Resist the 'shoppies' & Avoid Regret!
Yes, even on Black Friday! I believe in you.
Buying new stuff feels great, until you realize it doesn’t.
Just in time for Black Friday, Netflix released a new documentary Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, about how Big Businesses manipulate shopping habits to drive overconsumption and overspending.
It unpacks how these brands get their hooks in us — frustrating enough! — and the real-world impact this all has on people and planet.
So, whether you want to divest from Big Business this year because you’re frustrated about the role corporations played in the U.S. elections, or because you want to prioritize loved ones and communities over what you own…
… this might be the right time to try a Low Buy!
I hear what you’re saying, seems like a hard sell with the holiday season fast approaching… but hear me out! We’ll make this attainable, I promise:
Tips for an Attainable Low Buy:
Define what a Low Buy means to you.
Why do you want to try a Low Buy? What are your goals? Write this down. ✍️ Once you know why it matters to you, then set the parameters of how you’ll approach it:
Are you prioritizing secondhand?
Divesting from Big Business to redirect your resources to local spots?
Thinking about who you want to support, rather than what you want to buy?
Do you want to curb your spending by a certain $ amount?
Want to avoid regret and find confidence and longevity in your purchases?
🎧 PS: Check out this Pre-Loved Podcast episode on ‘sustainable, attainable personal style’ for more tips:
“I always want people to feel invited: invited to try something new, invited to make their relationship with their clothing more sustainable. It’s never about doing it perfectly, it’s always about taking whatever steps you can.”
-
, Taking Style Personally
Document your progress.
This tip is straight from the ‘75 Hard Style Challenge’. Whether you document your daily outfits or just behavioral habits, track your progress toward your Low Buy goals.
You can write them in a journal or the Notes App, make a folder of daily mirror outfit pics, or even just ramble in a voice note.
This tip is about finding the self-reflection process that helps you!
Audit your digital footprint.
They’re in our phones and in our heads: this is truly how the Big Business gets us!
Your Low Buy is a great time to take stock of who and what you’re following, and if those follows compel you to buy or break the goals of your challenge. If so? 👋
This might mean it’s finally time to cancel your Amazon Prime subscription — after all, decentralizing your life from Big Business is a radical act!
And don’t doubt these choices matter. After Jeff Bezos pressured the Washington Post not to endorse a candidate for President this year, 250,000 Post subscribers cancelled their subscriptions— that’s 10% of the paper’s digital readership!
Now, can we get that same energy for Amazon?
Decide you can’t “fail.”
This is your challenge. Your rules. You don’t have to wait for the “perfect day” to start. And if you “break” one of your Low Buy goals or rules, just reflect on it in your journal and then pick right back up where you left off.
The key is to move on quickly. You’ve got this! 👍
Tell people!
Tell people you’re doing a Low Buy (maybe you’ll inspire them, too!) and use those conversations as a gateway to talk about consumption and values.
I often use secondhand gifts as a gentle gateway to conversations about my personal why. For example, maybe I bring flowers in a vintage vase as a hostess gift. 💐
My friend gets the delight of a beautiful vintage vase, and I get the delight of saying “it’s thrifted!” and gushing about why that matters to me.
And if you’d prefer to receive secondhand gifts this year, let people know. You can even use tools like the Beni Resale Registry to inspire secondhand gifting with others.
🎧 Check out this Pre-Loved Podcast episode with Beni, they’re on Substack at
:
Lean into the gifting economy!
A Low Buy is the the time to utilize all the wonderful non-transaction based community resources that are available to us. Do a quick Google Search to see what’s around: Buy Nothing Groups, clothing swaps, or even your public library.
The community around us already has everything we’d ever need!
🎧 For clothing-swappers, check out this Pre-Loved Podcast episode with Lucky Sweater, a slow fashion swapping app:
Invest in fixing something.
Redirect the time and energy you would have spent shopping into clothing care and maintenance.
Maybe this is the year you finally take that great pair of pants to the tailor. Or you do the DIY you’ve been talking about. Or your give some love and attention to cleaning your winter boots — this post is full of ideas from the Pre-Loved community! 🪡
A different kind of gift giving!
Make a point to prioritize non-physical gifts this year, such as meaningful experiences, charitable contributions, or even gift subscription services! 😉
Seriously, though, I used to regularly receive magazine subscriptions as gifts, and I’d honestly love to see folks put that energy into things like Substack now — a subscription is truly the gift that keeps on giving!
So, let me know if you’re trying a Low Buy this season. What are your goals? What do you hope to get out of it? I’d love to hear! And remember — I believe in you!
Thank you for reading! You can find me across the internet as @emilymstochl on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads! 💛 - Emily
Thanks for sharing these tips! I was scared to watch Buy Now, but maybe I should take the plunge.