I feel the cost of living is still so high! I have to pick my jaw up off the floor every time I buy groceries. How can it cost so much, to get so little? I am hoping things will settle down a bit over the next year, but either way, it never hurts to live a little more frugally. I wouldn’t normally call myself frugal, but I do have a tendency to be cheap, especially when it comes to spending money on myself. After I looked back on last year’s post “What I’m Not Buying in 2024“, I realized I need to buckle down and make a conscious effort this year to stick to my plan of 21 Things I’m Not Buying in 2025.
21 Things I’m Not Buying in 2025:
- Coffee shop drinks. These are easy enough to make at home nowadays.
- Streaming Services. There are plenty of free streaming services and we sometimes use our family’s streaming services or we go without.
- Books. I own so many books that I haven’t read yet.
- Anything that an online influencer is trying to sell me. I see you Jordan Page! That dumb sticky lint catcher for the washing machine was not a miracle worker.
- Kitchen gadgets. In fact, I have too many. Note to self, declutter the kitchen.
- Expensive hair products. I’ve bought the serum for lush locks and bedtime torture devices that promise the perfect curled coiffure when you wake up. No, ma’am.
- Subscription boxes. I have used certain clothing subscription services and the cost for being lazy and not shopping for myself is just too high.
- Cheap products. Just because it’s cheap, doesn’t mean it’s good. I think it’s better in some instances to spend just a little more to get a quality product that will last longer.
- Food Delivery. I will Door Dash on occasion when I have a gift card, but otherwise, the cost is almost double, it just doesn’t make sense.
- Water bottles. I own a few; enough to have a couple at home and to leave one at the office and that’s enough.
- Plastic storage containers. If we need any new storage containers throughout the year, I’ll be switching to glass.
- Trendy clothing. It seems like such a waste to buy something that is, “so on trend” right now but will look ridiculous next year. I’ll be skipping the hideous balloon pant trend in 2025.
- Apps and monthly memberships. I think many monthly subscription services count on you forgetting about them, but they don’t forget about you when it’s time to auto renew.
- Notebooks. I have so, so many already.
- Gifts for people that I don’t really like. Why do we feel obligated to purchase holiday gifts for people we don’t even care for whether it’s a co-worker, neighbor or other acquaintance? Just to be polite?
- Throw blankets. I have a basket full in the living room.
- Dog toys. Our dogs have so many toys, I just need to get better at rotating them in and out of usage, so the dogs don’t get bored of the same old toys.
- Sneakers. How many pairs of sneakers do you think the average person owns? I think I own five.
- Random useless junk. It’s real easy to spend a few bucks on useless items when I am browsing the aisles, especially at the dollar store or Target’s dollar spot.
- Socks. I bought all new socks for myself and my husband around Christmas time.
- Fake plants. It’s easy to buy artificial plants or stems for décor, but I really do prefer live plants.
What type of things are you not going to buy in 2025? How are you saving money in the new year? Are you participating in a no spend challenge this year? Let us know in a comment below.
