Frugal living—not a fad anymore, as young Indians discover the joy of living with less

Sansskriti Singhal began this year by cutting down her expenses on clothes, food, and entertainment. She did so because she believes one can live well with less of everything. 

When you cut out expenses from life, you make “more space for more important experiences,” says the 25-year-old gallery archivist based in Delhi. 

In her case, it has helped her invest in what she truly cares about—art.  

With the money she saves from trimming her expenses, she is able to buy art books and supplies. “It seems to be feeding my purpose,” remarks Singhal. 

This sense of ‘purpose’ is what drives Mumbaikar Sidhantha Jain as well. 

“Everything I own or use serves a purpose. I only make purchases when they truly add value to my life,” says 29-year-old Jain, who doesn’t buy things just for the sake of owning them. 

Now, the spending choices of Singhal, Jain and others like them are unlikely to bring down consumption in the country—far from that. In fact, India’s private consumption doubled to $2.1 trillion in 2024, and the country is on track to become the world's third-largest consumer market in a few years. 

Singhal and Jain are also not triggering any major changes in the consumption patterns in the country. (Books are not replacing clothes anytime soon!)

But they are part of a tiny but growing tribe of millennials and GenZ consumers who are consciously choosing a frugal lifestyle for various reasons. While some are motivated by economic reasons, some are driven by practicalities and the desire for a life of quality.

“This (frugal living) not only helps me manage my finances but also brings peace of mind—having fewer things to maintain makes life simple,” says Jain, a marketer at music startup REPRESENT and record label Desi Melodies, and the co-founder of music marketing company M3.

Shifting priorities

To be clear, frugal living does not translate to owning nothing or depriving oneself. It is about choosing when, where, and how to spend one’s money. It means prioritising needs over wants and spending on things that matter, instead of mindlessly accumulating things. This, young Indians believe, greatly improves the quality of life. 

For many young consumers, the road to frugal living begins with identifying what they truly need and removing what’s not required or used.  

For example: Does one need subscriptions to 15 OTT platforms, if only 2 or 3 are used regularly? 

Singhal has subscribed only to Apple TV, while Jain pays for YouTube Premium and Amazon Prime alone. Piyush (29), a product manager in Bengaluru, too has cut down on his OTT subscriptions, driven by his decision to watch less television. 

A core premise of social media is to build influence and drive fads. While practices like minimalism, capsule wardrobe, and natural skincare are gaining traction, social media is still a potent tool for marketers and influencers to drive consumerism. 

Marketers across the globe spent close to $234.14 billion on social media ads in 2024 to drive sales—an increase from $98 billion in 2019. Last year, global ecommerce sales amounted to over $7 trillion, and it is expected to cross $10.4 trillion by 2028. 

Even as consumption across the world rises, on the flip side, many young people are also starting to be mindful of their expenses.

Earlier this year, some people in the United States began propagating the ‘No Buy 2025’ trend on social media platform TikTok. Users have been sharing their personal consumption goals for the year—as they abstain from ‘unnecessary’ and ‘impulse’ purchases. 

Interestingly, coinciding with this trend, consumer spending in the US dropped unexpectedly by 0.2% in January, according to media reports, marking the first decline in nearly two years. 

Whether this is a one-off blip, a consequence of the ‘No Buy’ trend, or indicative of a larger consumer fatigue, one thing is clear—consumption priorities are shifting slowly the world over. 

Take the case of Jayita Chakraborty, a doctoral student and a part-time instructor at University of New Mexico. She used to spend Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 on shopping every month. But she has been on a ‘no-buy’ mode this year. 

“The whole appeal of buying things just because of lightning’ deals or festive discounts when I don’t really need them is fading away,” says Chakraborty. 

Instead, what’s gaining strength is her resolve to save money. “I aim to be conscious of my finances as a whole,” says the 28-year-old. 

Chakraborty has now redirected her finances towards health—good quality food and a gym membership. And the rest is put into savings. 

The internet is a mixed bag, with conflicting opinions and content.

On one hand, there are people bombarding you with information on what to buy and where to find it, while, on the other hand, there are also people sharing ideas on frugal living. A subreddit page ‘Frugal India’, created as early as 2008, is buzzing today, with the community regularly discussing frugality as a mental approach and finding new ways to save and live more sustainably. 

A user named Repulsive_Panic5216 writes: “Recently there has been a new trend of deinfluencers, who tell you the kind of things you don’t need to buy. I love this kind of content because social media is full of ads, people trying to sell us stuff. So it’s nice when you are reminded every now and then that you don’t need that thing.” 

When people decide to embrace frugal living, they invariably cut down on the usual suspects—clothes, makeup and home decor. 

Many consumers are also going beyond this to make sustainable changes in their overall habits. This means hand-picking groceries and vegetables instead of mindlessly ordering on quick-commerce platforms, subscribing only to services they use, cooking more often than ordering or eating out, and buying one good-quality product instead of ten cheaper ones.

Experiences bring lasting joy

Some people are also channelling their expenses towards ‘experiences’ that bring lasting happiness and memories, as opposed to fleeting moments of joy that retail therapy gives. 

Experiences could range from travel, sports, and spending time with family to learning a skill or picking up a hobby. 

Twenty-nine-year-old Aishwarya Tendolkar, an industry analyst based out of Mumbai, is passionate about travel and cooking. She derives greater joy from exploring new places and trying out new recipes than from shopping for clothes. 

“Retail spending is great for a week, but once the satisfaction of buying things on a sale goes away, you are trapped in a vicious cycle, because you are flooded with more ads for sales,” says Tendolkar. 

Pune-based Anushka Jewrajka is also a travel enthusiast who values experiences. The People Partner at Amazon doesn’t compromise on this and wait for internet deals while planning her trips and deciding her destination. 

“I spend money on things that actually provide me happiness,” she says. 

Smart, practical choices

How do frugal living practitioners tackle the temptations of fancy products, Instagram ads, and online deals?

The solution lies in these Rs: reduce, resist, reconsider. And maybe repair, if possible.

Bengaluru-based Riddhi Mallick (29) has consciously reduced the time she spends on social media. “My social media algorithm influenced me largely into spending money after viewing ads and discounts on ecommerce,” she says. 

Earlier, Singhal used to buy linen shirts for they were comfortable and fit her well. But once she realised that she had one too many of them, she started resisting the urge to buy more. 

“I only make purchases when my clothes are torn or beyond repair," she says. 

In the case of Jewrajka, online ads prove to be more of a turn-off than a temptation. “The more I see things on social media that push one towards consumerism or capitalism, the more I realise that I want to live frugally or within my means. I don’t need to buy into the fancy ads,” she says. 

Frugal living is not exactly alien to India. Back in the days, our grandparents practised simple, fuss-free living. 

However, being minimalistic and buying only what one needs is not that easy in today’s consumeristic world. For many, the urge to buy is too strong to stay away from.

Some people are circumventing their impulse to shop by adding the item to the cart and waiting. They take a break to reconsider their need for the item and potentially put off or avoid spending. 

Jain, for instance, used to indulge frequently in phone cases and clothes. Lately, he has adopted a detailed evaluation process—he analyses the pros and cons and buys the item only if he is able to justify the expense. 

“This process can last for months. I rationalise every purchase, whether big or small. If I can’t justify it in the long term, I don’t buy it. “If I do go ahead, it’s because I’ve thought it through carefully,” he explains. 

He bought a pair of Adidas Yeezy Foam Runners after evaluating it for two years. 

Prateeka Kamath uses a different hack. Instead of falling for social media ads and buying things that don’t meet her needs, she searches for specific things online. 

“Every time I need to purchase something, I specifically Google what I want. Like, if I want winter boots, I type in ‘black ankle-length vegan leather boots',” says the Bengaluru- and Dubai-based community growth consultant. 

This way, she buys exactly what she is looking for—nothing more, nothing less. 

Pragmatic and future-wise

Some decisions stem from practical reasons and the need to secure the future. 

When Tendolkar was moving houses, she realised she owned an “absurd” number of outfits while packing. “I hadn’t even used the majority of the pieces more than twice perhaps,” she says. 

She continues, “Last year, I spent Rs 30,000-35,000 on apparel, footwear and jewellery. I realised I had to cut down heavily on buying things if I truly wanted to be sustainable.”

She is currently on a shopping detox and has decided to buy clothes only on three occasions this year.

“I do not wish to completely abandon the idea of buying new goods. Going cold-turkey has not helped anyone,” says Tendolkar. 

Mallick has switched from quick-commerce platforms to farmers’ markets to avoid impulse buys and save money. The Bengaluru-based financial analyst says the decision was born out of necessity due to inflation. 

“I used to spend Rs 10,000 and above a month on groceries. I have reduced my expenses to half. I found the quality of fruits, vegetables and meats much better at physical markets,” she says. 

Similarly, Jain too has saved a lot of money by controlling his spontaneous purchases as much as possible. Earlier, he spent close to Rs 40,000 a month on spontaneous purchases. This is down to Rs 5,000 now. 

“Minimalism is a personal choice, and it also contributes to financial security,” he says. 

“I am not opposed to spontaneous spending, but I do so only when I know it won’t compromise my future financial plans. My personal rule is: If I’m spending, it’s coming from past savings, not future budgets.”