To refuse to pay current prices?

[Blusteryskies]

I'm probably unreasonable for asking such a question, but has anyone else reached the point where they just won't buy things anymore even though they can afford to? I no longer see the point of buying things. Clothes, meals out, house items etc. Everything seems so overpriced and quality no longer correlates with price. I've decided I literally don't need to buy anything. I have enough clothes to last me years, furniture, homewares etc. Unless something dies, I won't be replacing it. Why do we need new clothes because someone has decided style has shifted massively in the past few years? Interiors likewise. I'm stating the bleeding obvious, but it all just feels like a con to fleece us out of our money and now brands are ever increasing their prices and their profit margins. I'm just fed up of it, and no longer feel like it's worth participating in mass consumerism. It's a never ending cycle of pointless, unfullfilling consumption.

Who does?

TBH I’ve never been much of a follower of fashion in clothes. But I’ve always been appearance-conscious (or vain, if you like) so I buy what looks attractive and that suits me. I often dislike current fashions (some of the latest in trousers especially…)

As for fashions in home decor, furniture etc.,, they don’t really even register. I’m always 😱 to read or hear that someone’s felt the need to replace a 5 or 7 year old, perfectly functional kitchen because it’s ‘not the latest’.

I know I’m fairly untypical in giving zero fucks about such things, though.

I completely understand that prices aren't going to come down, but they just don't represent value for money anymore. I'll buy new things as and when I need them, and try as much as I can to buy good quality items - I strongly believe in buy it cheap buy it twice. However, what I will no longer participate in is the endless buying to keep up with the ever changing fashions whether it be clothes or interiors. As another poster pointed out, being overly fashionable often actually looks rubbish anyway. Some women look amazing in wide leg or baggy jeans, but most of us don't! It often shouts fashion victim rather than fashionable.

Isn’t that how most people live anyway?

I think with company’s like Shein easily and cheaply accessible online on the phone our young people are growing up more consumerist than ever. Agh

Not the young people I know. They are very knowledgeable about the unethical practices of companies such as Shein and very aware of the impact on our highstreets.

They have researched quality including natural fabrics and well-made items.

Second hand charity shop, shopping is the norm! (for clothing and household items).

It’s good you see/know some young people like that. I however see my daughter and her peers using vinted which is great. But they do all buy from Shein. It makes no difference what I say

As of 2024, Shein's estimated revenue of $38 billion positioned it to likely surpass Zara's parent company, Inditex. It has consistently outperformed the broader apparel and accessories category, including its fast-fashion rivals.So given its huge market dominance over the last few years I think we can safely say that someone is buying their clothes! The very low prices, heavy marketing on tiktok on insta ensures its appeal to gen z. I think your young people if which you speak are perhaps sadly in the minority!

I think the OP reflects a an eternal truth: buying shiny stuff you don’t need won’t make you a happier or better person despite what adverts tell you. The best holidays are the ones where I’ve enjoyed time with family and friends irrespective it’s at a fancy hotel or a cheap B and B. My most treasured items were bargains found in charity shops. The most satisfying time I had recently was volunteering at a country park raking cut grass to make space for wild flowers.

We do need stuff to enable those good times or when stuff just doesn’t work and it makes sense to buy stuff that is good and will last but stuff is not an end in itself.

Chasing a brief endorphin rush of shopping ultimately leads to emptiness that can only be cured by another consumer binge. We work hard and we say this stuff is my reward. And all the time real happiness is obscured by the bright light of the shiny stuff.

I totally agree. Buying shiny new things every week gives a brief and decreasing endorphin rush but then a further low as you crave more stimulus.
We need to get back to making better connections as a society. That's a better way to longer lasting contentment.

I agree. I've been doing that for a while.
The thing I am refusing to spend money mostly is buying coffee when out and about. Unless there's a Greggs or mcdonalds nearby, I just can't pay so much money for a bit of milk and coffee. It's massively overpriced! Luckily for us, we like Greggs and mcdonalds' flat white, otherwise paying over £4 for a flat white elsewhere is a big no.

We also avoid eating out. As a family of 4 we can really feel how overpriced restaurants are.

"Honestly, I'm astounded by all the crap for sale everywhere that'll eventually end up in landfill. The government need to take more action to limit non-recyclable products, etc."

I think about this many time and I feel worried about it...it's a lot of non essential stuff going in the bin constantly. It's worrying!

But our economic system of relentless growth and consumption is unsustainable. We need a new one or it will be the end of all of us.

This is me . I buy whatever I want when I want but I’m sure it’s feeling more like a spending addiction rather than the joy of a small treasured thing .
I have taken something said above and written a list of only the things I value to spend on and a separate list of everything I have too much of .
Another rampant got out of hand is QVC spending . Lovely brands offering good prices but I’ve got enough shower gels , face creams , body lotions to last eternity . I’ve now deleted the app as it was all just too easy , click click and it’s on my doorstep .

That's funny. I've had plenty of clothes for over 50 years but never 1 set. 1 suit, yes but rust gets old fast. Advertising works or they wouldn't do it.

2025VibeandThrive Is he related to my DH by any chance? I buy pants /socks for him .Hates buying clothes ! Im like you. Although I live mostly from E Bay clothes (Monsoon) and pretty much anything else I can find on there .DH retired ,but I still have a way to go for pension .Meals Birthdays only ,sometimes pub /cafe lunches with friends. or NT .

I know what you mean - we went to Manchester last year, just after the Christmas markets had started, and honestly every shop we walked past made me feel a bit more miserable. It wasn't just the sequinned tat though - it was the zillions of people with all their purchases, just all left me a bit numb.

It's funny because I used to LOVE shopping as a teenager - found it to be real retail therapy, as we used to say - but this didn't feel like that at all. It felt worlds away from the excitement of going to town on the bus on a Saturday with saved-up waitressing money! Maybe I'm just being a bit rose-tinted specs.

More generally now though I do find that we buy a lot less than we used to - at least 60% of the clothes I buy now are second-hand.
Some things I'll always buy new - bed linen, underwear etc. I've been buying books second-hand or borrowing via library or Kindle Unlimited for years.

Weirdly though I am still fairly happy to send money on eating out, especially in small reliable local places. Not on takeaway coffee as I think that's extortionate - also I'm not a big coffee drinker, and buying tea in cafes to takeaway is always depressing as it's just so expensive for hot water and a teabag. My Contigo travel mig has paid for itself a million times over with drinks from home over the past few years.

The government for one.

Look at how there was a move in the civil service to get people back to the office to “boost trade” at local businesses (pret etc) during the pandemic. I remember our union guy saying what a nerve they had to openly admit that. But they really did, it was in official briefings and one of my head managers was parroting what the government were saying.

But I’m sure it was also coming from people above the government who have influence over them eg. CEOs and landlords of offices who didn’t want WFH to stick.

It's so rewarding to disconnect from the mass consumerism. If enough people stop buying useless stuff at exorbitant prices, perhaps retailers will lower their prices.

My family doesn't buy useless stuff anymore....well, most of us. None of my children will need clothes for years to come, as they're all older teenager boys and have way too much stuff as it is. If they need a specific item for an event or something then they will buy it. All three teen sons are he at into thrifting and all 3 dress very well. Older, higher quality garments last far, far longer than newer, fast fashion items. Occasionally I will need something to wear to work - I just took a promotion and the attire expectations in my new role require dressing slightly "better". My daughter wanted indiscriminately on clothing she doesn't actually need, insisting that buying something on sale is a good thing even when it's stuff she doesn't actually need.

I only eat out at restaurants once or twice a year for special occasions. Up until 2023, I hadn't dined out in over 5 years. I cook at home so don't really need to go to restaurants. My daughter also eats out quite frequently. My son's do occasionally. We grown veggies and fruit to save on groceries. We don't buy a lot of snacks either.

I DO upgrade things in my home but only if the existing items are in bad shape or has stopped working. My home is beautiful and there's not much I would change about it to begin with.

We do so go to concerts at least every other month bc everyone enjoys that but we don't buy food at the venue bc it's outrageous.

We upgrade technology when ours is broken or stops functioning properly. We usually buy the best we can afford when that happens and make sure we've got a long warranty period. Kids buy all their electronics themselves.

I haven't been on vacation in nearly 15 years but my kids and husband have gone places. We live at the beach so it's a vacation for much of the year. Maybe this year I'll go elsewhere or just take a week off to disconnect from the demands of work and daily life but IDK where I'd even go.

We DO, however, each have hobbies that we sometimes buy things for. My middle son, who just turned 19, saved 15 K since May, and bought a beautiful van (his 2nd) so he can travel cross-country again. My youngest & my husband spend their money on WW2 reenactment stuff as they are heavy into that. My oldest son invests in various stocks and his gaming PC. My daughter just buys whatever.

We ARE happy. We don't suffer in any way bc we controlled our spending. We committed to doing this as a family and it feels so much better to not have large debts and out of control spending...a modest savings that acts as a safety net leaves me sleeping much better at night. Clutter overwhelmed me prior to our family spending cuts.

To each their own.

It’s really liberating to step off the hamster wheel of chasing the next new thing which is what capitalism is built on, am not interested in subscribing to consumerism and being influenced by marketing campaigns and pressure to own certain things, people can live simply if they choose to and it’s easy to avoid all the trappings once you’re aware of them

I'm a bit alarmed mostly about food prices. I'm happy to wear my old clothes or buy second hand etc, however food which is an ongoing essential expense sharply going up in price means more people will just eat badly. Food poverty is of course an even greater concern for many.

Look, even us poor people aren't buying things anymore because they feel like a rip off! Shrinkflation is driving me up the wall. Oh, so you're charging me the same amount of money for less of <insert thing here>? Fuck off. I'll get it somewhere else.

😯

Where else are you getting it though? (Not a euphemism 😁)

I feel like that's sort of the point - or do you mean spending more deliberately in the local economy, where it's sort of going further, as it were?

They "don't choose to live in a deprived town" because there will be no decent well paid jobs in such places, due to the obsession/concentration of decent jobs being sucked into London and the S/E.

Not much call for, say, a qualified actuary in a run down ex-industrial or ex-seaside town that doesn't have any insurance firms within commutable distance!

Out in the regions, it's basically just public sector jobs if you want something better than retail or hospitality work, such as nurses, doctors, teachers, etc. Very little, if any, decent highly paid private sector work except in London and a handful of other large cities.

Nail on the head. For the long term, for both financial and environmental security, we need to stop buying so much stuff we don't actually need. That will, in turn, reduce the scarce resources and pollution in making the stuff and transporting it to us, and reduce the scarce resources and pollution in dealing with the recycling/waste etc once we throw it out. The only people benefitting from us buying so much crap we don't need are the rich, i.e. hedge funds, billionaires, oligarchs, etc. They're clever enough to make us think we benefit from economic growth etc. but it's all an illusion. Yes, it'll be painful to stop producing/buying/recycling so much crap, but even more painful for the rich at the top when we stop financing their yachts etc.

Well, I don't buy Green and Black's chocolate since they made it 90g, I buy chocolate from M&S, I don't buy the ham I like from Sainsbury's since it went from 14 slices to 12, I get it from Lidl, I've stopped buying Cadbury's little bars since they went from a six pack to a four pack, and I've stopped buying Hotel Chocolat completely because it's so expensive now. Those are just ones I can think of right now.