How This Viral TikTok Hack Can Help You Prepare For a Recession
Written by
Jordan Rosenfeld
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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While most people don’t live their lives by TikTok trends, there’s one money-saving hack making the rounds that is so practical, anyone can engage in it. Plus, it can prepare you for the possibility of a recession. It’s called “underconsumption core,” and it focuses on maximizing your existing resources while resisting the urge to purchase more.
Though the U.S. economy is not in a recession, some experts believe one is coming. Recessions often mean job layoffs, unexpected financial costs and losses to investment portfolios.
While one viral trend won’t prepare you for financial woes in every area of your life, following the underconsumption core trend is not only useful day to day but useful especially should the economy take a downturn.
Here are some of the tips that TikTok users have offered as they undertake practicing underconsumption core.
Also see five frugal habits that can help you save money every day.
Organize Like Items
TikTok user Raisa suggested that in your journey to consume less, you should store like items with one another, which gives you the ability to really see whether you’re running low on something or not.
If you keep all your household cleaners, your bath products, a particular food item or even clothing in the same place, for example, it will be a lot more evident when it’s really time to buy, helping you avoid just buying something because you can.
Use Up What You Already Have
A common theme in the underconsumption core trend is so simple, it should be obvious — use up what you already have before buying more. However, consumer culture sends constant messages to buy more, different and new things even when you already have enough.
TikTok user Devamsha discussed this in the context of buying makeup. She said she was going to begin taking note of which products she actually uses on a regular basis and which ones she rarely reaches for. That way, over time, she can repurchase only the items she really uses and stop buying those that she doesn’t.
Get Comfortable With the Well Loved
Underconsumption core practices loving what you have rather than rushing out to replace things.
Another TikTok user, Platedwell, took viewers on a tour of their home, showing the well-loved (meaning often worn or old-looking) items that still have plenty of functional use — from cutting boards and gifted art to old cookbooks and scratched up but still useful furniture. If an item still works, consider holding on to it.
Replace Things With Experiences
It’s easy to buy things as a way of adding energy and excitement to our lives, but TikTok user Jessica has a different philosophy that’s helped her consume less. She prioritizes hobbies, experiences and crafts over buying things.
She took a love of growing plants and turned that into a form of decor in her home. She reuses old items, such as reclaimed wood (using it for a mirror frame) or old pasta jars (making them drinking glasses), to give new utility to them. She also spends more quality time with friends and family over purchasing new things.
Shop Secondhand
Unsurprisingly, a common theme in the underconsumption core trend is that when you do buy things, buy secondhand items so that you aren’t supporting the production of new goods. Many TikTok users rely on gently loved goods, or they simply hold on to older items that others might ditch for newer, shinier ones.
Let Go of Aesthetics
A lot of consumption focuses on pressuring you to keep the appearance and image of things in mind. New things can make you look better/richer/happier than you actually are.
But underconsumption core folks get comfortable with not needing everything to be aesthetically pleasing. While this doesn’t mean you have to let your home or person fall to shambles, it may mean not trying to prop up an image of wealth or abundance.
Get Rid of a Disposable Mindset
One of the ways it’s easy to spend a lot of money unnecessarily is on disposable products, from paper towels to bottled water. One TikTok user, Kathryn, looks for every way she can to get out of this habit. She uses washable cloth napkins, makes her own soda at home, gets things for free from her local Buy Nothing group and relies on other free things, such as totes that come with a purchase.
Whether you take these tips or simply become more mindful of your own usage and spending habits, consuming less is a strategy that most people can adopt in at least one area of their lives. And if it helps you get ahead of an economic downturn, even better.
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