No Bye Year

I remember, in the summer of 2023, going about my business one day, when I passed a man in the street sporting a mullet. I thought it a bit unusual, even in small-town Indiana. But, he was older than me, by more than a decade. I figured that the mullet was a holdover from his glory days.

Or was it?

As the year wore on, I noticed more mullets. Mullets on people who had only heard of the 1980’s from their parents. Mullets on toddlers. Mullet wigs for Halloween.

And, like just about any trend, I blame social media. And for this particular one, baseball.

This “business in the front, party in the back” hair trend caught me so off guard, that (as a self-described hermit) I decided I’d better occasionally check in with the greater culture from time to time. I mean, it’s one thing for my teenaged son to think I’m out of touch, but I know to ignore hair trends at my own peril.

As 2025 dawned, I browsed the internet for topics of the moment. Since “fascism” and “revolution” seemed a little dark, I settled on the resurgence in popularity of something called a “no-buy year”.

While it may possibly be in response to rising inequality and razor-tight margins from lack of living wages, or from the desire to stop handing hard earned dollars to our corporate overlords, or from the awareness of the effects of late capitalistic consumption on the environment, a “no buy year” has become quite popular again.

I remember reading about a no-buy year probably 15 years ago, right around the time the current mullet proponents were born.  The basic idea is to intentionally limit all discretionary spending to as close to zero as possible. People who do a no buy year aim to cover only necessities, and get as creative as possible about the rest.

Everyone has a different take on the matter, some more draconian that others. Most people agree that there will be spending on necessities, like food and medicine, fuel and housing. But beyond that, it can get hairier than the MLB.

People debate about the craziest things. Should you buy new underwear? What if you need a coat; is it OK to pick one up second-hand? What if you want to make a special birthday dinner-is it acceptable to buy a tiny bottle of something luxurious, like truffle oil?

The debates rage on to this day.

Only these days, perhaps because I do remember the 1980’s, there is one noticeable difference.

You cannot read about a “no-buy” year today without being inundated- and I mean inundated- with ads. From pop-ups to banners to influencers peddling the latest cosmetic or supplement, every platform serving up information is serving it with a side of advertisement.

It’s sort of like going to a fancy restaurant known for its quality and finding a hair of substantial mullet length in your soup. It’s not worth the price of admission.

Just like in this ridiculous article. If you have read this far, you will have encountered the idea of mullets, including that one, at least ten separate times. Which means, no matter what you do, that particular hairstyle has made it to your subconscious mind. 

Because of this, you too will see them everywhere. You may even tell your hairdresser not to take so much off the back next time.

Just like the subconscious mullet-programming, the swirl of marketing around every single “no-buy year” article I came across might, ironically, make someone prone to want to buy more. Which is sillier than a dated hairstyle making a comeback.

The point is, maybe, instead of a “no-buy year” we should consider a “no-bye year” where we say goodbye to social media influence or baseball or whatever is steering our subconscious towards doing things that no longer serve us.

Removing a few apps, finding other ways to spend our time instead of scrolling, is more likely to result in buying less than debating about what is acceptable as a necessity during a year of no discretionary spending. It may also be a revolutionary way to fight neofascism if anyone cares about that too.

Saying “no-bye” to the mulletude, I mean multitude of things that influence us may to be key to a better world. And if that’s the case, I may not ”brush up” on more trends any time soon.