30/11/2025

ON SUNDAY November 30, 2025 theSunday Special XII

Frugal living and social media

These social media contents exist as a reality check and a way to rebel against the VXSHU¿FLDO ZD\V OLIH KDV EHHQ SRUWUD\HG on social media. Nothing is over-curated and everything shown is raw, letting ev HU\RQH ¿QDOO\ VHH D OLWWOH ELW RI WKHPVHOYHV among all the designer item hauls, PR package unboxing and big houses with Olympic-size swimming pools. This current shift is a long time coming. Apart from the Greta Thunberg of it all, time is hard; people lose their lives, are stripped of their rights and even around us, people are struggling to make ends meet. It feels wrong to prance around LQ RXU OLWWOH RXW¿WV ZLWK D WRWDO FRVW WKDW could feed a small country or to show R̆ RXU QHZO\ UHQRYDWHG NLWFKHQ WKDW ZH ZRXOG XVH RQO\ ¿YH WLPHV WKLV \HDU According to ThredUp’s 2024 Resale Report, retailers such as Burberry and Gucci saw sales drop by 9% to 12% last year. At the same time, 54% of Gen Z have admitted that they have stopped buying from luxury designer brands such as Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Prada, instead opting to purchase items from thrift stores and secondhand marketplaces. These figures show just how much people have now slowly realised how im portant it is to live with less, not because they have to, but because they want to. Turning this lifestyle choice into social media content is not another way to monetise this so-called trend because the whole thing is not just about money. It is DERXW LQWHQWLRQ 6RFLDO PHGLD LV ¿QDOO\ EHFRPLQJ D SODFH ZKHUH VKRZLQJ R̆ GRHV not mean spending more. It means spend ing wisely and telling others that it is okay to live mindfully. There is a kind of quiet confidence in knowing you do not need to chase every trend, buy the same sneakers like everybody else, trade in your smartphone for a new one every year or move into a

new apartment simply because it is more aesthetically pleasing than your old one. People are beginning to understand WKDW \RX FDQ KDYH D IXO¿OOLQJ OLIH ZLWKRXW having it plastered all over social media. It is not about deprivation, but about rede- ¿QLQJ ZKDW DEXQGDQFH ORRNV OLNH $ IXOO\ stocked fridge, a cosy home and enough time to rest now feel more luxurious than a closet full of handbags or a watch that costs a month’s rent. It is not just individual choices. This frugal mindset is shifting the culture. Brands are starting to pay attention. Influencers once known for extrava gant spending are now partnering with eco-conscious labels, vintage curators and financial literacy educators. Even YouTube channels that once centred around luxury unboxings are now focused on budgeting, secondhand hauls and sharing the dark truth behind fast-fashion brands. At the centre of it all is the honesty in all of these contents. There is something deeply human about watching someone clean their apartment, make a simple meal or mend a heavily used bag. These moments remind us that beauty can be found in the ordinary and that our worth is not tied to how much we spend, but how we live. Of course, not everyone on social media is ready to give up the glitz and glam, and WKDW LV ¿QH WRR %XW IRU WKRVH ZKR KDYH grown tired of trying to keep up, this new wave of content is like a deep breath, a reminder that you do not need to have it all to have enough. Showing our frugal lifestyles on social media is not the new cool thing to do. It is far from performative. It is just a way to celebrate the fact that we are now free to live for ourselves. It is now our time WR EXLOG D GL̆ HUHQW NLQG RI ZHDOWK RQH rooted in purpose, presence and peace.

BY HANNEF ESQUANDER

Alternating between warm and cool water may help support circulation.

A T this point, we are pretty done with social media tell ing us what we need, what to buy and how to live our lives. Some of us might still be out there, stuck with all the make-believe and too-good-to-be-true portrayal of what our life should look like. But the rest of us are saying, enough is enough. We are now on the other side of social media, where frugality is celebrated, overconsumption is frowned upon and slow living is the way to go.

The younger generation, in particular, has been the driving force behind this current shift towards underconsumption and living content on social media. They took us with them to thrift stores, looking for the perfect summer dress or wall art for their tiny house. We have also seen content showing how to repurpose an old pair of jeans and empty candle jars, step by step. Gen Zs even took us on their journey, living frugally on a small paycheck, trying WR SD\ R̆ WKHLU VWXGHQW ORDQV ZKLOH KDYLQJ a great time enjoying their youth.

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