In the age of fast fashion and trends, the concept of underconsumption is gaining popularity among some millionaires and high-income earners. Underconsumption has become popular on social media platforms such as TikTok, where individuals adopt practices including batch cooking, shopping second-hand, and avoiding unnecessary purchases. According to individuals interviewed by Fortune, adopting ways of underconsumption has improved their bank balance and given them an option of early retirement .
Shang Saavedra Shang Saavedra is a 39-year-old author and entrepreneur who attributes her multi-million-dollar net worth to her childhood lessons on saving money. She and her husband live in a rented four-bedroom home in suburban Los Angeles. The couple owns a 16-year-old second-hand car.
They mostly shop at budget supermarkets like Aldi and prefer buying frozen groceries to reduce expenses. Saavedra has two sons, aged five and two, who wear hand-me-down clothes and play with toys from Facebook Marketplace. Instead of going on expensive trips to Disneyland, they prefer free activities.
However, Saavedra spends a significant amount of money sending her children to private schools and owns a property in New York. Such expenses align with her financial philosophy, which prioritises investments in education and assets. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she held corporate roles at CVS and Victoria’s Secret.
Saavedra mentioned that she and her husband greatly reduced expenses early in their .