what I have in the house rather than buying new things. Life is short.” She adds that her mental health benefited from saying ‘no’ more and having more alone time. Dr Jansson-Boyd also believes these money-saving trends do have the power to make a positive impact. “It alleviates the pressure some people may feel (even though they have no money) to keep up with the spending of friends and family,” she says.
At their core, no spend challenges are about doing something to address rampant consumerism. Many of us have internalised the message that we’ll feel content by buying the ‘right’ things, and that we ‘need’ certain products to feel good or complete. But this feeling has been manufactured and subsequently reinforced by the capitalistic system that we live in – a system which, after all, wants us to keep us feeling bad and inadequate so we continue buying things in the hope that we’ll eventually feel better. So, while TikTok’s money-saving challenges might not help you buy your first home, but it’s fair to say they are doing their part to help us realise that a monthly Zara haul won’t actually fulfil you.